“Yes. I won’t let you down by stumbling over any of them.”
“I know. That wasn’t what I was worried about.”
Warmth sears my chest. “Then what is?”
“They’re just a lot. I’ve grown used to their judgment and disappointment, but you haven’t witnessed it before. Maybe I just don’t want them to scare you off. Or to turn you against me.”
“That’s not possible. And you’re not the only one who’s had family they haven’t seen eye to eye with. I can handle a bit of judgment, Jill.”
“If I know my mother the way I think I do, she’s going to try and shove James down my throat tonight in preparation for tomorrow. And if that is the case, she’s going to be ten times worse aboutourrelationship to try and push me back toward him.”
I ignore the barbs pushing through my stomach and glide my hand up her back. The blush-pink silk dress she’s wearing tonight is loose and flowy at the back, so I busy myself with thumbing the fabric as we walk. It’s a great way to keep my mind from drifting to where this James guy is so that I can haul him far away from here.
“Why does she want you with him so badly?” I ask before clearing the strain from my voice. “If he’s never been good to you, it seems out of place for your mother to want you together.”
“His mom is her best friend from college.”
And there it is.
“I’ll follow whatever you tell me to do. Whether that’s to be the perfect, docile boyfriend or cause trouble by mouthing off to one too many grandmothers. You call the shots tonight, regardless of who she wants you with, alright?”
Jill looks up at me with her lips spread in the softest, most sincere smile I’ve ever seen. It nearly sweeps my feet out from under me. My only thought once it falls is that I want to see it again. Forever, preferably. Without a second thought, I know that I’ll do whatever it takes to ensure that happens.
“Thank you, Grayson. I think doting boyfriend is a good start.”
We stop a few inches from the closed doors, and I stroke my thumb across her back. “You’ve got it. Are you ready?”
“No, but I don’t think that really matters,” she mutters.
I lean down to drag my mouth across the edge of her hairline. “It does to me.”
“Let’s just go in before I ask you to convince me to back out.”
Without another word, I reach forward and tug the door open. Jill inhales a long, deep breath before stepping ahead of me and leading the way inside.
The room isn’t overtly big by any means. It’s more of a conference room that’s been decorated with the same shade of cream as the bridesmaid dress in our hotel room closet, with a few pops of pale blue. Two tables have been joined together and covered with lace-edged tablecloths, and the place settings are something out of a celebrity event magazine. Truthfully, the entire room is.
Candles flicker on gold stands of all different sizes along the centre of the tables, placed perfectly down the ruched fabric that’s draped over the tablecloths. Bottles of wine that I have no doubt are far more expensive than I’ve ever purchased myself are already uncorked and spread evenly between place settings. All of the corresponding glasses are full to the same halfway point.
Jill falls back to my side, and I lay a steadying hand at the centre of her back as we slowly make our way to where everyone’s sitting. I take a quick head count of people and begin to match names with faces.
At the head of the table is the man I assume to be her father, Howard. They share the same hair and eye colour, which says more than the silver-haired one on the opposite end of the table. It would appear Jill’s family is on one side, while her sister’sfiancé has had his sit on the other. It’s much easier on me this way, to be honest. I couldn’t care less about remembering the names of the groom’s family.
Meredith, Jill’s mother, is the woman staring directly at me. She couldn’t look further from her daughter. Where Jill’s hair is that delicious shade of dark brown, her mother’s is so blonde that it’s nearly white. Jill’s nose has a sharper slant to it, and where her mother’s lips seem to be perpetually pursed, hers have a natural pout that I remember wanting to bite the first time we met.
“Jill!” It’s the bride-to-be, Kate, who rushes from the table and steals Jill into a tight hug. “It’s been months since we’ve been able to hug.”
Jill embraces her sister awkwardly at first before relaxing into her and squeezing. “I know.”
“I’m getting married tomorrow! Can you believe it?”
They pull apart, and Jill shifts back to my side almost on instinct. It’s impossible not to touch her again, so I don’t bother forcing myself not to. This time, I plant a hand on her hip and move just slightly behind her. The curve of her ass brushes my thigh, and I keep her in place.
“Hardly,” Jill says, laughing softly.
Kate sends her a wink before swapping her focus to me. Her brown eyes are familiar in a sense, but the only similarity between hers and Jill’s is the shade. They’re missing the teasing warmth I always seem to find in her sister’s.
“Well, we can get into all of the wedding stuff in a minute. Introduce me to your date.”
