Page 39 of Try Hard
“Whatever,” she said, waving a hand. “You still like her, right? So, what’s the problem?”
There wasn’t one. Not really. Not in this conversation. Kim was still exactly who she’d always been—relentlessly enthusiastic. And, however we’d gotten here, we had arrived at me and Ophelia in the same room again. Even if she wasn’t interested romantically, I was grateful for that.
Given the Soph situation, maybe it was better if she wasn’t interested. Over brunch, I’d been a terrible sister and basically forgotten Soph even existed—forgotten everyone existed except Ophelia. Now that I was thinking about the logistics and the fact that other people were using their wedding to orchestrate this reintroduction, though, it came screaming back. Oops.
I pushed the feeling down. How I wished Kim or Tanika had stayed in touch with Ophelia. Then, I’d be able to guarantee there had never been anything romantic between her and my sister, because what kinds of friends would do that to someone? But, as it stood, I was going to have to wait until… what? They saw each other in person? That would probably do it.
And I’d probably have to stop forgetting my own sister’s existence the minute I saw Ophelia.
“No problem, I guess,” I told Kim. “But, you do realise pulling something like that off requires both parties to be interested?”
Her delighted expression dropped and she looked at me like a disappointed parent, which was unfortunate. After a momentof just staring at me, she shook her head, wrapped her arm around one of mine, and started marching us forward. “Come on.”
It didn’t take a genius to figure out she was taking us to find Ophelia, but my heart still jumped when her red hair came into view, waving gently down her back. Kim had brought us so directly, she had to have known what Tanika was up to. I wasn’t sure what to do with that. Tanika and Kim together seemed to be some kind of unstoppable force.
“Hello,” Kim said excitedly, inviting herself and, by extension, me, into the conversation.
Ophelia jumped and my hand ached to reach out, to touch her back in reassurance.
“Hi,” Tanika said warmly, stepping back to allow us to form a little group. “We’re just talking about your honeymoon and how great it’s going to be.”
“Where are you heading?” I asked. Interestingly, Kieran hadn’t mentioned where they were going, only that he couldn’t wait to be on a beach with Kim.
“Bali,” Kim replied. “We were torn between a few places but then I read Fia’s review of it and was just sold. We booked it almost the second I was done reading.”
Tanika laughed. “Well, you let Kieran read the review too.”
I slipped my arm out of Kim’s grasp and leaned into Ophelia. “The celebrity of the travel world. Final say on where to honeymoon. And you thought I was the famous one.”
Her eyes were narrowed when she looked at me, but she couldn’t quite conceal her amusement. “Not even close to being the same thing, Archer.”
I lowered my voice, barely more than a whisper when she didn’t move away from me. “I don’t know,Ophelia, seems like you’re kind of a big deal. This is the wedding of the year bythe sounds of things and they’re looking to you for honeymoon recommendations.”
We were so close together that, when she moved her hand, her gaze still locked on mine, her fingers brushed my thigh. She pulled her arm quickly behind her back, but I could have exploded from the contact.
I stared at her, melting into her gaze and her whispered apology until it was just the two of us, eyes locked, the world around us disappearing. She was so close. So reachable. Still so far away.
Her lips parted as she sucked in a breath and my eyes traced from her lips up over her cheeks, back to her hazel eyes. This close up, traces of the smattering of freckles that decorated her cheeks and nose were visible through her makeup.
So quickly I’d have missed it if I’d blinked, her eyes flashed to my lips and back up. A bubble of tension in my chest burst unexpectedly, leaving me breathless. The first time I’d allowed myself to ever consider that she might actually be attracted to me too.
I almost laughed.
“Say Fia?” Tanika said, her voice innocent.
Ophelia sucked in a sharp breath, looked quickly at Tanika and Kim, and took a small step away from me. “Yes?”
“You drove here, right?”
“Yes.” She frowned, looking between the other two.
Kim grinned. “Great. See, Alara gave Eve a lift here, but I really need her to do some bridesmaid duty stuff for me when we leave.”
“So,” Tanika said, cutting in smoothly, “we were thinking you could give Eve a ride back. Your parents live close together, right?”
I fought a groan. I didn’t know if I wanted to kiss them or kill them. An unstoppable force for sure. But, if it got me more time with Ophelia…
Questioning, cautious hazel eyes found mine and a hint of a blush crept up her neck, drawing my eyes to the soft, perfect skin there.
