When I look back at Luke, his whole demeanor has changed. He’s leaning back in his chair, sipping from his glass and gazing out across the bar, his smile gone. And even though he was being a real dick a moment ago, I just want to go back to the joking and teasing.
“Oh! Harri, I forgot to tell you.” Alex leans forward, grinning. “Cat knows someone you might want to take as a date to the wedding.”
I offer her a feeble smile. I should be happy about this, I know I should—I did, after all, ask her to find me someone—but I couldn’t care less right now. And if I’m entirely honest, I know who I want to go to Alex’s wedding with. But I can’t.
“What’s his name?” I ask, trying to muster some enthusiasm.
“Derek. He’s a nice guy.”
“Great. And, um, what does Derek do?”
“He’s her accountant, I think.”
There’s a snort beside me, and I turn to peer at Luke. “What?”
“Accountant. What a boring job.”
“So? Who cares?” I happen to agree with him, but I’m not exactly in a position to be turning this Derek away. Not when I’ll have to spend the whole wedding watching Luke parade Dena around the place.
“What will you even talk about?” Luke asks.
“I don’t know. We’ll drink and dance. It’s a wedding.”
“Whatever,” he huffs.
Jesus, what is his deal tonight? One minute he’s laughing his head off and needling me about sex, the next he’s sulking like a moody teenager.
“Is he cute?” I ask, fixing my attention back on Alex.
She thinks for a minute, then nods. “I think you’ll like him. Medium height, clean shaven, blue eyes and blond hair.”
I try not to cringe. He sounds like the antithesis of Luke, which right now feels like it would be unbearable.
Luke chuckles beside me and I glance at him sharply. “What now?”
He gazes down into his glass, shrugging. “Nothing. He sounds… great. Derek sounds like a great guy.” His lips tighten into a smirk.
I stare at him for a moment, trying to understand why he’s being such an absolute jerk, then it hits me.
Oh my God. Is hejealous?
I tilt my head, eying him, but he just looks down at his glass, brooding.
“Ooh, I love this song!” Alex exclaims asHey Yaby Outkast comes on. She grabs Michael’s hand and yanks him up. “You guys want to dance?”
“Maybe later,” I mumble, and she bounces away to the dance floor with Michael, disappearing into the crowd. I turn to study Luke as he peels the label on the bottle of champagne, lost in thought. “What was that? All that shit about me begging you?”
He chuffs a quiet laugh, picking at the label. “I’m just in a weird mood, sorry. I got carried away playing along with them. And, er”—he glances over his shoulder, then back to the bottle—“I’m also sorry if the sex was… quick.”
Okay, I didn’t expectthat. “It wasn’t.”
He looks up at me and apprehension lingers in his gaze. I sigh, wanting to soothe his poor, wounded ego. First person he has sex with after his marriage ends and I tell him it was crap.
“I shouldn’t have said that,” I murmur. “I was annoyed at you for winding me up. But, come on. You know how good it was on the plane.”
A husky laugh escapes him as he appraises me, and for some reason, I find myself wanting to tell him just how significant the plane was to me.
“If I tell you something, will you promise not to judge me?”
