I grab his arm and drag him toward the door. As much as I want to deadbolt that door and stay in here with him all day long, I know I need to kick him out or I’ll never be ready for this party in time. He’s two steps from the doorway when he spins on me, a wide smile on his face causing a swarm of butterflies to let loose in my chest. His eyes dip to my lips and I’m so torn between wanting him to kiss me and worrying that someone will see since he left the door wide open when he walked inside.
“Good morning again,” he murmurs. Then he leans in and presses a kiss to my cheek, his lips there and gone before I can even register the action.
“Good morning,” I whisper back.
Then, with a beaming grin, he backs up, never taking his eyes off of me until he shuts the door.
I’mswiping on the last coat of mascara when a knock sounds at my door.
“Come in,” I call.
Elise steps in, already dressed in a black cover-up over a red one piece and flip flops. Her dark hair is pulled into a single braid.
“You look cute,” I offer. “Very coastal.”
“I was afraid it was giving lifeguard.”
“If you didn’t look so good in red it might.” I swipe on tinted lip gloss and look at her in the mirror. She’s studying me with a knowing smirk. “What?”
“You just seem happier today. I figured having to spend the next two weeks with your family would be sending you into an anxiety spiral, but here you sit, humming to yourself.”
“I got to drink espresso while the sun streamed in through the window. What could go wrong?”
“Yeah I’m sure that’s the reason.”
I spin on the chair and face her. “Okay, who told you?”
“Who told me what?”
“That Reid kissed me.”
“Hewhat?” Elise nearly falls off the bed as she abruptly sits up straighter, pure shock etched on her face.
“Don’t lie to me. I know you know.”
She holds her hands up in surrender. “I swear I didn’t know. I just thought you maybe had a crush and were excited to see him today. I didn’t know he kissed you. Tell me everything.”
I start to tell the story and grimace when I remember that the product of our first kiss was a drunk girl vomiting on me, but it’s fine. I got Reid’s shirt, a kiss, and a confession of his feelings for me out of it.
“No wonder you’re so chipper today,” Elise says. “You get to cozy up to your new man in the middle of the Tyrrhenian Sea.”
I envision the day, a warmth spreading through my chest. Reid with his arms around me, swimming in the water, stolen kisses at sunset. And then it dawns on me that I can’t do any of that. Not in front of Kate. Not on a body of water she can throw me into. Not if I want to live through the week.
It would take the attention off of her today if Reid and I started openly acting couple-y in front of her. It would make everyone talk about us and how we started talking and if we were dating, and not about Kate and how gorgeous she looks and her beautiful wedding week. That, coupled with rejection from Reid all those years ago, would send her into a spiral.
A spiral I really don’t want to be responsible for.
I sigh. “You know what, I think maybe you and I should keep this a secret.”
“What? Why?”
“I just don’t want to take any attention off of Kate. You know how she is.”
Elise studies me for a moment. The way her eyes bore into me has me breaking eye contact and fidgeting with the buttons on my white linen oversized dress. Finally, she lets out a breath.
“Okay. But just know that if you want to celebrate something for yourself, that’s okay. Kate will get over it by the time the wedding rolls around.”
I shake my head. “It’s just not worth the fallout it would cause.”
