Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 100661 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100661 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
The bride arrived at the altar, but I didn’t dare peek at her dress or her veil or her bouquet, details I normally loved to obsess over. Instead, I fished my oversized sunglasses out of my clutch and put them on.
Ari stared at me. “Why are you wearing those?”
“It’s very bright in here,” I whispered. “Do you happen to have a big hat?”
She looked at me like I was nuts. “No! Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” But I wasn’t. A quick look at the back of the program confirmed that Joe Lupo was indeed a member of the wedding party.
How could I be so unlucky?
My face was on fire. Sweat trickled down my chest. For the rest of the ceremony, all I did was concentrate on leaning and slouching in whatever way would keep me blocked from Joe’s view. After the bride and groom were pronounced Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Foote, the guests all cheered and the newlyweds made their way back down the aisle.
I clapped along with the rest of the crowd, but I kept my eyes on the floor and my chin tucked. When our row was dismissed, I followed closely behind Ari, my head down, until we made it outside. Then I made a beeline for the car.
“Mabel, where are you going? I can’t move that fast!”
“Sorry.” My leg bounced nervously while I waited for her to catch up. The wedding party was standing on the pavement in front of the chapel, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Joe scanning the guests spilling down the steps, like he was looking for someone. Quickly, I turned around so he’d see only my back.
When Ari reached me, she was out of breath. “What is going on with you?”
“He’s here,” I said through my teeth.
“What?”
“He’s. Here,” I said a little louder.
“Who’s here?”
“Joe Lupo,” I stage-whispered. “The hockey player guy. The hot stranger from the plane. He’s a groomsman.”
“Stop it.” She immediately looked over my shoulder toward the chapel lawn and gasped. “Oh my God! I think I see him!”
“Ari! Don’t be so obvious!”
“Dang, you were right. He is hot.”
“I have to get out of here. I think he spotted me during the ceremony.”
“Is that why you put on the sunglasses?” She started to laugh. “I think you made yourself more conspicuous, not less. It’s not even sunny outside today, let alone in the chapel.” Then she gasped again. “He’s looking over here.”
My heart rapped hard against my ribs. “I can’t face him, Ari. I’ll die.”
Still looking over my shoulder, her eyes lit up. “Well, brace yourself, because he’s walking this way.”
Eyeballing the parking lot, I considered making a run for it, but given the platform heels I was wearing, that plan didn’t seem wise. Face-planting on the asphalt would only make things worse. Taking a breath, I turned around.
My knees almost buckled as he closed the distance between us. If my life was a movie, I’d have grabbed the remote and pressed pause just to swoon over the way he looked as he came toward me, or maybe even played his approach in slow motion. He’d been hot in jeans and a button-down, but he was downright scorching in a suit and tie. He was also a lot taller than I’d realized. Even in my thick-soled heels, the top of my head didn’t clear his shoulder.
“Mabel Jane Buckley,” he said, his mouth curving into a boyishly sexy grin. “We meet again.”
“So we do.” I laughed nervously and lifted my shoulders. “What are the chances?”
“Hi.” Ari held out her hand. “I’m Ari. Lisa is my cousin.”
He shook her hand. “I’m Joe Lupo. Old friend of Footsie—I mean Dan.”
“Nice to meet you,” Ari said. “I’ve actually met your brother Gianni before. He and my husband Dash are friends.”
“Dashiel Buckley, the actor?”
Ari smiled. “Yes.”
Joe looked at me, putting it together. “And is that your . . . brother?”
“Yes,” I said. “He was supposed to be here, but his film shoot ran longer than expected, so Ari asked me to be her date tonight.”
He smiled. “I’m glad.”
“You are?”
He laughed at the surprise in my expression. “Yes. It’s nice to see you again, now that we’re safely on the ground.”
“Um, if you’ll excuse me a moment, I’m just going to run over and say a quick hello to my aunt and uncle,” Ari said, giving my upper arm a hard pinch. “Back in a few.”
After she walked away—giving me two very enthusiastic thumbs-up from behind his back—Joe took a step closer to me. “So . . . this is a coincidence.”
“Yes.” I stared at the tiny scar on his lip and imagined running my tongue over it in a highly inappropriate manner.
“You look beautiful.”
“Thanks. So do you.” Oh, shit. “I mean, not beautiful.” Dammit, I made it worse! “Good,” I managed to get out, although it was an understatement. “You look good.”