Chapter 27
Twenty-Seven
Tabitha
The toasts were moving. Both Angie’s dad’s and Jason’s.
Henry will be speaking tomorrow, as best man.
I was hoping he would speak tonight. Just so I could hear his voice.
I can’t stop thinking about him. About our little erotic interlude in my room.
What would it be like to make love with him? I mean truly. Not the wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am things we’ve been doing, but something real?
Not that I haven’t enjoyed them. I love a good hard fuck as much as the next girl.
Especially with someone I’m so attracted to.
I’m sitting here with Stephen, who is so not my type. His tanned skin and dark hair are the anti-Henry, and I’ve always been partial to blond men.
And while he’s a very nice guy, one of the best-looking guys here—and that’s saying a lot because the Steel men are famously gorgeous—there’s just no chemistry whatsoever.
I wonder if he feels that way as well.
Plus… My God, he’s boring. All he talks about is wellness and organics and Reiki, oh my.
Sage and Gina are eating it up, and I can’t help but think he might be more interested in one of them. Frankly I’d be fine with that.
Once the toasts are over and dessert has been served, Stephen turns to me. “I should really be going. I have an early appointment in the morning.”
“On a Saturday?”
“Saturdays and Sundays are the busiest days of the week for people who work in the beauty and wellness industry,” he says. “All the people who work during the week come in.”
“Right. Of course.” I should’ve known that. “Sure. I’ll see you out.”
“That’d be great.”
I rise, and he grabs my hand.
His hands are big and beautiful, but my hand feels all wrong in his.
We walk through the house and out the front door to Stephen’s car, which is parked about midway down the long driveway.
“Thank you for inviting me, Tabitha,” he says. “I had a lot of fun.”
“You’re welcome. I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.”
He reaches toward me and slides one of his fingers down my cheek.
Nope. No spark at all.
Such a shame. I think I’d really be enjoying this—and maybe I’d even find his wellness talk interesting—if I weren’t so damned hung up on another man.
Then he leans in, brushes his full lips against mine.
I taste the lingering sweetness of the spiced peach cheesecake that we ate for dessert. Actually, I’m only tasting the peach coulis. He didn’t eat the cheesecake. Dairy and refined sugar, and all.
The kiss is pleasant, but again… No spark.
“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” he says.
“Yeah.” I clear my throat. “If you feel you’re still up for it. Tonight may have been a little out of your comfort zone.”
“No, not at all. Sage and Gina made me feel right at home.”
And I didn’t? Is that what he’s saying?
No, I’m reading into it.
He did just kiss me, after all. Not them.
“Great,” I say. “Be here around four. There will be cocktails before the wedding, which is at four thirty. And then appetizers begin at five thirty, and then dinner, dancing, all the wedding stuff.”
He smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Sounds wonderful. See you then.”
He gets into his car, and I wait while he backs out and leaves.
I sigh.
If only…
If only there were a spark.
I head back to the party, which is winding down.
Sage and Gina are now sitting at a different table with Brianna and Maddie.
Angie and Jason are talking, and then a member of the band takes the mic.
“Good evening,” he says. “Is everybody enjoying themselves?”
Affirmative murmurs and applause.
“I’m Jesse Pike, this is my beautiful sister, Rory, and we are…Dragonlock!”
The drummer beats out an intro, and Jesse and Rory begin singing together.
Their voices are both incredible. Jesse has a deep baritone with some huskiness, and Rory…
I’m not sure her voice can be described.
Kind of like Joan Baez, but with the rocking rasp of Joan Jett? Two great Joans.
And even that doesn’t do Rory justice.
Brianna watches the band with googly eyes. “That’s my amazing husband,” she gushes.
“He is the hottest thing walking,” Gina says.
“That’s my brother you’re talking about.” From Maddie.
“And he’s very taken.” Brianna crosses her arms.
“Easy, Bree,” Gina says. “Jesse may be a hottie, but he’s not my type. Now that man you brought tonight…” She lifts her eyebrows at me. “I only wish I had thought to invite him before you got your claws in him.”
“He’s yours if you want him,” I say.
“Are you kidding me? He can’t take his eyes off you,” Gina says. “I doubt I’d have a chance.”
I can’t help but let out a sarcastic chuckle. “I don’t hold a candle to any other woman here,” I say. “All of you in the Steel family—and you too, Maddie—are Vogue material, and you must know it.”
“And you’re not?” Gina scoffs. “Blondes are a premium around here. You’ll notice they’re very rare. We don’t have any blond women in our family.”
“She’s right,” Sage says. “Just Henry and our cousins Dale and Donny. And my dad and Aunt Melanie, but she’s more silver now. But none of them actually descended from the Steels, so they weren’t cursed with this dark-hair stuff.”
“You can’t possibly consider it cursed,” I say.
Sage and Gina both laugh. “No,” Gina says. “Good hair is a Steel trait. But with your blond hair, you definitely stand out in the Steel crowd.”
“And surely someone has told you how amazing your eyes are,” Sage says.
I wrinkle my nose. “They’re brown. Just like yours.”
“No, they’re light brown. With gold flecks. They kind of shine, Tabitha. Plus, I don’t know. The shape of them, they just work with your face. Plus they’re deep set, and they… I can’t really describe what I mean, but there’s something special about them.”
My cheeks warm. These gorgeous women are waxing poetic about my beauty when all of them outshine me by a mile.
“I can describe it,” Gina says. “They’re warm and rich, like sunlight caught in amber. But it’s the gold flecks that stop me. Tiny bursts of brightness, like someone stirred starlight into the center just to see what would happen.”
I drop my jaw.
So does Sage. “Fucking artist’s eye. I’m a numbers girl. All I can say is that your eyes are awesome, Tabs. To put it in numbers, on a scale of one to ten, they’re a ninety-nine.”
I smile at Sage using Angie’s nickname for me.
“Thank you,” I say. “I’ve never had my eyes described so beautifully.”
“Really?” Gina widens her eyes. “I’d bet men are all over you. Your eyes are really special. I’m sitting here trying to figure out how I’d mix paint to replicate the color.” She frowns a bit. “Would you mind sitting for a portrait? For one of my grad school classes?”
My eyebrows nearly fly off my head. “You mean, like for an assignment?”
Gina nods. “Yeah. In the fall. I’m taking an advanced abstract portrait class, and you’d be the perfect subject.”
“Uh…sure, I guess. I’ll be back in medical school by then, though.”
“We could do it over a weekend. I’ll come to you if you need me to. I don’t want to put you out at all.”
“I’m honored,” I say.
“You’d be doing me the honor.” Gina smiles.
I smile back.
Angie’s sister and cousins are great. And if I could give Stephen to Gina right now, I would.
Somehow, I’ll encourage it tomorrow at the reception.
A server tops off our wineglasses.
How much have I had?
Now that Stephen is gone, I don’t need the buzz to get through his Zen talk. But I definitely have a buzz.
I’m feeling no pain.
I glance around the rest of the yard. A few couples are dancing to the band’s music, including Maddie and Dave. I didn’t notice her leave the table.
Brianna joins them so that only Sage, Gina, and I are still sitting down.
Until Sage rises and grabs Gina and Gina grabs me.
The music’s loud, the kind that rattles through your ribs and makes your hips move before your brain catches up. Everything’s a little warm around the edges. The fairy lights strung across the patio glow like stars.
I’m barefoot. My heels are under a chair somewhere. My feet slide across the portable wooden dance floor as I twirl, laughing, my dress brushing against my thighs.
And then I see him.
Blond. Broad-shouldered. Leaning against one of the wooden posts like he owns the place—which, technically, he kind of does.
Henry.
He’s nursing what I assume is a bourbon.
He hasn’t danced once.
But he is watching me now.
I toss away a few bobby pins and pull my hair down—my updo is crap after our interlude anyway—and toss it over my shoulder.
My heart is thudding harder than it should.
Maybe it’s the wine. Maybe it’s the altitude.
Maybe it’s just him. Those blue eyes track every sway of my hips, every lazy spin I make, and it sends this ridiculous thrill through me.
I should probably stop. Go get water. Be sensible.
But instead, I dance just a little slower.
More deliberate.
I bite my lip and let the music guide me, not caring if I look ridiculous. He hasn’t looked away once. And I…
Well, I’m trying not to imagine what his hands would feel like on my waist.
I know his type. Broody. Probably thinks he’s too damaged for anything real. And maybe he is.
But tonight, under the stars, with wine on my lips and heat in my cheeks, I’m not looking for forever.
Just for the way he’s looking at me now.
Maybe it’s the booze.
Maybe it’s the starlit evening and the light summer breeze.
Or maybe it’s just me.
I break away from the group, walk to Henry, and pull him toward the dance floor.