It was easy to see how much they cared for each other. How they made each other better. I’d never seen my cousin so happy before.
She beamed. “They really are. I’m so excited that I get to call Noelle my sister now. I’ve never had one before.”
“Me neither. Obviously,” I laughed. “Noelle’s as close as I’ve got.” Her and I were both only children, which meant growing up we spent most of our time at extended family gatherings playing together. The two of us were also the closest in age since I was only a year older than her.
“Oh, yeah. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that you aren’t actually siblings because you look so much alike.” She took a drink, looking at me over the rim.
I chuckled, running my fingers through my short hair. “Why, because we’re both gingers?” Though while Noelle had brown eyes, I had green.
She blushed. “You know what I meant.”
“I do.” I nodded, looking towards her brother and my cousin,who were in each other’s arms on the dance floor. They were surrounded by other couples, and a pang of longing hit my heart. “I always wished I had a sibling growing up,” I admitted. “But at least things weren’t as lonely with Noelle around.”
Maybe it wasn’t the past I was talking about at all though. Maybe it was time to finally admit that I was lonelynow.That I wanted to be out there dancing with my own partner, to have someone that I was going home with.
Taking another pull of my beer, I turned to her. “So, how long are you back in town for?”
“Two weeks.” She looked up at me, those large, baby blue eyes holding mine as she picked up her cocktail, holding the straw to the side before drinking directly from the rim. “I had a break between projects, so I said I’d stay at the house with Snowball while Matthew and Noelle went on their honeymoon.”
I hummed. “That’s gotta be nice.”
Two weeks.Damn, it wasn’t long enough. But was it crazy of me to just want to soak up every single second with her?
She nodded, tracing the rim of her glass. “Normally I try to come up here more, but this last year was a bit crazy. It’ll be nice to be back in Portland. Enjoy the fall weather. Maybe I’ll even have time to carve a pumpkin.” Tessa smiled, but there was a sadness behind her eyes. I wanted to banish it. To make her smile.
So when a slow song started playing, I held out my hand to her. “Can I have this dance?”
CHAPTER 3
Tessa
Can I have this dance?
I practically swooned from the words. There was no way he could have known how much I loved the song currently playing.
Maybe it was just fate. Like something that had been building for the last two years. The attraction between us was undeniable. I’d caught him sneaking glances at me during the wedding, his focus making a shiver run down my spine. It washot.
“Yes,” I murmured, letting him sweep me up into his arms. We were surrounded by other couples—Charlotte and Daniel were nearby, slowly swaying to the song, her husband’s hand never once leaving her bump. My brother and my new sister-in-law—just the thought made a smile touch my lips—were all wrapped up in each other, like the world would end if they were pulled apart.
Looking up at Oliver, at those green eyes that were locked on me, I wondered if maybe I could feel that too.
If I opened my heart back up. It had been so long since I’d let anyone in. Maybe longer than I even wanted to admit. Had I ever?
“Tessa,” Oliver said against my ear, his lips brushing the skin there. I shivered.
I knew there was no going back once I gave in to him. I’d never felt this desire down to my bones for anyone. An ache deep in my core. His lips looked soft. Kissable. His hair was the perfect length to have something to hold onto.
“Uh-huh?” I asked, unable to look away.
Maybe it was the alcohol. Maybe it was his tuxedo. Maybe it was the fact that we were pressed together in an intimate dance, moving in a slow circle around the floor. Maybe it was that I hadn’t had sex lately. Maybe it was that I was lonely. Maybe it was the fact that I hadn’t been kissed—really kissed—in so long.
Maybe it was all inevitable, from the first moment we’d met.
Even if I knew he could ruin me. I was only here for two weeks before I’d be going back to my life in LA. This could never be a long term thing, and he knew that. I just had to hope he’d be down for some fun in the meantime.
“You’re just—” His eyes dipped down to my lips, and I swiped my tongue out, moistening them. Under the twinkle lights of the barn, in Oliver’s arms, Iwantedhim to kiss me. No—needed it. Everything else be damned.
Sliding my hands up his chest, I gripped his lapel. The song ended, and it felt like the world narrowed down, the two of us the only people in it. I couldn’t see anyone else—not with the way he was looking at me.
