That’s a lie. You’ve definitely had something else on your mind, Vienna. Care to share with the class?
Shaking off my internal thoughts, I head toward the counter to wait in line, scouring the bakery case for their other options, but my mind drifts back to Rhonan for the thousandth time.
I wonder if Rhonan likes cheesecake.
It’s only been two days since I spent the evening at his house painting rocks with him and Ellis. And if I didn’t know any better, I’d say the sexual tension between us escalated that night, especially as we were standing in his kitchen with his hand on my face.
For a split second, I thought he was going to kiss me. And the worst part about it, I was desperate for him to—to show me what his kisses feel like because the longer time passes since the night we met, the needier I am for us to finish what we started.
A man breezes past me, bumping into my shoulder. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry,” he says as he moves to steady me.
Our eyes meet and something about his gaze spikes my adrenaline, but I instantly convince myself to calm down. It’s hard not to be paranoid when you’ve gone through some shit no one knows about. “No worries.”
“Truly. I didn’t mean to bump into you.”
I smile at him. “It’s okay. I’m fine. Have a nice evening.”
“You too.” He nods and then heads for the door.
“Vienna?”
Twisting back around, I’m surprised to see Dilynne Clark ahead of me in line. “Oh! Hi, Dilynne.”
“Hey. You all right? I saw that guy bump into you.”
“Oh, yeah. No biggie. How’s it going?”
“I was just about to ask you the same thing.” She taps her chin. “I think the last time I saw you was at the winery.”
My mind searches through our encounters. “Yeah, I think you’re right.”
“Laney told me that you went to her salon last week, though.” She waggles her eyebrows. “Isn’t my best friend a wizard with hair?”
Chuckling, I nod. “She is.”
“She also told me that she invited you to her wedding.”
Sighing, I reply, “She did, even though it was completely unnecessary.”
The line moves forward, so Dilynne takes a few steps, and I follow her lead before she turns back to me. “Um, I think it’s completelynecessary. It’s bound to be a good time, you’ll get to hear my maid of honor speech, and this means I get to invite you to the bachelorette party as well.”
“Oh, gosh. You don’t have to…”
Dilynne reaches out and places her hand over my mouth. The move catches me off guard, but I’m quickly realizing that this woman doesn’t take no for an answer. “Nonsense. You’re coming. End of discussion.”
Once she removes her hand from my mouth, I shrug. “Okay, fine. Twist my arm, why don’t you?”
She laughs and pulls her cell phone from her pocket. “Let me get your number so I can send you the details.” We exchange numbers and then put our phones away. “There, now you have no excuse. And don’t try to come up with one. I’m very good with a wrench and will use my talents if necessary.”
“I sincerely hope that you’re joking,” I say, fairly certain she’s just being sarcastic, but also getting a little scared the longer I stand here.
She winks at me. “Don’t try to bail and you won’t have to find out. Besides, you’re going to want to see the cake.”
“The cake?”
She tosses her head toward the bakery case. “That’s why I’m here, to put in the order. Carolina is a wizard with novelty cakes, and after my last cake for the bachelor and bachelorette party for Elliot and his hideous ex-fiancée, I feel like I need to keep the tradition going.”
“Elliot was engaged?”
