Page 136 of Lovestruck at Sundown
I peeked over my shoulder and saw Zara and Moira dancing, laughing, smiling. I remembered the chemistry between them the night they met, and even if I understood where William was coming from, it was still unfair to Zara. The romantic in me thought everything was possible without hurting anyone or any relationships. Zara was older now. She wasn’t eighteen anymore, and Moira struck me as a very responsible and mature woman.
“I’m sorry about what happened with Fredrik. That sucks,” I said. “It really does. But I think you should talk to Zara first and see if you’d be willing to make an exception.”
“We’ll see.” William frowned. “I’d rather not think about this right now.”
“Okay.” I smiled and kissed his lips.
“Speaking of exceptions,” William said with a laugh. He sipped his drink and jerked his chin over my left shoulder. I turned to find Naomi kissing a guy against the wall behind the dessert stand. My jaw dropped.
Naomi didn’t bring a date to the wedding because she was “still dating” Aaron. However, since the wedding was a closed event, no cell phones were allowed for increased privacy. Lily and Joel couldn’t risk any unauthorized sharing or leaking ofphotos, especially when they had granted exclusive rights to Haute Magazine for coverage.
Naomi knew that. She’d been the one to negotiate the deal with Haute. So if anyone saw her kissing this guy, there’d be no evidence.
“Why does Aaron look like he’s about to combust?” Liam asked out of nowhere, appearing next to me. Nina ordered two glasses of water from the nearest server. She looked tired and sweaty from all the singing and dancing.
William grabbed Liam’s jaw and turned his head in the direction where the mystery man had Naomi pressed against the wall with his hands slipping dangerously low from the small of her back.
“Oh?” Liam squinted as he realized who that was. “Oh!” he shouted as his gaze flicked back to Aaron, who was a few powerful strides away from reaching Naomi.
It was evident that Naomi and Aaron’s relationship was growing more complicated and less fake the longer they played this pretend game.
Aaron shoved the man kissing Naomi to the side. He was either too drunk or too smart to engage with Aaron’s wrath. He looked confused more than anything else, and after staring at Naomi for a few seconds without getting any feedback from her, he walked away. She was too busy arguing with Aaron.
“I can’t watch,” I said, turning around. It was best to give them some privacy. Naomi would likely tell me what happened the next time I saw her without even having to ask.
“Well, I can.” Liam laughed. He was ready to take a seat and grab a bowl of popcorn.
Nina took a few more sips of her water and then set the glass on the table. She stood in front of Liam and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Want to go back to the dance floor?” Shekissed Liam’s cheek and swayed her hips to the rhythm of the music, gently grinding against him.
“If you can keep doing that, I most certainly want to.” He grabbed Nina’s hand and pulled her back to the crowded dance floor. Two seconds later, the DJ announced it was time for the bouquet toss, and I heard Liam’s deflated “Seriously?!”
It made me laugh.
“Off you go,” William said with a smirk as the women gathered and got into bouquet-catching positions next to Nina. I stared at William with an exaggerated nervous grin as I walked away, but that didn’t stop him from cheering for me as he joined the men to stand around to watch.
Lily turned around and tossed the bouquet to the opposite side of where we stood. It practically landed in Vivienne’s hands. But Lily’s obnoxious friend Lana, who had been obsessed with Nathan back when we were dating, tried to seize it out of Vivienne’s grasp when she caught it. Lana was probably still obsessed with him. Thankfully, it wasn’t my problem anymore.
“Damn!” Nina laughed hysterically as we watched them fighting over the bouquet. But Vivienne didn’t go down without a fight. The bouquet was hers. She turned around, and Lana would’ve fallen to her knees if it hadn’t been for one of her friends who managed to help her before she did. Lana embraced her defeat, and Vivienne rushed toward Nathan to celebrate. He hugged her as they celebrated her triumph.
A genuine smile appeared on my face, but I quickly redirected my gaze away from them.
After the women scattered, the DJ announced it was time for the garter toss. Now, it was the men’s turn to make a fool of themselves. The only difference was that the men were pushing each other, pretending no one wanted to catch the garter. It was hilarious. But once Joel tossed the garter, they all got incompetitive mode and jumped to reach for it.
Some guy I didn’t know caught it and hurried away to slide it up the leg of his date, who I assumed was his girlfriend.
“I don’t think the wedding gods are in our favor,” I told William when he joined me after the garter toss.
“Have you forgotten?” he said, his tone low and husky, grabbing me by the waist and tugging me closer to him in a playful way. “That you dreamed of me on Midsummer after putting those flowers under your pillow?”
“Hmm.” I tapped my chin twice. “Rings a bell.”
“Rings a bell?” he asked indignantly, lifting me off the floor to level his face with mine. “Have you also forgotten the meaning behind the dream?”
I nodded.
“Do you need me to refresh your memory? Because I know a method or two that might work wonders on you.”
“Wait … I think I remember now,” I whispered, my lips an inch away from his.
