27. Kendra
Kendra
After we finished with pictures I reluctantly had to find my wedding date.
He was lurking in the corner of the yard, watching and waiting for us to be done.
I know that this was not the most fun time for him, but he agreed to be here knowing I was the maid of honor and had a booked day.
But now that the group photos were over, I didn’t have any more excuses to avoid him.
“Thank you so much for waiting for me,” I said, fanning myself. It was warm out here, even with the sun setting, and I was ready to get to the restaurant and into air conditioning.
“That definitely took a while,” Bennett said in a clipped tone, beads of sweat glinting on his pulsing temple.
“Yeah, well, they are once-in-a-lifetime pictures. Have to make sure you get what you want.” I was not down for his bullshit tonight.
“Let’s go.” He reaches for my hand and I let him take it, even though it feels wrong allowing him to touch me.
Across the yard, Eli is holding Wren and tracks us leaving, his jaw tight.
I scan the area looking for his date but am pulled around the corner of the house too fast to see anyone come up to him.
Gino’s has been transformed into an enchanting Italian garden.
The LeBlancs rented out the whole place for two days so they could set everything up.
All the food was being catered by Gino’s of course, Lainey and Rem’s favorite place in town, but Renee had stepped in to make sure it didn’t feel like just another night eating out.
She wanted it to be memorable, and this certainly was.
Soft, sheer drapery, twinkling lights, and an abundance of flowers flow across the normally simple but cozy restaurant.
It was funny to see a mix of people dressed up and then the firefighters that were on duty in their navy-blue Fox Grove Fire Department uniform shirts, tactical pants, and black boots.
Instead of waiting for a call to come in at the fire station, Chief Roberts let them load their gear onto the trucks and park outside the LeBlancs’ and then Gino’s.
Rem was family to all the fire station people, and they had all embraced Lainey just as fiercely.
There was no way they were going to miss this big day.
Eli sits down next to me at our table, slinging a diaper bag over the back of his chair like it’s his millionth time doing it. Bennett stiffens on the other side of me. Wren fusses in Eli’s arms and he soothes her, rubbing his massive hand up and down her soft, pink, one-piece pajama.
“No more dress?” I ask.
“God, no. That thing was cute, but my date deserves to be comfortable for the evening, don’t you think?” Eli grins, dimple flashing as my eyes go as wide as saucers.
His date.
“Your date?” I manage to choke out.
“Mm-hmm,” he says in a low, reverberating hum that I can feel all the way to my lady parts.
“Ohmygod,” I whisper to myself and turn my attention back to Bennett, whose unhappy eyes are laser focused on the entire interaction between me and Eli.
Bennett picks up my hand, kisses the back of it, places it in his lap, and gives it a firm squeeze. I am about to say something, yank it away, and scrub the feeling of him off my skin, but he holds on tightly as Charles stands to welcome everyone to the reception.
Dinner was tense, trapped between Bennett and Eli.
I wanted to melt away and disappear. Bringing Bennett was a huge mistake.
And finding out that this whole time the date Eli had been gushing about was Wren?
I could feel the red heart emojis floating above my head when I looked at him, and I wanted to take a freaking dinner fork and pop every single one of them.
They shouldn’t be there, shouldn’t belong to him .
. . the man that tore my heart to shreds.
I try to keep reminding myself I hate him, hate him, hate him.
But apparently my traitorous, life-giving organ locked in my chest gives zero fucks, and my head is not far behind, because the past felt far, far away, and my reasons for hating Eli are becoming more foggy as I let myself truly see him for the first time in so many years.
“Why do you keep looking over there?” Bennett asks as we unfortunately spin around the dance floor for the dozenth time tonight.
My eyes were on the head table, where Wren was safely wrapped in Eli’s arms, drinking a bottle. “Sorry, I was just making sure that Lainey didn’t need me for anything,” I lied, falsely smiling back up at Bennett.
“Well, she looks fine to me. I think you can finally take your special maid of honor crown off and just relax,” he says with bitter snark to his tone.
“You’re probably right.” I try to loosen my shoulders and calm my temper as we keep dancing. “Today went really well for them, didn’t it?”
“It was a perfect day for a wedding, for the start of something new.” Bennett looks down at me with a shift in his mood, his eyes softer and more at ease than they have been all day. He leans toward me, and I know he’s going to kiss me. Panic floods my veins and I don’t know what to do.
“Excuse me,” a deep voice practically growls right behind me. “May I cut in?”
“We’re a little busy here,” Bennett snarls back, trying to tug me tighter against him, but I pull away hard and fast, bumping into Eli’s muscled chest. He instantly dips over my shoulder slightly, wraps his arm around my waist, hand splayed around my stomach possessively, keeping me from wobbling over.
“Best man, maid of honor stuff. You know how it is. We are required to dance. Thanks for being so gracious, Benny.” Eli doesn’t give Bennett a chance to say anything.
He just spins me in his arms effortlessly and we dance off, leaving my date with steam coming out of his ears in the middle of the dance floor.
“Thank you for that,” I say sincerely, looking up into Eli’s handsome, chiseled face.
“I could tell you were uncomfortable, have been all night. Needed to get you the fuck away from him.” He runs his hand down my spine sending chills over my exposed back.
“How could you tell? I thought I was putting on a pretty good act, being a good date.” Eli spins me out then pulls me in closer this time, our bodies flush as the music swells.
“I know you, Kendra. You can act all you want for other people, but not me. Even when I fuck up and you try and act like it’s fine, I can tell it’s not. I know you.” His gaze lingers over the blush on my cheeks.
Heart pounding in my chest, I feel like I’m unable to breathe.
I can’t let the one man that I have spent so many years hiding from be the only one that actually sees me .
. . I need my walls firmly in place, allowing me to peek over at him when I choose to.
I don’t want Eli to be able to dissolve them like they are merely the drip sandcastles we used to make at the beach. Watery, temporary, and unstable.
“Come with me,” Eli says, taking my hand and leading me off the dance floor.
“Where are we going?”
“Have you done this yet?” Eli points to the rented photo booth tucked in the far corner of the restaurant that Lainey and Rem had brought in for the night.
“No, I haven’t.” I smirk at him. I had asked Bennett if he wanted to take pictures in here with me earlier, but he refused. Shocker.
“Let’s do it.” Eli pulls me inside, closing the long, red velvet curtain.
The bench is technically meant for two people, and I try to wedge myself between Eli and the wall. But he is massive and takes up way more space than the average human.
Laughing he says, “Here,” then plucks me from my spot and places me on his lap. We just freeze and stare at each other. Eli swallows hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing behind his loosened tie. “That’s much better.”
I feel like I’m hammered right now, but I only had two glasses of champagne spaced out over several hours.
So I know that this feeling is not from the sweet bubbles I had been sipping but from the man wrapping his arms around me, his sandalwood scent and pheromones engulfing me, making me drunk on Eli.
I wiggle on his lap to adjust my angle more in the direction of the camera, and he lets out a pained groan. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, it’s fine.” He clears his throat. “Let’s take the pictures.” Eli smiles at me, genuine happiness washing over the space between us.
“Alright it says that we get six different poses and it will print two copies, so we will each get to keep one.” I read off the directions to the side of the camera lens. “Ready?”
“Yup.” Eli presses his face right up next to mine and smiles as I hit the button. I can’t help but lean into him, his warmth, and grin as the flash captures the moment.
We have a few seconds before the next one and Eli says, “Quick, silly face.”
He puffs out his cheeks, and I toss my head back laughing as the flash goes off again.
“You are terrible at this, you were supposed to make a face with me!” he scolds.
We are looking into each other’s eyes smiling when the flash goes off again.
Eli reaches up and tucks a piece of my hair behind my ear, and the flash goes off again.
We lean into each other, foreheads touching, hearts pounding, and my eyes close as the camera flashes again.
Then I look at Eli, his eyes smoldering with longing, lust, and years of history. “Fuck it,” he says, and his mouth crashes into mine as the camera flashes for the final time.
Our mouths move together in a homecoming. Hot, passionate, and perfect. His tongue claims every corner of my mouth, and I moan, grinding down on his lap.
Suddenly Eli pulls back. “Shit, shit,” he says in pain, his eyes pinched shut.
“Oh, sorry. Are you okay? What happened? Did I hurt you?” I run my eyes all over his body searching for an injury I can’t find.
“Yes and no,” Eli laughs.
“What the hell does that mean,” I say, trying to get off his lap, but he holds me in place, running his hand up my arm and cupping the back of my neck.
His cheeks turn pink in embarrassment, something I don’t think I have ever seen on Eli before. “Remember when we called you from Keller’s? At the bachelor party?”
“We didn’t know you were at Keller’s tattoo shop at the time, but Lainey told us about Rem’s new tattoo afterward. Yeah, what about it?”
“Well, I didn’t believe him when Keller told me that he tattooed you, because I know how afraid of needles you are—like me.” He looks sheepish, and I just wait. “So I told the guys there was no way it was true, and if it was, I would get . . .”
“Get what?” I ask with a huge smile. “Holy shit, did you get a tattoo?”
“No . . . I bet them that if you really did let Keller tattoo you that I would . . . get my dick pierced,” Eli mumbles, rubbing his hand over his face.
“No fucking way!” I yell.
“Yes, shhh. Please don’t shout it for the whole place to hear. It was bad enough having the guys there,” Eli admits.
“So Keller has tattooed me.” I level him with a stare.
“And I now have a new dick piercing that is still healing. So your sexy, little body rubbing on me, getting me all worked up is just a bit painful,” Eli admits with a cocky smile.
“Oh shit,” I say. “I’m so sorry.”
“I’m not.” Eli leans in to kiss me again, but I stop him.
“Eli, we can’t do this.” I grab the photos that printed out, heat rushing through my veins and striking me right in the heart as I look at the progression of each one. They are hot as fuck, and the chemistry between us is so obvious. “Here.” I hand him the second copy and stand up.
“Please, Kendra,” Eli says. “My mom has Wren for the night. She just took her home. Can we just talk, the two of us?”
“Eli, I have to get back to my—date.” I groan, only now remembering Bennett.
“Why the fuck did you come with him, Kendra?” Eli grumbles.
“Honestly, I didn’t want to come alone, especially when you were bragging constantly about your date.” I probably shouldn’t tell him that, but it’s too late now.
“You were jealous of a baby.” Eli’s grin nearly splits his face.
“Still kind of am,” I say, sliding out of the tiny booth, leaving Eli speechless.