Page 29 of One More Shot
Dane heaves out a dramatic sigh of relief. ‘Good, because I don’t think my ego could handle that again.’
He’s good at that. Easing the tension with some well-timed humour. I don’t even think he realises he’s doing it.
‘And the wedding?’ he asks.
I nod, enjoying the way his entire face lights up. ‘I’ll do the wedding.’
His smile is infectious, and I find myself matching it almost instantly.
‘You’re a lifesaver, Eliott.’
Lifesaver.
The word just keeps following me around.
FROM:[email protected]
SUBJECT:RE: Wedding booking request
Hi Bailey. It’s lovely to hear from you. Glad to hear the engagement photos went down well! September in Italy sounds absolutely beautiful, and I’m sure it’ll be awonderful day. I’d be honoured to photograph the wedding.
Let me know your availability for a call to hash out some details.
Best,
Eliott
Six months.
Six months to push Dane from my mind and make sure I can keep my promise to act like a rational human being at the wedding.
It feels like a simple enough task. Especially given the cordial, almost friendly manner in which we part ways when we leave the restaurant. As soon as I get the notification from Uber that Leanne’s arrived at her party safely – accompanied by an eye-watering deduction from my bank account – I leap up from our table and Dane follows me out. He gives me a not entirely awkward half-hug once we exit the restaurant, mutters that he’s glad we did this, and then that’s it.
The air between us is officially cleared.
By the time we see each other again, six months from now, this entire debacle will be nothing more than a tiny blip in our memories. We might even be able to laugh about it.
There’s no reason for Dane’s stupidly handsome face to be occupying any kind of space in my head right now.
And yet…
‘You want to fuck him,’ Sasha says, blunt as ever. She’s sat on my bedroom floor, several packets of braiding hair sprawled out in front of her. To her credit, she waited ten minutes before barging into my room, bringing her hair supplies with her. ‘And I, for one, don’t see what the problem is.’ She holds up a finger. ‘One: he told you he’d be up for it, didn’t he?’
‘That—’
A second finger. ‘Two: he was chill about the whole engagement party thing.’
Very chill.
She grins at my reluctant nod, and then she adds a third finger. ‘And finally, once again:youwant to fuckhim.’
‘It’s not that simple.’
‘No, I’m pretty sure it is,’ Sasha says with a shrug. She resumes braiding her hair, and squints at me in the mirror. ‘I mean – and I guess I don’t know him – but, after everything you’ve told me? He’s not giving me Connor vibes.’
I wince at the use of the name. ‘Yeah, well. Connor didn’t give those vibes either, did he?’
