Page 35 of Axe Backwards
Holding a glass of what I imagined was expensive scotch, his sneer fully in place, he ambled over. He had the absolute audacity to blatantly look Vic up and down.
My heart pounded in my ears. There were two options here: grab Vic and make a run for it or stand our ground and shut these snobby jerks up for good.
I did what I’d been trained to do. Assess, strategize, and find a way to minimize the damage. I chose the second option.
Turning to Vic, I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
She peered up at me, her eyes swimming with discomfort. Fuck. More than anything, I wished I had the power to fix it all.
Since I couldn’t take away the hurt, I did the next best thing. I stared into those chocolate brown eyes and said, “I’m crazy about you. Please, no more secrets.”
Then, cupping her chin, I angled in and gently brushed my lips against hers.
She rose up on her tiptoes to meet me, and what should have been a quick peck evolved quickly.
With a groan, I pulled her closer. Instantly, her fingers were in my hair, her arms around my neck.
Fuck. This was a mistake.
It felt too easy. Too natural and too damn hot.
Very hot.
Weirdly hot.
My brain switched off, and instead of being the affectionate peck I’d envisioned, we lingered.
The world around us faded into the background. No one else mattered.
When I pulled away, she blinked up at me, her pupils blown wide and her lips parted. We stared at each other for a moment before I turned to her family and grabbed her hand.
“If you’ll excuse us, my girl needs a drink.”
Without a second of hesitation, I pulled her toward the bar, leaving the crowd gaping.
Behind us, a whistle rang out. I didn’t have to turn around to know it was Aunt Lou.
Chapter 11
Victoria
The wedding went off without a hitch. Every detail was tasteful and perfect. A federal judge who golfed with my dad performed the oceanfront ceremony, and the guest list included all the Boston business and social elite, just as my mom had always dreamed.
At the reception, Graham and Alexandra barely interacted, each working the crowd and soaking up the attention.
My baby sister looked beautiful. All willowy limbs and wide blue eyes. She’d changed into the dress she’d purchased to wear to the reception only. There were easily over two hundred people here, so thankfully, my family mostly ignored my presence.
Sadly, Graham’s was everywhere. As were his colleagues, friends, and fraternity brothers. So far, they’d generally treated me in one of two ways: either they totally ignored me or they went out of their way to chat, pretending to be interested in my life. The second type of interaction was epically worse.
At least Noah was here. He was an incredible fake date and hype man, constantly talking up my achievements at the food pantry or telling funny stories about Lovewell.
Then there was the kiss.
We had not spoken of it.
But it had happened. And I’d been thinking about it nonstop since last night.
Noah, the gentleman that he was, had spent the entire day attempting to rescue me from my shitty family.
