The Wedding Crush

Chapter Seventeen

Stefano

I’m a hypocrite.

Two months ago, I stood under a tent at this vineyard, warning my brother not to rush into marriage. Good Lord, I was so damn self-righteous. I hounded him about rushing in. I gave him shit about finances, arguments, living arrangements, and freaking decorative hand towels, after being together four months.

I’ve been liaising with Avery for those same two months, and now I’m at the terrace bar on this fine Wine-Down Wednesday evening, mentally mapping out a life for us.

We don’t even have a relationship.

We’re, what? The best man and maid of honor? For a day? The wedding planner and her vineyard liaison? That’s just logistics. And a sad case, at that. The Dream Team? Wedding dates? The nice guy who plays with her son, takes care of her when she’s sick, and sleeps over from time to time? Jesus, that could be anyone from a playdate to a nurse to the goddamn milkman.

It’s not that we need some socially acceptable romantic label.

What are we, in high school? Be my girlfriend. Check yes or no? But how’s she supposed to know I’m serious?

This is ridiculous. I’m regressing. Just talk to her.

Avery’s laugh across the terrace steals my attention.

I swivel around, spotting her at the center of our group. The wedding party. They’re all huddled around her, knee-deep in conversation, everyone is sipping from their glasses. Well, she isn’t yet. I’m still waiting for our drinks—a Merlot for me and a ginger ale for Avery.

She’s still hasn’t been feeling one hundred percent this last week, but she’s slowly getting back to herself.

“Here, we go, boss!” Tony, our resident event bartender, slides our glasses across the bar. “Popcorn?”

“Not just yet,” I say.

“Hey, you’re missing out on the cheddar caramel mix…”

“I’ll definitely keep that in mind.” I chuckle as I slip my billfold from my pocket and lay down a twenty in front of him. But I don’t miss the way he lingers, his lips parted and gaze darting curiously between me and the pale-yellow liquid.

“Everything copacetic?” he presses.

“Yeah, uh… What time does the movie start?” I ask. “I was hoping to make a quick trip to the house.”

Tony nods, though I suspect he senses my uneasiness.

He flips his wrist. “Another fifteen minutes. D wanted to give the guests time to grab drinks and popcorn, find seats, you know? You’ve got time.”

“Great. Thanks again.” I flash him a small smile.

Turning back to our group, I’m not surprised when I immediately connect with Avery’s smiling eyes.

For a moment, my shoulders relax.

Since last Tuesday, we’ve spent nearly every night together. I’ve been working from the city to be with her. We’ve gone on dinner dates and downtown strolls. Even tonight, I drove us here. Much to Ace’s underage dismay. We’re in that hazy phase when the only thing that matters is being together as often and for as long as humanly possible.

She tilts her head, signaling for me to rejoin them.

Instead of walking toward her, though, I match her smile, lifting our glasses. Then I veer off toward the house, holding her stare and hoping she’ll follow me.

It’s quite possibly the worst timing.

The night is warm, the wine is flowing. Soon, Jumping the Broom will be playing on the projector. I should be enjoying a night of outdoor cinema with our family and friends, instead of stealing Avery away.

But there’s something I need to get off my chest, and it can’t wait.

Ten minutes pass before she finds me in my old bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed, facing the huge bay window overlooking the terrace.

“Okay, I see what you’re going for here. This place really is a mood, but we don’t have much time…” She giggles, wrongly assuming my intentions in getting her here are for less than savory reasons.

Which…it’s quiet, comfortably warm, and we’ve got a great view of the screen. If we hurried, we could make it back out before anyone even noticed we were gone.

My heart flutters, heightening my desperation.

I don’t want to rush this, though.

If anything, I want to savor ever second of tonight. So, I pat the spot on the bed beside me, and wait as Avery lingers for a beat, raking her eyes over me, reading my energy.

A moment later, she joins me, planting a soft kiss on my lips.

Heat rises in my cheeks.

“Is everything okay?” she asks, slowly pulling back to search my eyes. “You seem distracted.”

“Yeah?”

She raises an eyebrow.

I press my lips together, suppressing a smile. I don’t deny it, though. My heart is pounding, my pulse racing. Every time we’re together, this woman takes my breath away. I physically ache thinking about her when we’re apart for even a handful of minutes.

“You’re staring,” she teases.

“Because you’re beautiful.” I brush another kiss over her lips, gathering up the nerve.

“Seriously, I can tell something is bothering you. The way you left the terrace, your expression scared me.”

Outside, the lights dim. Silence blankets over the muffled din of chatter and mingling. Then the speakers blare to life with the first tinkling notes of the movie studio’s intro music, punctuating my heartbeat.

I rub my knees. “We need to talk.”

“About?”

Her expression twists with concern.

“Us.” I drag in a breath. “Avery, it’s nothing bad. I’ve just been doing a lot of thinking about date nights and wedding dates, and what we’re doing in general. We’ve been spending so much time together, and—”

“You want to stop hooking up?”

I flinch. “No, that’s really what you thought I was about to say?”

“Well…” Her expression reveals her worry. “Yeah. You’re distracted, your whole demeanor feels solemn, and we’re in here instead of out there with your brother and our friends.” She shrugs. “So, you don’t want to end things?”

I study her beautiful features. The contours of her golden-brown skin, the slight pout to her pink lips. Her bright eyes burrowing past my ribs straight to my heart.

“Avery, I’m working up the nerve to ask you to be my girlfriend.” I huff out a small laugh.

“Oh.”

“I know this is probably corny or archaic, but I’d never assume with you. Or Ace. I want you to know this isn’t some casual thing for me. I’m head over heels for you.”

When she doesn’t immediately respond, my nerves get the best of me.

“Damn.” I drop my head into my hands. “I’ve read this all wrong. You must think I’m an idiot. We’re in my childhood bedroom, and I’m asking you to be my girlfriend like we’re some school-aged kids…”

The rest of that sentence dissolves on my tongue as I lift my head again to meet her stare again.

Avery’s brown eyes are glassy with unshed tears, and I panic even more.

“I’m so sorry if I…I thought with the wedding around the corner, I should make my intentions known that what we share isn’t hinged on their relationship.”

“Stefano?”

“I know it’s been you and Ace, and I’d never try to replace Justin—”

“Yes.” A shaky smile breaks over her face as the tears fall. “I’m such an emotional wreck, even more so, lately, but absolutely I want to be your girlfriend. I want to be your wedding date, your movie date, and your ride partner at the carnival this weekend.” She throws her head back laughing. “I want to do it all with you, Stefano Fortemani.”

I cover my heart with my hand, releasing a relieved sigh.

“Oh my God, I’ve been so nervous.”

“These are happy tears, by the way.” Avery reassures me as she hurls herself into my lap. She covers my mouth with hers and sinks her fingers into my hair like she’s done a million times. “I’ve been so worried because we’ve only been together because of the wedding. I thought, what if next month, the big day arrives, and we’ve got no reason to keep seeing each other? What if you only saw this as temporary?”

My heart lurches.

Everything inch of me tenses with the need to assuage her fears.

“I know this makes me the biggest hypocrite for saying this.” I suppress a smile. “Avery Ellis, I’m falling for you. And it’s not some small crush because you brought me a stuffed cactus and made me an irresistible Magic Mike dancer either.”

She laughs a laugh that I feel all over my skin.

“You’ve definitely got the moves, baby.”

“Dante will have my ass for this but…I want to rush in with you. I can see an entire future, whatever that entails, with you and Ace.”

“And Lightning McQueen,” Avery adds. “You can’t forget about him.”

“Of course. Who could forget about the car with bold stickers. Or the fact that I’ve got his girlfriend in my garage.”

We both laugh.

“He’s going to hold you to that ride in Sally. Promises are in stone with kids.”

Suddenly, the air in the room electrifies.

Every sensation in my body heightens as Avery sinks her teeth into her full lower lip. I flex my fingers around the curve of her ass, tugging her forward until she settles over my erection with a soft gasp.

“How are you feeling?” I swallow. “I’ve got your ginger ale on the dresser if you’re still feeling uneasy.” I close my eyes. “I just want to feel you.”

My body hums with anticipation.

Deep down, I’m praying, at least for now, that she’s well.

But then she meets my gaze, there’s a smile teetering on her lips like she loves nothing more than knowing I’m turned on and thinking about her.

She leans close to my ear. Her breath is warm on my neck as she whispers, “Right now, your girlfriend needs sexual healing.”

Just like that, the tension that’s been bundled up inside us for the past week releases all at once.

Avery and I fumble to peel off each other’s clothes until it’s just us, the weight of my body hovering deliciously above her.

“Don’t rush,” Avery says, but it comes out low like a plea.

And I don’t.

I take my sweet time, kissing her lips, behind her ears, along the curve of her neck until I reach her hardened nipples. I tease my tongue in circles, slowly, taking her into my mouth.

“I need you,” she moans, writhing beneath me.

“Tell me what you want.”

I dip a finger between her legs, then a second, feeling her warmth as she rotates her hips, her nails biting uncontrollably into my back.

Avery takes fistfuls of my curls in her hands. “I want you, Stefano.”

“Good girl.”

As I dip my fingers inside her, working her into a frenzy, her stomach muscles bunch, and her breath grows ragged.

“Please, make me feel good.”

Only when her back arches and she opens for me, her scent wrapping appetizingly around me, do I lower myself down her body until I’m on my knees and hers are hooked over my shoulders, and I taste her.

“Holy—”

She slaps a hand over her mouth, muffling her cries of pleasure. She is so unbelievably sexy, and I don’t how much longer I can hold out, but I’m fueled by the fact that I can make her feel so good. And she’s mine.

An orgasm ripples through her.

I push to my feet, settling between her thighs. As I thrust my hips, she clings to me with each stroke of delicious friction, her sex clenching around me, and I know I’m the biggest hypocrite around.