“Because last night at dinner—”
“Oh, yes,” I say hastily. “I’m feeling much better.”
“What was it, anyway?”
“It was, erm, a migraine. You know how suddenly they can come on.”
She nods as we pause at a street crossing. “Yeah. So you’re feeling better now?”
“Yes. Totally fine now.”
“Good, because Michael texted me and asked if we wanted to meet him and Luke for dinner. What do you think?” She looks at me hopefully and I swallow against the sudden swell of nerves in the pit of my stomach. “It would be good for you to get to know him, because—well, I don’t want to pressure you, but if you are happy to do some wedding prep, then Luke could help.”
I give a mute nod as my pulse ticks up. I wasn’t expecting to have to see him so soon, but I can hardly tell her no, can I? I can hardly say,I’d rather not work with Luke because we had mind-blowing sex and I can’t stop thinking about it even though it’s wildly inappropriate.In fact, I can’t come up with a single good reason not to go to dinner.
This isn’t about you, I remind myself.It’s about Alex.
Drawing in a calming breath, I paint on a smile. “Sure. Let’s have dinner.”
“Great.” She links her arm through mine. “We’ll head back to the Village. Luke is just finishing up work downtown and will meet us in half an hour.”
I rake a hand through my long hair, then rummage in my bag for a brush. I haven’t worn my hair in a proper bun since the plane and it’s nice to have it out, but I’m sure it’s become a bit windswept since we’ve been out today, and not in a sexy way. At least I’m wearing something different from last night, but I wouldn’t mind a chance to refresh my makeup…
Oh God, what has happened to me? I can’t remember the last time I cared about how I looked in front of a guy and now I want to fix my hair and makeup? For what? It doesn’t matter how sexy Luke is or how vivid my fantasies of him might be. Nothing is happening. I need to remember that.
“Sounds good,” I say, shoving my hairbrush away. “Let’s go.”
We take a cab back to the Village at my insistence (Icannotface the subway right now) and Alex leads me into the restaurant where we are meeting the guys. It’s nice: warm and intimate, with tiny tables, dim lighting, and candles dotted about the place. But that doesn’t stop the roiling in my belly.
Right. The only way I’m going to make it through tonight is with copious amounts of alcohol.
As soon as we’re seated, I order a whiskey. We sip our drinks as we wait for the others to arrive, chatting about the wedding. Or rather, Alex sips her drink. I down mine as fast as I reasonably can without raising her suspicions, and wait for its relaxing spell to work. I think back to the magic cards in my favorite board game. Where’s aCalm the Fuck Downcard when I need one?
I’m just about to go to the bar and order another drink when the door swings open and two men stride in. Seeing them now, side-by-side, it’s so obvious they’re brothers. The same towering figures, dark brown—almost black—hair, espresso-colored eyes, broad shoulders. Luke is slightly taller and isn’t as built as Michael, plus he’s a good five or six years younger, but the similarities are uncanny.
My breath catches at the sight of him. Somehow, he’s better looking than last time. Is that possible?
“Hey, honey,” Michael says, leaning down to kiss Alex. He folds himself into a chair beside her.
“Hi, guys.” She grins and slides menus across the table.
Luke pulls his suit jacket off and hangs it over the back of the chair, smiling at Alex. His eyes glide over to me and linger. My stupid heart somersaults and I do my best to give a distant, polite smile. As he takes a seat I notice he’s wearing the same tie he wore on the plane. He reaches up to loosen it now, scanning the menu on the table in front of him. An image of me grabbing that tie and pulling him towards me appears in my mind, and I feel my cheeks color.
“I’ll go grab us some drinks,” Michael says, standing again.
Yes. More alcohol, please.
He places a hand on Alex’s shoulder. “Another wine, sweetheart?” She grins and he turns to me. “What are you drinking?”
“Whiskey, thanks.”
Michael nods and looks to Luke.
“Uh, whiskey too. Thanks.” His eyes meet mine and a tentative smile touches his lips. I feel the color in my cheeks deepen.
God, how am I going to do this?
Alex pushes to her feet and slips her hand into Michael’s. “I’ll come help. You two get to know each other.”
