Chapter 23
SIMON
I’m a genius
I snorted at Ellie’s text. The weekend had been such a blur so far that I hadn’t even remembered to tell her I’d arrived safe, which she’d made me swear to do. In my defense, I hadn’t expected to be dragged into a world of lies and intrigue before I could even pull my phone out.
I should have remembered later. I’d make appropriate, pastry-and-paperback-shaped apologies on Monday for that.
Seriously, you could model for Armani or whatever. I should go into celebrity styling.
Thank you, but given that half the wedding is made up of models and actors, I am Mr. Ugly Duckling
Not your fault, obviously
Most of the beautiful people had already left.
The party wasn’t quite over yet, but where I’d been shouldering my way through the crowd to get anywhere earlier, the trip back from bathroom was unobstructed, punctuated by a few clusters of people who definitely should not be driving home.
I was reasonably sure, for all her failings, Theo’s mom wouldn’t let them.
If only because of the scandal it’d cause if one of them did cause an accident.
Simon.
That’s what they call me
I wanted to tell Ellie about Theo. On the other hand, I never wanted her to know about Theo because I could already picture the look on her face if she ever knew what was going on.
Besides, it wasn’t as though I knew what was going on, so what would I even say?
Theo dragged me into pretending to be his boyfriend, wait, don’t get mad yet, because then he kissed me for real and I’m scared to be happy about it because I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop but at the same time I’ve got everything I’ve ever wanted and it really is better than I thought it’d be.
Minus the whole Sword of Damocles situation.
Ellie’s face, lips pursed and eyes narrowed, appeared in my mind as though she was standing right in front of me.
If I was going to tell her all of this, I at least owed her the respect of making sure she could make that face in person at the time.
After the shit she’d put up with from me regarding Theo, she’d earned that much.
Anyone I’d recognize?
None of them had been anyone I recognized, so I sincerely doubted it. All the same, I was grateful for the change of subject.
Have you learned the name of an actor or model since you were in college?
Excellent point.
I’m told the groom’s father looks like George Clooney?
Pass.
Your taste in men remains terrible
I wish you wouldn’t say things like that.
My thumb hovered over my phone, poised to answer, when I rounded the corner and spotted Theo—and Corey. They were standing close to each other, talking intently, heads bent together.
Corey opened his arms in offering, and my stomach swooped as Theo accepted the hug.
It was a good thing. It was a good thing, it was good that they were getting along. Corey had just married into Theo’s family, after all, and he didn’t need to have any more problems with any other family members.
I was just feeling insecure. Off-kilter.
They parted, Corey poking his tongue out at Theo as Theo laughed louder and more honestly than I’d heard from him in a while. That was also good.
Corey had just gotten married to someone he said he loved. I believed him when he said that. I had no reason not to.
I was not jealous—or envious, I mentally corrected—of Corey.
When Theo’s eyes met mine, they were still sparkling with laughter. His smile broadened as he closed the distance between us, reaching out as he got close enough and taking my face in both hands to catch my lips.
My heart stuttered at how normal it felt for him to kiss me now. I’d never paid all that much attention to how Theo kissed other people, but I thought I would’ve remembered if he’d been in the habit of holding their face like this.
It was just for me. The way Theo kissed me was different from the way he kissed other people.
No, I wasn’t envious of Corey. I had nothing to be envious about.
I was the one who was about to take Theo home with me, after all.
“Time to go?” I asked, taking in Theo’s smile, the glint in his eyes. He was beautiful. Even after spending all day surrounded by people whose whole job it was to be attractive, none of them took my breath away like a smile from Theo, or a glimpse of one of his dimples.
“Actually.” Theo wet his lips, glancing around.
We weren’t quite the last ones here, but aside from the people who were staying the night, pretty much everyone else had left or was in the process of leaving.
The sounds of shouted goodbyes and cars taking off filtered over from the other side of the house, where everyone had been parked.
“Actually…?” I prompted when the pause stretched out to the point where I wasn’t sure he planned to continue.
“We could stay another night,” Theo said in a rush, gaze snapping back to mine. His eyes were wide, pupils swallowing up almost all the blue in the dark, the string lights still twinkling in them.
“What?” I asked. What? He hated this place. Why would he want to stay any longer than necessary?
I was surprised he hadn’t asked to go home the minute the cake was cut. Our bags were already packed and in my car so we could make a quick getaway, and I assumed we only hadn’t because Theo hadn’t been able to pick a suitably discreet moment.
“Why?”