Finally, she huffed a sigh, and I heard the tinkle of glass on glass coming from her side of the couch. "Tell me about him. It'll make this go faster."
"Not much to tell," I said. "I don't know him yet."
"You two are the worst!" A pebble hit the inside of her glass vase so hard, I was surprised it didn't shatter. "When I gave him the best friend talk, he said I was getting ahead of myself."
"We just met."
"You're fated mates!" Another pebble pinged off the glass, and I cringed.
"So are you and Bruce."
"That's different. We were kids."
"You're acting like a fucking kid!" My gaze snapped to hers, and I immediately regretted saying it, though she needed to hear it.
"Yes, I am!" Instead of tearing up, she squint-glared at me. "I'm stressed, okay?"
"I know." I dumped my fifty counted pebbles into the vase and scooted closer to her, wrapping my arm over her shoulders. "I'm sorry."
"Mating is so much easier," she said. "If I'd been born a wolf shifter, we wouldn't even need all the pomp and circumstance. All this, because my dad promised my mom he would be thereto walk me down the aisle." She sighed and grabbed my knee. "You've been wonderful, though. Thanks for agreeing to host the reception."
"Well, you refused to let me in the wedding party, so it's the least I could do." I kissed her temple to take the sting from my words. "I would have looked like a princess in a bridesmaid dress."
"You would have outshined me on my wedding day," she corrected. "I love you, but I will not let you upstage me." She said it with mock bitchiness, but there was a kernel of truth to it. My bestie, who was perfectly comfortable in plaid shirts and jeans, suffered unreasonable bouts of self-consciousness in anything formal. Her wedding dress was gorgeous, but the women on her dad's side of the family were ruthless with the backhanded compliments when anything bucked tradition. "Besides, you know how my extended family is. They would pass out from shock if they saw you in drag."
"Fine, fine." It wasn't worth arguing. I squeezed her shoulders again.
"It's almost over, anyway," she said before dropping a handful of pebbles into a vase.
"Four more days, and you'll be on your honeymoon."
"Four more days, and I'll be in debt up to my eyeballs." She leaned against my shoulder. "Bruce has all those student loans, and then there's the new house he's building. I don't think he understands the concept of saving for the future."
"You are his future."
She twisted her neck to give me side eye. "You are a hopeless romantic, unless it's your own love life."
She had a valid point. I usually steered clear of predicting a happily ever after for myself, but maybe this time, it would be different.
I re-readthe text twice to make sure I wasn't missing weird subtext.
"My room number is 323. There's an extra key waiting for you at the front desk."
How was Mika already checked into the hotel? I'd just gotten home from work. My suit for the rehearsal dinner was laid out over the back of the couch, and I'd packed my toiletries this morning after I used them. I still needed pajamas, socks, and underwear for the next couple of days.
Originally, I'd planned on coming home after the rehearsal dinner. When I'd told Mika over FaceTime, he'd scoffed. "What do you mean? Don't you have a hotel room?"
Bruce, always the gentleman, had rented hotel rooms for his groomsmen at the reception venue, along with the block of rooms for Becca's bridesmaids and extended family. "You're in the wedding," I said.
"So are you?"
"Au contraire." I'd shaken my head in mock disappointment. "Best friend of the bride does not a man of honor make. Believe me, I tried. I begged her to wear a dress, but she said no." I liked to complain, but Becca was right. I would be a spectacle if I stood up with her.
Instead of laughing at my joke, Mika's eyes twinkled through the phone screen. "Stay with me. Bridesmaid gown not required."
I'd said yes without thinking, and now I had to deal with the consequences. Here I was, less than an hour away from meeting him in his hotel room, and I still felt hesitant.
Yes, he was my fated mate. Yes, I wanted to see him. But was I ready to consummate our relationship? Did I want him to mark me tonight?
