Page 14 of Something Borrowed
“I might be different if I could meet a guy who’d look at me like that.”
I glance over at the bar, and exactly as she described, Freddie is staring right at me. The guys he’s standing with are in the middle of a conversation, but he’s totally zoned out. My insides heat under his intense scrutiny and I shift on my seat.
Movement catches my eye and when I look back to Vaughan, I find her pulling her phone from her clutch. “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” she mutters, letting out a loud sigh.
“What’s wrong?” Turning her phone, my eyes land on a photograph of a slightly older couple on their wedding day. My brows draw together before realization hits me. “Shit, is that your mom?”
“Yes. Looks like I’ve got a new stepdad…again.”
“How many have you had?”
“This guy is probably…” She counts in her head for a few seconds and my chin drops. “Number seven or eight.”
“Seven or eight?” I repeat in utter shock. She’s mentioned before that her mom’s been married a couple of times, but I didn’t realize it was quite that many.
“Jesus. Weren’t you invited?” I ask, shocked that a mother would get married without her only child present.
“We don’t speak all that often. She usually just does her own thing.” She waves the phone. “And I do mine.”
“When was the last time you saw her?”
“Uh…it’s been over a year.”
My eyes widen but I don’t get to respond because Freddie appears over her shoulder.
“Can I have her back now?” His deep voice washes through me and my skin erupts in goosebumps.
“She’s all yours,” Vaughan says getting up and going to step away. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“That doesn’t leave much,” I call after her and watch as her shoulders shake with a laugh.
“Everything okay?” Freddie asks, sitting himself in the chair Vaughan just vacated. Reaching forward, he entwines our fingers.
“I think so,” I say, looking down at his hands and back up to his eyes. They’re dark, expressing exactly what he wants. My thighs squeeze together at the thought.
“So…I was wondering if you’ve finished working? Everyone’s enjoying themselves,” he says, glancing around the room. “Surely you can slip away now.”
Biting down on my bottom lip, I consider his words. “It’s my brother’s—your best friend’s—wedding. We can’t just leave.”
“Says who? Mac won’t notice. There’s like a hundred people in here to keep him entertained.”
“Two-hundred and twenty, actually,” I correct.
“Exactly. He won’t miss two.”
“I don’t know.” My sensible side tells me to stay put just in case I’m needed. But the spontaneous side of me who doesn’t pop her head up very often is screaming at me to drag him from the room and enjoy everything he’s offering.
“Fuck it.” Freddie pulls me so I’m standing, wraps his arm around my waist, and pushes me towards the exit. I’m too excited and shocked to do anything other than do as I’m told.
Just before we leave the room, Freddie slows and pulls a single burgundy rose from one of the arrangements. No words pass his lips but my stomach twists in anticipation.
Freddie
Ilook over my shoulder before we disappear through the door and Mac catches my eye. He briefly looks at Bryony, then moves his gaze back to me. A single nod tells me that he’s okay with this. Not that I’d stop right now even if he wasn’t.
Pushing her forward, I press the button for the elevator and wait for the doors to open. My fists clench with my need to touch her, but I need her in the privacy of her room first.
We’re inside before the doors are fully open. I’m just about to back her up against the wall when an elderly couple join us. The wicked smile that twitches on Bryony’s lips tells me she knows exactly what I was thinking.
