Behind her, he showed up. Chris stepped into the reflection in a tuxedo with a tie that matched her dress. I would say it looked cheesy, but on them, it looked… adorable. His arms slipped around her waist, pulling her close, and he leaned down to kiss her neck. I touched my own neck because I could almost feel it. She rested her hand on his, and they both looked at me.
It was irrational, but watching them, watching whatever version of us that was, brought an unexpected calm. My pulse slowed down, and my shoulders softened. But my peace didn’t last because the doorbell rang and shattered the moment like dropped glass.
In the mirror, dream me disappeared, leaving me with my real reflection. The difference between us was striking, except for one thing: I realized I was smiling, too, like she was. I hadn’t even noticed.
I took a deep breath and straightened my dress. The doorbell rang again, echoing through the house. I grabbed my purse, ready to head downstairs, but I paused halfway, ears tuned to the sounds below. I could make out Carol’s mutter, dripping with annoyance, after the second ring.
“8:55. Strike one, Mr. Jones.”
I rolled my eyes and smiled. She didn’t exactly rush to answer the door. The third ring came and went before I finally heard her slow steps. She finally reached the door and pulled it open.
“Carol! Hi!” I could hear Chris’ cheerful voice. That confident charm probably worked on 99% of the population, but not on Carol.
“He knows my name. Nice.” The sarcasm spilled out of her.
“Is Jules ready?”
“Since eight.”
There was a pause. I pictured Chris scrambling to recover.
“Yeah, I’m sorry. I got held up earlier. Some fans were waiting. You know how it is…”
Carol didn’t give an inch. “Can’t say that I do.”
That was my cue. Not that I wasn’t enjoying the blood bath, but I needed to intervene before he gave up and left. I stepped out, nerves bubbling in my chest. My hand smoothed my dressagain,and I bit my lip, trying not to drown in my own nerves. But as soon as I started down the stairs and our eyes met, everything shifted.
I couldn’t tell you what about Chris Jones’ eyes made my usually rock-concert-loud head mute. He didn’t look like an untouchable celebrity from here. He was just a man. A stupidly gorgeous man, yes, with arms that could keep a helicopter in the ground and eyes that could cause mass fainting. But still, just a man.
Maybe he could even be the type of guy who would sit next to you on the couch at midnight, arguing over which of the Kardashians is the best one. The kind of guy who could tease you one second and make you laugh so hard you’d snort the next.
I would like that.
“You look… beautiful,” He whispered, and I barely caught it.
We had been staring at each other for too long, and I knew it because Carol cleared her throat loudly, bringing us back to reality. A reality in which he was late. Not a little late, but nearly an hour late.
Even though I was trying hard to keep my cool, it bothered me. I needed to follow a schedule, or my brain would spiral into overdrive. For some completely insane and unfair reason, I’d expected him to already know that.
My mind raced between telling myself not to be so unreasonable and wanting him to know how much it bugged me. And, apparently, the side that wanted him to know was winning because I couldn’t hide the disapproval all over my face. Subtlety wasn’t exactly my strong suit.
I was already at the door when I leaned over to Carol, ignoring Chris, and kissed her cheek. “Thanks for today. I owe you one.”
Carol smirked. “And I won’t let you forget it.”
No doubt about that.
“Call if you need anything. Bye, Vic!”
I called out toward the living room and heard Victoria’s cheerful, “Have fun!” in response. Without so much as looking at Chris, I strode straight into the car, but not before I could see him turning to Carol, completely lost. My sister, of course, gave him a smug look and shut the door in his face.
I swear I could hear her laughing on the other side.
Chris followed and opened the door with an apologetic smile.
“I feel like you’re mad at me.”
Oh, I was. But I wasn’t going to say anything. I slid intothe passenger seat, trying my best to keep a neutral expression.
