Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
ABBY
“ S o I want the silk wrapped around the chair, then tied in a bow in the back.” Harper looks between me and Kristen, miming making a bow with her hands. “But like a pretty bow, not a regular bow. Something you’d see in a wedding magazine.”
Kristen gives Harper a skeptical look. “How about I help Eli with the aisle runner?”
Kristen escapes before Harper can give her an answer. Guess she didn’t want to be responsible for ugly bows.
Harper turns to me with an increasing air of desperation. “Do you get my vision? Do you know what I mean? I need tomorrow to go perfectly.”
I squeeze her shoulders. “I got this. Don’t worry. Go help Elena and Kelly with the reception tables.”
Across the yard, the two women are struggling with overlarge tables.
“Yes, good idea. Let me check in with Owen first.”
A few feet away, Owen and Grayson are setting up the wedding bower, where Harper and Owen will stand during the ceremony tomorrow. Owen carved the whole thing himself, and it’s presumably heavy from the way their muscles are straining. Grayson’s sleeves are pushed up to show off his flexing biceps, and I bite my lip, remembering how he’d been naked in my bed last night. How he’d made me come twice with his tongue. That’s four orgasms in two days. Some kind of record, for sure.
I blink, realizing I’m gawking at him. It’s one thing to do it in private, but another to do it here in front of his family. Oh God, in front of his mom .
Glancing around, I don’t notice Cheryl right away, until I look behind me and spot her setting up the directional signs. Okay, crisis averted.
I get to work fulfilling Harper’s vision, carefully sliding the sashes of silk around the chairs and tying each in a perfect bow. No shoddy work here. After tying, I tuck tiny sprigs of evergreen into them, making sure each one is perfectly symmetrical.
“Need an assistant?”
I glance up at Grayson, my gaze tracing his crooked grin, longing filling my chest.
He kneels so he’s eye-level with me where I’m hunched on the ground around the back of this chair. “Wish I could kiss you good morning,” he says in a voice quiet enough for only me to hear.
A smile breaks free over my lips. “That’d probably cause some kind of controversy.”
“Probably,” he agrees, still grinning. “What’s the taskmaster having you do?”
“I have the very important job of tying chair bows.”
“Ah.” He nods, as if duly impressed. “Wouldn’t be a wedding without chair bows.”
“It really wouldn’t.”
He picks up one of the evergreen sprigs and tucks it behind my ear. “You sleep okay?”
He’d gone home late, the two of us staying in bed for hours, talking until our voices were hoarse. Touching each other, turning each other on again, learning the other’s likes. And for me, discovering my likes. Apparently, my inner thighs are a serious erogenous zone. The only reason he didn’t stay all night was he didn’t want Cheryl to wonder where he was.
I can’t stop smiling, loving his attention. “Yeah. For some reason, I was exhausted.”
His gaze dances with playful interest. “Hmm. Any clue why?”
“Well, there was this guy…”
“A guy, you say?”
I nod. “And he really knew what he was doing. Completely wore me out in the best kind of way.”
The light in his eyes sharpens, turning darker. “You liked it?”
“It was the most amazing night of my life,” I tell him honestly, the truth slipping closer to the surface. How much longer until I reveal everything? That this was never an act for me. That I wanted him since the beginning.
“What’d you like the most?”
“Your tongue,” I answer without thinking. “And the way you told me what to do.”
He exhales slowly, the look in his eyes now devilish. “Are you trying to turn me on in front of my family?”
I place a hand on my chest. “Me? I would never.”
He chuckles, but it comes out choppy. Like maybe I’m actually having an effect on him.
There are sudden footsteps and then Kristen is there, crouching next to us. “You two need to tone it down.”
Grayson and I both go still, exchanging a worried glance before looking at her.
Did she overhear us? I thought we were keeping our voices low enough. Oh my God, I’m going to die if she did.
“What’s got your panties in a twist?” Grayson asks.
Kristen waves a hand to encompass the two of us. “The fake flirting. You don’t have to sell it so hard in front of Mom. She’s about to shit a brick, she's so happy.”
I relax. Well, if she thinks the flirting was fake, she likely didn’t hear what we were actually saying.
“It’s nauseating,” she continues, plucking the evergreen sprig out of my hair. Hey, I liked that. “She’s going to start planning your wedding next.”
Grayson purses his lips. “Shouldn’t you be happy she’s not planning your wedding?”
“I would be, except Abby’s my best friend. I don’t like her being caught up in your scheme. And I don’t want Mom asking her if she likes cream or white better for the table settings of this imaginary future she’s planning for you two.”
As much as I appreciate her protectiveness, I don’t need it right now. She’s going to ruin everything.
Grayson takes back the sprig of evergreen and carefully places it in my hair, right where it was before. I swear his fingers linger on me, and there’s no mistaking his gaze does. A rush of warmth fills me.
“We’ve got it under control,” he tells her. “And cream is obviously the superior choice.”
Kristen rolls her eyes as I stifle a smile.
“I love you, but seriously. Don’t leave Abby to clean up your mess.”
She stands and walks away, returning to help Eli roll out and secure the aisle runner.
Grayson sobers, and I hold out a hand to stop whatever he’s about to say. I don’t want doubt or regret to be a part of this. Only happiness. Excitement. Anticipation for what’s still to come.
“There’s nothing to worry about,” I tell him. “Nothing I can’t handle. This doesn’t have to change anything.”
He eyes me for a moment. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, absolutely.”
I must say it with enough conviction because he nods and after a minute returns to his former mood.
“So, tell me more about this guy…”
“I appreciate you letting me sleep over,” Harper says, spreading some kind of face cream over her cheeks. “Owen and I wanted to be traditional about at least one thing.”
I fluff up a spare pillow for her, placing it on the left side of the bed. “You really think you’re going to avoid seeing him before the wedding? Don’t we still have last-minute things to set up in the morning?”
She shrugs. “That’s the plan. If it doesn’t work out, it’s not the end of the world, but it’s supposed to be bad luck for the groom to see the bride beforehand.”
“Yeah, but that originated when arranged marriages were common and the bride’s family didn’t want the groom to back out of the deal in case he thought the bride was ugly. Same reason why brides wear veils until the I do’s are said. The guy doesn’t see her face until after he’s committed.”
She blinks at me. “Sometimes I forget you’re a librarian and know way too many random things.”
I’m not sure if I should take offense to that, so I consider it a compliment instead. “At least we don’t have to worry about Owen backing out. He’s already got you locked down.”
She smiles. “That he does. And I’ve always wanted to walk down an aisle in a fancy dress, so I’m glad he’s indulging me.”
My house has been designated Operation Bridal Team for tomorrow morning. All the girls will get ready here so we can spread out and make a mess without having to worry about cleaning up before driving to the ceremony in Harper and Owen’s backyard. Their house has already been deep cleaned within an inch of its life since people will need to go inside to use the restroom. Harper’s anticipating busybodies like Ruth to poke around, so she didn’t want the added stress of cleaning up again when time will be at a premium.
Harper puts the jar of face cream back in her bag of cosmetics, then takes out some kind of tool that she rolls around on her face. I’m not sure what it’s supposed to accomplish, but she seems well-versed in using it.
“God, I can’t wait for it to be tomorrow already. I don’t know how I’m going to sleep tonight.”
I’ll definitely sleep well. Today was exhausting setting up all that stuff. But I know she’s excited. “It’s like the night before the first day of school.”
Harper gives me a pitying look. “Oh, honey. No. Most kids dreaded that, not looked forward to it.”
Well, to each their own. “Sleepovers weren’t a thing the night before school, at least.”
“No, they weren’t. And I feel like I’ve barely talked to you this week, so I’m glad I get to spend tonight with you. I’ve been so caught up with wedding stuff and Kelly and Elena visiting.”
I wave off her concern. “No, it’s fine. All of this is once-in-a-lifetime stuff, but I’ll be here when it’s over.”
Available, as always. Nothing going on. This magical week over.
“Have things been going okay with Grayson?”
I nod, not trusting myself to speak. If I do, I might blurt out the whole story. Not that I want to purposely keep her in the dark, but the more people that know, the better chance there is of it getting back to Kristen.
And I’m still not sure if I want Kristen to know. She’s been so against me even helping Grayson this week. She might combust if she finds out what we’ve really been up to.
“You two looked super flirty setting up the chairs earlier. Too bad it’s fake.”
“Yeah, too bad,” I murmur.
“Can you imagine if you actually fell in love this week? How romantic that’d be?”
I’m quiet. Is that what’s happening? Do a few orgasms equal love?
I nearly laugh out loud at my delusion.
“Oh, shit. I’m sorry.” Harper reaches out a hand to me. “That was crappy to say. My mouth didn’t catch up with my brain.”
“It’s fine.” I shrug. “It’s the dream, right?”
“Right,” she says hesitantly.
“How did you know Owen loved you?” I ask abruptly.
She appears startled for a moment at the change of subject. “He told me. Begged me not to go back to Chicago.”
I nod. In that scenario, it’d be me begging Grayson. But he’s given no indication he wants to stay. And why would he? Other than the sense I got that he’s a bit lonely up in Seattle, he has a great job in a cool city. Crescent Pass doesn’t have much to offer, other than his family being here.
And me. Would that ever be enough to sway him?
Squeezing my eyes shut, I dispel the thoughts as best I can. There’s no use in worrying about things I can’t change. I just have to enjoy it while I still have it.
I pick up my phone to charge it on my nightstand and see there’s a text from Grayson.
Grayson : Wish I could be there tonight. No fair that Harper gets to sleep with you before I do.
I grin, my heartbeat picking up. My fingers fiddle over the screen before I go for it.
Me : My bed’s open tomorrow night.
It’s as direct of an invitation as I can make it, and my gaze zeroes in on the three little typing dots at the bottom of the text thread.
Grayson : I’ll bring the condoms.
Heat washes over me, and I pray Harper is still focused on her nighttime skincare routine rather than the hot flash I’m experiencing. This week has been a learning curve in the best kind of way, and tomorrow I’ll put everything I’ve learned to good use. It’s my last chance to do anything with Grayson before he leaves, and dear God I’m going to take advantage of it.
Me : Till tomorrow, then.
I plug in my phone and turn it facedown so Harper can’t accidentally see any more messages that may pop up.
“You ready to sleep?” I ask her, wanting it to be tomorrow already, too.
She nods and gets under the covers. “Tell me more about arranged marriage bridal customs. Maybe it’ll bore me enough so I fall asleep.”
“First of all, rude. Second of all, you came to the right place. Back in the day, marriages were strategic alliances between families, not based on love.”
She yawns. “It’s working already.”