Page 20 of Anything for You
All theughs.
Being one of the only single people left in a group of friends who started out as all single was pretty brutal. Catherine and I were the only holdouts, and she was so consumed with building her empire, if she felt the pinch of not having someone, she didn’t let on.
One of the most delightful realizations of the day was Dorian’s presence. He’d stood at Kenny’s side and he looked like such a proud friend. His posture had been stiff, but his eyes had been glued to his friend and though I’d only caught the tail end of it, I saw a brilliant smile on his face when Kenny scooped Liz up and jogged back down the aisle like he was stealing her away. Everyone had laughed and he had, too.
Dorian Forrester had grinned full out and it was nothing short of mortally wounding.
Shot straight to the heart.
All the ways he stayed tucked neatly into himself behind his beard and hats and brown eyes, right then it was like a spotlight shone down from heaven and the scales fell from my eyes.
No. No no no no.Not good.
Because along with the other discoveries I’d made about Dorian? This one proved deeply inconvenient.
The man was totally and completely gorgeous, and that smile drilled the truth straight into my brain.
“Having fun?”
The deep voice startled me, and I dropped a small lemon tart, mercifully catching it on the plate I held withmy other hand. And because I was calm, cool, and completely collected, I turned slowly with a pleasant look on my face and not one that screamed,Did you know you’re super hot when you smile?and said, “Hello, neighbor.”
His eyes smiled this time, but the straight white teeth and general splendor stayed tucked away, thank goodness. I didn’t have much of a face for lying so he’d probably see the thirst plain as day if he dared do it again.
“Did you enjoy the ceremony?” he asked, taking a plate of his own.
The small reception was being held on the cobblestone patio outside the chapel, the bulk of Silver Ridge Resort just far enough to make it feel like a cozy, sweet world of its own. With the mountains towering in the background and the late summer day glittering like it’d decided to show off just for Kenny and Liz, everything was perfect.
“Loved it.” I smiled at him, then focused on the task of taking one of each of the little confections at the all-dessert spread. “I don’t think I’ve ever disliked a wedding where both people were willingly pledging their lives to one another.”
His brow dipped. “Have you attended a wedding where someone wasnotwillingly taking the step?”
I froze, but restarted normal movement once my brain sent thedon’t be weird!signal. I didn’t want to go there—not now. Not in the midst of this joy.
“No! No. Of course not, no. I just… It was really special and sweet. I loved it.” I glanced at him sideways and he’d taken one small tart and nothing else. “You?”
He nodded but kept his eyes on the table, now serving himself some coffee. “It was great. I didn’t get to stand up with Oak, so…” He swallowed, his throat bobbing. “I’m glad I could today.”
A flood of epic proportions crashed down on me as I remembered him haunting the edges of Winnie and Tristan’s wedding last summer. I’d wondered about him then, but I’d been paired with the charismatic super soldier Ryan West, and I hadn’t given it too much more thought since he always seemed to be on the fringes.
My heart squeezed at how he’d said it—that hedidn’t get towith Oak, with Tristan, and now he did. I wanted to understand what he meant so badly, my toes curled in the evil pointy death traps that were my shoes.
“I’m glad you did, too. I know Kenny was so happy to have you with him.”
I didn’t even have to guess because, though it wasn’t a traditional wedding or reception, Kenny had insisted on making a speech in which he thanked every single person in attendance with personal details and compliments and managed to do so in under ten minutes. Honestly, it was impressive, and hilarious and charming, just like the man himself.
Dorian had gone quiet on me, each of us moving down the table in silence. My friends were all here, everyone laughing and chatting and so happy. But I felt the pull toward this man—this giant, curious man.
“So, um, you mentioned blackberries?” I asked, squirming internally but determined to coax him out of his shell a little bit more before we parted ways. Who knew when we’d talk again after this?
“Yes. They’re in the northeast corner of…” He stood there, staring at the coffee cup he’d turned over almost like he’d lost his train of thought.
I waited a few seconds, then asked, “Where are they?” as gently as I could. I didn’t care about the berries so much as I wanted to urge him to talk to me.
He seemed to be struggling internally over something I couldn’t figure out, but that made sense when I remembered I didn’t know this man. I wanted to, that much was clear thanks to the way my mind couldn’t stay away from him and I was drawn to him every time I saw him whether at our houses or out in town, but I didn’t know what demons he might be wrestling as I foisted small talk on him.
“You know? Don’t worry about it. I didn’t mean to?—”
“I’ll show you. I’m sorry. Sometimes…” He exhaled, bringing his eyes up to meet mine. “Sometimes, being in groups is still pretty hard. And I think I’ve about hit my limit.”
