He leans back in so we’re cheek to cheek. “Just stay put for a moment longer, okay?”
I know it’s silly and I shouldn’t think this way, especially after the man was telling me at his family’s dining room table just the other night how he wanted to kiss me again, but…a little bit of the fire that’s been flaming during this moment gets extinguished when I see it’s all for show.
But I have to keep my part of our bargain. I have a place to stay and he has a stable bride-to-be. Stable being the operative word, obviously. So, I lean into it and make a show of things right back. I press my lips harder against his and let my hands come to the side of his face, my left hand cupping his cheek before I pull away.
“How’s that?” I ask, not wanting to look and see if Lorna’s still there.
Levi’s eyes flick across the road. “Good. And she’s gone, so I’m sure we made our point.”
I tuck that comment away, choosing to ignore it and the feelings I’m having right now. I need to meet Bex.
After what felt like hours, but in reality was only about ninety minutes, I walk out of Sweet Serenity Bridal with my arm looped through Bex’s, laughing. We’d managed to have abouttwo glasses more champagne than I’m used to, but it made the fashion show we just endured that much sweeter.
“So, we learned today that a ball gown is not your thing, you’re not a Cinderella type, and that you rock a tea-length dress.” Bex giggles. “Also, lace is not your friend.”
“No, it’s not. The texture makes me crazy.” I cringe. “Always has and always will, I guess.”
“I’m hungry.” Bex taps her stomach. “I did not foresee having so much to drink. Want to grab some food?”
The thought of a bowl of fries in my mouth right now is amazing. “Yes, please.”
As we make our way down the street arm and arm, reminiscing about the vintage number Bex tried on (which would be a great bridesmaid dressifI was really getting married), my phone beeps. Ignoring it, we press on, heading for the nearest cafe.
But my phone has other ideas. It beeps again, and again. Then once more. Then it beeps again. Finally, Bex stops in her tracks, pulling me to a sudden halt alongside her.
“Will you look at your phone? Someone is obviously trying their hardest to get ahold of you.”
Rolling my eyes, I grab it from my purse and am shocked at the amount of notifications I have. I’m not sure what to check first, so I start with the texts telling me that packages are being delivered to my house.
Quickly I scroll through them, wondering what these items are that are showing up, only to have a pang of fear shoot through me.
“Oh no,” I whisper-shriek as I open my email, cross-checking the items with a little list I had flagged in my saved emails. “That registry page was supposed to stay private!”
Bex’s head almost spins off her neck. “Did you end up making a registry?”
“Yes.” I wince. “I just wanted to try it out, maybe laughabout it with you and Riley, but I thought I kept the page private.” I turn my phone around to show her, via my security camera app, the small pile of boxes at the back door of the bookstore. “Looks like someone got me some of the smaller home items that I had on the list?”
Bex’s hand barely makes it to her mouth to cover it before she barks out a laugh. Good for you, Bex. You can laugh for both of us because I’m horrified.
“This is not good.” That’s all I can manage as I head for a nearby bench to sit down. I need a second to think, and those two extra glasses of bubbly are not helping me. I close my phone and sit quietly, wondering how I’m going to explain this side of me and what I’ve done to Levi. The side that’s a little nutty, the one that wanted to know what it felt like to just let it all ride and get some presents.
“It’s fine,” Bex says, sitting beside me. “We’ll go by the store, get the boxes, and take them back to…where did you get them from?”
“Altman’s.”
Bex smacks my arm. “You went through a local business? I’ve not been here that long and I know that you don’t do that. It’s Small Town 101.”
Grimacing, I look her way. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“That the whole town probably knows you have a registry.” She shakes her head as she attempts to swallow back her laughter. “Girl. What have you done?”
I’m still trying to find an answer when my phone dings again. Glancing down, I’m reminded there’s some social media posts I’ve been tagged in that I need to look at. Tapping open the app for that, for the second time in five minutes my jaw slams on the sidewalk.
“Now what?” Bex asks, taking the phone from me, only to have her jaw mimic mine as she sees the photo.
There I am, in front of the bookstore with Levi, in a full clutch. His lips on mine, my hands in his hair. Someone’s posted two photos: one of us embracing and the other a close-up of my left hand, with a bright circle around my ring finger.
“Ooof,” Bex acknowledges.
