True, but dread settled in the pit of Eliana’s stomach. She’d never seen Logan look so stressed.
“Plus Logan hasn’t eaten anything today,” Julia said. “And I think it’s finally hitting him that he won’t be working with these elephants for a few months.”
Eliana knew how much Logan loved Lulu and Adia, and she imagined that leaving for so long was bittersweet.
“We want to get started soon.” Julia twisted her hands together as she looked out at everyone staring at them expectantly.
Logan ended the call, frustration evident in the tight lines around his mouth. “Let’s get this over with.”
Julia frowned. “Seriously? This is our wedding, and you just want to get it over with.”
He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Then how did you mean it?”
“Never mind. I’m just tired.”
“Okay. The sooner we get started, the better.” Julia blew out a quick breath. “Elly, can you stand in as the officiator?”
“Sure,” she said at the same time Logan said, “No. Kai can do it.”
“What does it matter?” Julia snapped. Eliana’s eyebrows shot up. She rarely heard her sister lose her patience like this.
“Eliana needs to walk with Cam down the aisle,” Logan said.
“And Kai needs to walk with your sister.”
Eliana cut in, her heart picking up speed and her hands starting to sweat—and not just from the oppressive heat of the afternoon. “Guys, this isn’t worth fighting over—”
“We’re not fighting,” Julia said, too cheerily to be anything but fake. “And you’re right. It’s not worth fighting over. Which is why you’re going to stand up there and officiate.”
Eliana hustled to where Julia pointed, not making eye contact with Logan as she did.
Though she couldn’t hear them, they continued to bicker for another moment as they figured out the best way to get this thing started. Panic rose in Eliana as they snipped at each other. A couple as perfect as them shouldn’t fight.
A part of her realized that this was a no-big-deal argument. That he was hungry and Julia was stressed, and that couples sometimes lost their cool. They weren’t being mean or horrible, just snappy. And it was a good sign that Julia was standing firm in her opinion.
But scrolling on an endless loop through her mind was the thought that their marriage was headed for disaster unless everything went perfectly tomorrow. Eliana ended up blowing a whistle between her fingers that silenced everyone.
“Let’s start,” she said. “If you’re in the wedding party, line up!”
Everyone listened—except for Cam who refused to stand unless they were heading straight to the pool.
They rushed through walking down the aisle, and Eliana did a pretty good impersonation of the priest fromThe Princess Bridethat made everyone but Julia and Logan laugh.
The couple gave each other a perfunctory kiss, and then the night was over, everyone was heading home, and Eliana was driving Cameron to the pool, like she’d promised.
He swam until he was so exhausted he kept yawning, and then she took him home. Her mom convinced her to stay for brownies, and she didn’t beg off—not ready to face Asher yet.
She came back to The Palms, parked her car next to Asher’s motorcycle, and walked slowly to his bungalow. It was late, and she unlocked the door as quietly as she could. The first thing she saw in the dim glow of the moon was Asher’s sleeping form sprawled out on the too-small-for-him couch. His chest rose and fell with his steady breathing, and in sleep, his face looked completely open and relaxed.
She knew she shouldn’t move closer—was it creepy to watch someone sleep?—but she did it anyway, unable to resist some time to really watch him unobserved.
I’m falling in love with you.
She’d been mostly asleep, and not quite sure she’d heard him say those exact words, or if it was a dream, but she’d felt the light press of a kiss on her head, and a wild group of butterflies—Logan could probably tell her what a group of butterflies was called—erupted in her stomach.
She’d wanted to sleepily pull his face down to meet hers and kiss him until her head was dizzy and her mouth raw, and he was as completely senseless as she was. She loved kissing Asher. Craved the feel of his lips pressed to hers, or to her jaw, or to her neck. Just the thought of it sent delicious shivers across her skin.
