Page 18 of Spellbound
“Holy hell, it’s true, then.” I slumped onto the couch. I should gather up my clothes, but after that trip around the block with Stephanie, who had the energy?
His expression went stoic, his lips a flat line. “There was a lot going on in that conversation, babe. What exactly are you talking about?”
I waved a hand broadly. “Southerners can sure take the long way around any story.”
“You’ve been here two days already. That’s still news?”
“Ha ha. I only came to visit once when we were in college and I guess I wasn’t exposed to that. I always thought it was just Stephanie being Stephanie.”
Eli had been moving around the tiny living room, picking up my shorts, the tee I wore to work in the park. My bra was slung over his shoulder and my cotton bikini panties dangled from his finger. “Babe, there’s something we need to talk about. I need to tell you a little about my life. What Stephanie was alluding to—”
I patted his chest. “Eli. There’s plenty of time to share our deep, dark secrets. Go home, get pretty. I’ll meet you at the church.” I dropped a kiss on his cheek, then his lips, then snatched my clothes from his hands and headed for the bathroom. His tone—his words—had sounded ominous. I didn’t want to hear them. Not yet. Not when we still had a day to enjoy each other. I shut the bathroom door and turned on the shower.
* * *
I pulledinto the church parking lot right on time, and parked next to the car I recognized as belonging to Eli’s grandmother. My heart skipped at the sight.C’mon Emma Grayce, you should be over that by now.
Apparently not.
Apparently, I was in deeper than I thought.
And then he was there, rapping on the window, freshly shaved with his hair combed back and looking as hot as ever.
A crowd was gathered around the open entrance to the vestibule. I ignored them for now, stepped out of the car and straight into his arms. “You look amazing.” And then I caught his scent and I was afraid my ovaries would explode. “You smell like sin. I want to lick you right here.”
“In the church parking lot? You hussy.” He sent a glance over his shoulder, then dropped his lips to the sensitive skin the low neckline of my dress exposed. “Hold that thought, babe.” He dropped an arm over my shoulder, steered me in the right direction. “We seem to have an audience.”
I peered up at him. “You’re not afraid of a little gossip, are you?” I chuckled, then let my smile drop at Eli’s frozen expression. The man could lose his sense of humor faster than anyone I knew. But then I was distracted by the happy couple and threw out my arm to direct his attention.
“I see Grant and the rest of the guys. Oh, and Stephanie’s mom is with her and Colleen. No telling where Shea is. That’s who should be ramrodding this little shindig—she’s Maid of Honor and all—but that girl is cast from a different mold, I swear. If someone doesn’t light a fire under everyone, we’ll still be here in the morning.”
Eli slowly shook his head. “I do love a woman who takes charge.”
“Yeah, I know you do.” I gave Eli a quick kiss, then laid my hand on his forearm. “Do you mind keeping my phone in your pocket? I didn’t want to drag my purse around so I left it in the car.”
He held out his hand but I bypassed the middle man and lowered it into his deep front pocket. Slowly. Then dragged my hand back out of its depths. His grin was wicked, and I realized how much I loved his smile. I gave him a gentle shove toward the testosterone stew brewing off to the left. “Go play with the boys. I’ll get this party started.”
Once I rounded everyone up, it didn’t take long to get them in place and pass the reins to the minister performing the ceremony. We were all nearing thirty, all had former roommates, best friends, siblings who’d gotten married. Stephanie and Grant were the only ones who’d never performed their role before, and they sailed through their marriage rehearsal like seasoned pros.
Then we all piled back out of the church and put its awe-inspiring steeple in our rearview. Apparently, there was only one place in town when you wanted an all-around good time. Since I’d driven myself to the church, I followed Eli to The Barn, which I could think of ‘our place’ without much effort.
The stage was brightly lit, with a lively band keeping the dancers on the floor. Local band, I overheard while Grant worked out the cover for us all to get in, and really, really good. I took a few steps in and hesitated beside Colleen and Stephanie, waiting while the guys shoved several hi-tops together. Tables only, no chairs. So we stood. Shea had begged off, claiming she had some kind of something going on. Nobody really listened to her anyway.
Eli appeared and dragged me to the dance floor. I turned to my girls and shrugged. I figured we’d all be dancing together tonight, same as we did through four years of college. Only guys I ever knew who actuallylikedto dance were either gay or desperate to get laid. Eli already knew I was a sure thing.
And I knew he wasn’t like any other guy on the planet.
The bandwasgood, and mixed up the playlist to keep everyone on the floor. Eli and I danced together, then took a beer break. We all danced as a group. Then took a beer break. We ordered another round, then rocked it out. Another round and we swayed in each other’s arms. What we didn’t do was sit. My toes wept in my shoes and there was a gross amount of boob sweat happening inside my top.
Eli grabbed my hand to lead me back to the dance floor.
“Wait. Wait!” I tugged my arm back. And nearly lost my balance. Grant steadied me from behind and kept me upright. Before I could even thank him, Stephanie was dragging him through the spinning room and out to dance. I held up a finger to Eli, who had a firm hold of my waist. “Pretty sure I need the ladies’ room.”
I was amazed how normal I sounded. Didn’t slur those words at all.
So why was Eli smirking?
I gave him the stink eye.
