Page 57 of Had To Be You

Lifting our joined hands to my lips, I kiss the tips of each of her fingers. “Not even close to how incredibly sexy I find you.”

I can feel her smile widen against my chest. “Liam, last question,” she says. “Have you ever been in love?”

“No.” I answer honestly. “You?”

“No, me neither.”

“You’ve never been in love?” I ask, wanting to know why.

“Never.” She shrugs and the air between us feels thick. I wonder how a girl like Ellie has never experienced love.

We share stories of old crushes, parties that ended too late, little pieces of our lives that have made us who we are today. We’re opening up, really getting to know each other. It feels natural. It feels fucking perfect.

So fucking right.

The more I learn about Ellie, the more I want to know.

Then I wonder… how did I get here? How did I let this happen? How did I allow her to bury herself so deeply under my skin that she’s all I can think about? All I fucking want. Every perfect piece of her. And I wouldn’t want it any other way.

With sleepy eyes, Ellie searches my face from where she lays stretched out beside me. “I never want this to end, Liam.”

“It won’t,” I tell her, as she fights the sleep that is threatening to take hold of her.

“Promise?” Her eyes flutter close.

“Promise.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Ellie

My phone rings in my back pocket as I attempt to sprint to the end of the block in my 3-inch heels.

Forced to stop at a red light, I pull out my phone and see Olivia’s face lighting up the screen. I also notice the time. Shit. I’m already six minutes late with another four blocks to go before I arrive at the bridal boutique where I’m meeting Olivia and the rest of her bridesmaids for our final dress fitting.

I answer the call, jogging across the intersection as soon as the walk signal appears. These damn heels. But they’ll serve their purpose later this afternoon. I have plans for them. My temperature rises at just the thought.

“Everything okay, Ellie?” Olivia asks as I round the corner, suddenly distracted by a pretty little bakery with the most decadent desserts in the window. I look away, returning my focus to finding the dress shop. But I catalog the bakery in my brain for another day.

“Yes, Liv. I’m fine,” I breathe into my phone. “Sorry, I’m a few minutes late. I’m almost there.”

“Okay. Wanted to make sure you were fine is all. We’ll see you soon. Oh, and Ellie?” she adds, in dramatic Olivia fashion. “We’re all waiting on the details of your sex weekend.”

A laugh escapes me as I end the call, continuing my dash down the street. Minutes later I’m looking up at the awning of the boutique. I tug open the door, met by the bridal shop owner, along with Olivia, Jules and Kate.

“It’s five o’clock somewhere, I’m sure,” Jules says, handing me a flute of champagne. She’s wearing a fitted black pencil skirt, white silk blouse and red heels, office-ready after our fitting.

“I have no doubt it is. I can drink to that. Thank you,” I say, taking a sip of the bubbly. “I’m sorry I’m late. You should have started without me. I opened Bloom for Leah and had to wait for her to arrive.”

“We’re ready now,” the shop owner says. “You can all follow me. I’ll take you back to the fitting area.”

We follow her past rows and rows of white and cream wedding gowns to the fitting rooms. Wasting no time, Olivia ducks into a room to try her gown on first while the rest of us drop onto one of the couches, sipping our champagne.

While Olivia changes, Kate dives right in not wasting a second. “So,” she begins in a hushed voice, one brow arched in my direction. “Are you going to make us beg, or come right out with the juicy New York City details?”

“I see there won’t be any hemming and hawing today,” I say. “Right to the point.”

“When is there ever with us?” Kate’s right. Beating around the bush with each other has never been our style. Nothing is off limits. Getting to the good stuff is what we do best.

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