Casey sat up straight, jerking her head from left to right, as if to say Who, me? She hadn’t expected to be part of his speech.
Jack moved away from Michelle and walked closer to Casey. “I wouldn’t be at this dinner, ready to take Michelle Milo as my bride tomorrow, if my sister hadn’t stuck by me, and believed in me, and encouraged me to move on from the things that had held me back. She’s been my anchor and my best friend, and in many ways she is the reason I’m here today. So thank you, Casey, for speaking your mind, never giving up on me, and then administering the kick in the pants I needed to fall in love with Michelle,” he said, bending down to give her a hug, then raising a glass to toast.
Her cheeks flamed red, and huge tears of joy streaked down her cheeks. She brought her hand to her mouth to cover her lips that were quivering. She was a mess. She was a total mess, with mascara surely staining her cheeks. All eyes were on her, as everyone at the wedding toasted.
She couldn’t speak. She simply raised her glass in response, and then felt a hand on her thigh. It wasn’t naughty or suggestive; it was caring, as Nate handed her his napkin. She brought it to her eyes, and dabbed them, and once the focus of the guests returned to the groom, who was now telling a story about adjusting to life in Paris, Nate leaned in to whisper. “Don’t give up on me either.”
* * *
After the dinner plates were cleared, a hand came down on his shoulder. “Got a minute?”
Nate craned his neck in Jack’s direction. “Of course,” he said, tossing his napkin on the chair and following Jack, who weaved through the tables, past the torches, and onto the soft, white sand. They walked away from the wedding guests, and towards the water, moonlight bathing the ocean in its soft nighttime glow.
Jack stopped and faced Nate. “Let me ask you a question. Do I look stupid?”
Nate furrowed his brow. “What?”
“Just answer the question. Do I look stupid?”
“No.”
“I didn’t think so. Because I’m not stupid and that means I know you’re in love with my sister.”
Nate blinked several times. “What?”
Jack stared hard at him. “Again. Not dumb. Don’t you play dumb, either.”
He swallowed dryly. This wasn’t how he’d intended to tell Jack. But then, nothing had gone as he’d intended the last few days. “I won’t play dumb.”
“Good,” Jack said in a firm voice. “What are you going to do about it?”
“Aren’t you going to tell me I’m going to break her heart and that I need to keep my hands off her?”
“It’s not for me to tell you what to do or not to do. I simply want to know when you’re going to deal with it.”
“Why?”
Jack rolled his eyes. “Because I’m getting married tomorrow. Because I want everything to be perfect for the woman I love. Because if you’re standing next to me with my sister pissed off at you, or some scowl on your face, or waiting to have another fight in the bar—yes, Michelle told me, so don’t look so shocked that I know—that will make her unhappy, and that will make me unhappy. And all I want is for her to be happy. So can you deal with this tonight, please?”
“I was planning on dealing with it tonight,” Nate replied.
Jack clapped him on the back. “Good. Let’s go back, and you’re excused for the rest of the night. This is more important.”
He laughed. “Yes. It is,” he said, and all he wanted now was to take Casey in his arms and make her his.
“Oh, and one more thing,” Jack said as they neared the veranda. “I’m not even going to tell you not to hurt her, because I know you know better. But remember this—Casey and Michelle are the two most important people in the world to me. And you’re next. So treat her like she’s the world to you.”
“I promise,” Nate said, then an idea flashed before him. A brilliant idea. “Hey. You’re doing some work with European companies, right?”
Jack nodded.
“There’s something I need,” he said, then gave him the details.
“I’ll see what I can do after the wedding,” Jack said, then gestured to the rehearsal dinner. “Now go take care of business.”
But Casey was no longer at the table. His heart beat faster as he searched for her on the veranda, but he didn’t see the woman in the light-blue dress. He stopped by Michelle’s seat, bent down, and asked her if she knew where Casey had gone.
“She had to take a work call. She stepped out. She’ll be right back.”
Hopefully, she wouldn’t be right back. Hopefully, neither one of them would return tonight. He walked through the restaurant. The chef spotted him and tried to call him over, but Nate shook his head. “Another time.”
He made it to the doorway and found her outside, leaning against a palm tree, chatting on the phone. Her face lit up when she saw him, and he walked right up to her as she was saying, “Thanks, Sofia. Glad everything is all set.”
She ended the call and tucked her phone in her purse.
“Hi,” she said softly.
“Hi,” he said, stopping just a few inches from her. His gaze drifted once more to her collarbone, that spot that drove her wild, and him, too. He met her eyes, her gorgeous sapphire eyes that he loved getting lost in.
“Do you forgive me for getting so mad earlier?” she asked.
He smiled as his heart raced just from being near to her. “It’s not something that needs forgiveness. We’ve both gotten mad and jealous, and I love your crazy, jealous side, because it matches mine.”
“Good,” she said.
“Do you forgive me for being an ass about my ex-wife instead of just admitting to you that it hurts my pride to see her, but that’s all? Because I have no feelings for her. None whatsoever. I only have feelings for you. I have so many feelings for you, I barely know what to do with them all.”
“It’s not something that needs forgiveness,” she said, repeating his words. “But thank you for saying it.”
She closed the sliver of distance between them, dropping her purse to the ground, and placing her hands on his face. “You taught me how to give up control, and you also taught me that you liked it even when I took charge, so that’s what I’m going to do right now. Because I can’t go any longer without this,” she said, then planted a dizzying kiss on his lips, sending his head spinning and turning his world hazy, filled only with thoughts of her, of ravaging her, of sliding inside her and sending her into ecstasy. He could barely believe he’d gone without touching her for five days now. Those five days were hell and he never wanted to experience that kind of torture again. No, he wanted to be tortured only by his lust for her, by his bottomless desire.