Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
KEELEY
When the sun rises after my night of panic, I wake up feeling almost back to my normal self—the workaholic version of me. The girl who doesn’t get caught up in her love life.
The person I became last week was someone reacting from a place of fantasy and delusion. The real me makes decisions based on practicality, and lusting after a man twenty-four seven is not that.
I’m not saying I won’t end up locked in another shower with my lips wrapped around Sal’s cock; I’m just saying I’m not going to let it affect me day-to-day.
I need to look at it like a yoga session—something that gets me out of my head in the moment, and nothing more.
Somedays I have time for a class, some days I don’t.
Hell, some weeks I don’t and that’s okay. Life goes on like always.
Preseason keeps me busy for the next two weeks, and before I know it, the rehearsal dinner has arrived.
I’ll never claim to be an event planner—that job is way beyond my skill set—but when someone assigns me a task, I am all in, even if that task is something out of my comfort zone.
With an hour to go before the guests arrive, I’m buzzing around the hotel ballroom as though I’m high on sugar—straightening this, double-checking that. And by the time the guests start making their way inside, I’m a chaotic mess. But a mess who’s dressed to perfection.
While Sal and I haven’t found another moment alone since the shower, he did take the time to “casually” slip in the fact that he’d offered for Camilla to stay at his place.
He worded it as though it would have been the biggest drag since he’d have to move into a hotel, easing my mind without me having to ask the question.
If I didn’t know Sal as well as I do, I may have wondered if Paige had noticed my reaction and told him to say something.
But I’m confident in saying it wasn’t her.
That’s Sal. It’s like he knows what I’m thinking without me ever having to voice it.
As the guests file in, I’m tapped on the shoulder by the hotel manager, pulling me from my thoughts and back into organization mode, when I finally thought I was done.
How could anyone do this for a living? How could Paige put that much pressure on herself multiple times a year planning the fundraisers for the D’Angelo Foundation? I couldn’t do it. I’m exhausted and the dinner hasn’t started yet.
Paige, Easton, and Isaac arrive shortly after I’ve spoken with the catering manager about dessert, and when Paige walks under the floral archway and into the elegantly decorated ballroom, her glistening eyes make it all okay.
I did good.
Thank fuck.
At Paige’s request, we don’t have a seating plan, and since I’m still working until the very last second, I take the only empty seat available, which is thankfully next to my mom.
“Did you save this for me?” I ask, clutching her hand, giving it a squeeze.
“I want to say yes, because surely I’d get brownie points for that, but no. I hadn’t even noticed you were still floating around.”
“Gee, thanks, Mom. Aren’t moms supposed to be moms until they die?”
She laughs out loud while my stomach sinks. I shouldn’t be joking about that. Ever. And in her case, that reality is closer than I’d prefer to admit.
“I’m sorry, darling daughter. I should have been focused on you while attending the rehearsal dinner for my son’s wedding.” She raises an eyebrow and I finally smile.
“Thank you. I’m glad you’ve seen the error of your ways.”
Mom laughs again before her eyes bounce around the room. “You did an amazing job, Keeley. And in case that brother of yours fails to say thank you, you should know he appreciates it. Just ask your sister. He actually said ‘wow.’” She points to my sister, Addison, and I smile her way.
“That’s huge. And thank you. You know I’d ensure nothing but the best for my baby bro. Though I still can’t believe he’s getting married.”
“I can.” She glances his way, her eyes welling with so much pride that emotion swells in my chest. “From the first moment I saw him look at Paige, I knew she was it. I’d never seen him look at anyone else that way.”
Certainly not his ex. She was a piece of work. “He may drive me crazy, but God, I’m happy he found Paige.”
“Honestly, I think she found him.”
I follow Mom’s line of sight to watch Paige and Easton smiling with Isaac, and my stupid eyes start to water.
“You’re not getting emotional are you, little sister?
” Addison calls out from across the table next to ours, drawing attention from a few people on our side of the room.
She’s not the type to leave anything alone.
In fact, I have no doubt that if she lived here in San Francisco, she’d probably have sleuthed her way into outing me and Sal. She loves a good scoop.
“Never,” I lie, poking my tongue out. “I got some mascara in my eye. Excuse me.”
No one pays me any mind as I get up and sneak away, heading to the bathroom under the guise of a sore eye.
In reality, I need a moment. Addie’s right to be shocked by my emotions.
And I normally wouldn’t let them show except for the simple fact that my brother and best friend are getting married.
Paige is going to be my sister, she’s going to officially adopt Isaac, and they’re going to have an amazing life together.
They would’ve had a great life together whether they got married or not, but the adoption would have been more complicated, while next week’s little ceremony ties it up in a nice little bow.
I take a deep breath as I stare in the mirror, smiling away my impending tears. If I’m a mess now, how the hell am I going to get through the wedding without fucking up my makeup? I’ll be standing in front of the entire goddamn room.
And…dammit, Isaac’s going to be a ring bearer.
Gently wiping under my eyes, I brush a stray strand of hair behind my ear where it belongs and straighten out my perfectly straight dress, laughing at myself. I’m Keeley fucking Reynolds. I don’t get emotional at rehearsal dinners. I don’t get emotional in general. I’m fine.
Satisfied with my little pep talk, I open the door to find Sal pacing in the hallway, his perfectly tailored suit molding to what I now know to be a ripped body. A body I’ve yet to get out of my mind.
He stops when he sees me, his shoulders relaxing as he releases a sigh.
“What has you so tense?” I ask, walking over to greet him.
Instead of telling me how he feels, he grabs my hand and drags me back in the direction of the bathrooms, pulling me inside the family restroom and locking the door behind him.
“You.” He squeezes my hand. “I saw you upset and then you disappeared suddenly. Is everything okay?”
“God. Yes.” I release a soft laugh. “It’s stupid. I was getting emotional over Easton and Paige.”
Sal’s eyes widen before he chuckles. “You don’t like showing any kind of vulnerability, do you?”
“Not unless I’m naked. With you. Then I don’t mind it.”
“Keeley.”
“I know. Wrong place and definitely the wrong time.”
“When have we ever been in the right place?”
“Very true.” I jokingly grab the thin strap of my dress, and Sal rushes to stop me, his touch like fire when he brushes my hand away.
“I refuse to ruin this outfit. Have you seen yourself?” He spins me toward the mirror and settles behind me, trapping me with his arresting gaze.
I have looked at myself, obviously, and yet when his eyes lower to my dress, I follow, and it’s like I’m seeing it for the first time.
Through his eyes. My olive-green silk number clings tightly to my body with the V neckline dipping just below my breasts, the Hollywood tape working its magic to keep the material in place.
The skirt falls below my knees, showing off my five-inch nude heels, the fit leaving no room for panty lines. Not that Sal would think about that.
“You’re a vision, Keeley,” he whispers, drawing my attention back to his eyes as I smile in thanks. “It’s been a struggle not to stare at you since I arrived, and I’m afraid to say I’m failing.”
“And now you’re here.”
“Now I’m here.”
Sal slides one of the thin straps from my shoulder and gently kisses a path across my skin, his eyes closing as he lets out a strangled groan.
“Why is it impossible to stay away from you?” he whispers, the heat of his voice warming my skin while also making me shiver.
“God, if you find out, please let me know because I’ve been thinking the same thing all week.”
I spin to face him, and we’re so close our noses almost touch, and yet, Sal doesn’t step back. He doesn’t pull away like I expect him to.
I take in a shallow breath, and Sal’s eyes drop to my mouth, his hooded gaze making me shudder.
“Sal?”
“We can’t do anything tonight, Keeley.”
“I know.”
“But I can’t walk away.” His pained expression hits me in the chest, and I know how he feels.
“Me either.”
We both fall silent as Sal gently cups my face in one hand, his other wrapping around me to settle on my back. “What are you doing to me?” He whispers the words as he leans in, gently pressing his lips to mine, his touch so soft, you’d think I wouldn’t feel it. But I feel it everywhere.
My heart races as I slide my hands around his waist, under his jacket, pulling him closer.
He groans against my mouth, his lips caressing mine, his thumb curling under my chin to lift my face higher, deepening our connection.
The kiss is soft and purposeful, explorative and raw. And when it ends, it’s over much sooner than I would have liked and yet it couldn’t have been more perfect.
“Sorry, I…” Sal trails off as he steps back, running his hands through his hair. “Actually, I’m not sorry, only we probably shouldn’t have done that at my daughter’s rehearsal dinner.” He cringes comically and I laugh.
“No, probably not. And now you’ve gone and messed up your hair.” I walk forward and lift to my toes, tousling his locks until it’s stylishly messy as opposed to the I-just-finished-kissing-my-daughter’s-best-friend look he had going.