Chapter 13
When I walk into the bright industrial event venue, I’m met with the overpowering smell of my favorite flower. Pink roses are everywhere. Every centerpiece. Every table. There’s even a massive floral background covered in pink roses with a glittering gold sign reading “The Coopers” across the top.
I stop dead in my pink bow stilettos and look around the room. A pit forms in my stomach as my eyes bounce from the roses to the ridiculous ice sculpture Ricky secured for Jason to the woman in the corner playing acoustic versions of love songs on the violin.
It’s a much more elaborate version of the bridal shower I’d always dreamed of.
It’s still every little detail I once gushed over to Kate, and apparently she filed that away for her own time to take it.
It’s no wonder she told me not to worry about picking up center pieces for the venue. She must’ve had this planned all along.
My grip tightens on the box of my dessert display pieces as I catch my breath, staring at the room again without seeing anything as the sounds of a live violinist play in the background.
“Do you need any help?” a deep voice asks behind me. I hate that it eases some of the tension in my shoulders. Not all of it, but some.
“No,” I say to Reid, surprised to hear a crack of emotion in my voice.
“I can’t imagine all those amazing desserts fit into that tiny box,” he says.
“Well you might need to get your eyes checked because this is very obviously display pieces and not actual food. Excuse me,” I say, stomping off before he can see me cry.
I set the box down on the table in the corner and start unpacking to keep myself busy. The tapping of men’s dress shoes against the pale vinyl wood floor is the only indicator Reid followed me until his rosemary and lemon scent overpowers my senses.
“Oh, good, you’re finally here,” Kate says from my other side, blessedly saving me from having to talk to Reid anymore.
I unpack the last of the plates and look up just for all the words to die on my tongue when I see her in the same white dress hanging in my own closet.
“Where did you get that?” I ask her.
Kate brightens, smoothing her manicured hands down the A-line skirt of the white eyelet sundress. “Do you like it?”
“I own it.”
She beams. “I know. I saw it in your closet and thought it would be perfect for today.”
“Did you take it from my closet without asking me?”
“Of course not. We’re different sizes.”
I nod just to hide how hard I’m biting my tongue at the comment. Kate, completely oblivious, looks over my shoulder and wiggles her fingers at Reid. “Hi, Reid. Thanks for supplying the food.”
“Of course.” He dips his chin in a dutiful nod. Respectful, but surprisingly curt considering how welcoming he usually seems to Kate and Jason.
I roll my eyes, simply because fighting with him somehow takes the stress off all the emotions I feel with my sister around. And I’m feeling a lot of emotions right now.
“What is all of this?” I ask her, gesturing to the room around us.
Her brows furrow, a little crease forming between them. “My bridal shower.”
“No, it’s all the details from my dream bridal shower. My favorite flowers. My dress.” My eyes travel down to her feet where she has identical stilettos strapped on, pink and all. “My shoes,” I add, kicking my own foot out to place it next to hers.
That one hurts the most. I put a lot of pride in my shoe choices, and for her to use my favorite pair, my confidence-boosters, feels like an extra blow to the chest.
Kate runs her fingers through her blonde waves. “Well, you just have such great taste, and it’s not like you’re planning a wedding, so I figured you wouldn’t mind.”
That one stings, but I bite back my retort. It is her day after all. Even if she did steal my vision, it’s still about her and I’m not about to take the spotlight off of her for fighting over something so stupid.
“Couldn’t you have at least used red roses or something? Gardenias? Anything?”
“Red is too hard against my complexion, and my dress would’ve blended in with a white flower. Duh.”
I draw in a breath, filling my lungs with air until they’re ready to burst just to stop myself from saying anything else. It’s just a flower. It’s not a big deal. I’m single anyways, like she always points out. It’s fine. I’m fine.
Totally fine.
And then I turn and see blue eyes studying my expression, a look of concern etched on his handsome face, and I realize I am absolutely not fine.
Not fine with the fact that he notices every emotion on my face.
Not fine with the fact that he just heard that entire encounter.
But specifically not fine with the fact that I immediately relax seeing him there, or the fact that I very badly want to step into his arms and have him comfort me.
I’m in very dangerous territory with Reid right now, and I just can’t have that.
So instead of giving into the very confusing feelings, I step around my sister, stride past him, and walk out the door to get the rest of the desserts from the car.
Adjusting the straps on my incredibly uncomfortable pink midi dress again, I stare at the dessert table with pride. It looks great. The cookies, the cake, the cupcakes, the mini brownies. All spread out on different beautiful serving trays with fresh flowers and cute little signs around it.
It looks great, if I do say so myself. I’m totally winning this bet with Reid.
His dinner was delicious, but there’s no food in the world he could make that would surpass a caramel turtle brownie and three-tier cake.
Especially since I know they’re both my sister’s favorites.
That has to give me an extra point regardless.
I can’t wait to see the look on his stupidly handsome face when he sees this. It’s all that’s keeping me going after the flower fiasco.
As if reading my mind, Reid appears beside me.
I can feel his presence before he even speaks, like my body is fine-tuned to his after our almost-kiss yesterday.
It’s like every neuron in my brain has been on the lookout for him since then, and now that he’s in my proximity, my body is on high alert.
“Well, Jane,” Reid says. I reach out and pretend to busy myself with readjusting the layout of the K+J heart-shaped cookies so that I don’t have to look at him. At least not in the eyes. I’m definitely looking at him in my peripheral vision. “Cute little display you have here.”
I huff, turning to face him and planting my hands on my hips. I immediately recognize my mistake, as the words leave my tongue the second I see he has since shedded his suit coat, rolled-up shirt sleeves, and undid the top two buttons of his white dress shirt.
Dammit.
He smirks. “It’s the forearms, isn’t it?”
“Shut up.”
“You can admit it, you know.”
“When pigs fly.” With one last glance at my dessert table to ensure perfection—successful, might I add—I stomp off. Reid, in an entirely predictable move, follows me.
I roll my eyes, pretending to walk faster.
But if I’m honest, I’m enjoying his company and the easy banter we have going.
Today is about Kate and Jason, and I’m sure the dessert table is just a little blip in their minds in the entirety of today, but I worked hard to make everything she wanted.
Lola and I stayed up until three in the morning to put all the perfect finishing touches on, just because I know this is a big day for Kate and I want to make sure everything is exactly how she envisioned it.
Or how I envisioned it for myself, apparently, but I digress.
And now the stress of all that work is starting to kick in. What if it’s not good enough? What if I overbaked everything? What if the flavors are off?
But bickering with Reid takes my mind off of all of that, whether I like it or not. Who am I kidding? I like it. I like being around him and his easy personality and his annoyingly funny sense of humor and his stupidly handsome face.
“Wouldn’t it be absolutely mortifying for you if your food falls flat in comparison to mine? Considering you’re a chef and all.”
He huffs a laugh. “Jane, I have a culinary degree and ten years of experience. I’m a professional. Nothing is falling flat today. Except maybe your face when my food is better than yours.”
“I believe that gives you an unfair advantage then, don’t you think?”
“What, do you want me to go easy on you just because you’re a home baker?”
I turn on him. He stops abruptly, but he’s still within two inches of me. The proximity of his eyes starts to distract me, but I power through.
“Not at all. I stand by what I can create.”
“So do I.”
“Great.”
“Then may the better creator win.”
“Thanks, I will.”
I’m holding down my glare out of sheer stubbornness, but he’s fighting back a smile. Something in me is yelling at me to let go of the glare, crack a joke, give him a compliment, something to make that smile fully bloom on his lips. I feel my expression soften, my subconscious taking over.
His eyes drift down to my lips, and any idea I had to make him smile is replaced with please, for the love of God, just kiss me. Here. Now. In front of all these people at my baby sister’s bridal shower.
And I think he finally might, because he inches a centimeter closer. I hold my breath. Control my heartbeat. Thank my lucky stars.
Until the worst sound in the world breaks us apart and shatters the moment.
“Jane!” Kate calls.
I clench my jaw and suck in the biggest breath of air my lungs have ever seen. For the first time in my life, I’m milliseconds away from telling Kate to get lost. At her bridal shower. I can’t possibly do that. She’ll absolutely never speak to me again.
“Reid, the food was phenomenal,” she gushes to him.
“Thanks,” he says curtly, but his eyes are still locked on me. I can feel Kate’s attention on me, so I break Reid’s stare and look at her, arching a brow in silent question.