Page 11 of Bound By Words

When I finally gave up and returned to my room, I slipped into the bathroom, pulling out my emergency stash and stowing a few condoms in my back pocket. While I wasn’t trying to find her purely to proposition her for sex, I wasn’t going in unprepared if the opportunity presented itself.

The lobby was quiet as I descended back to the main floor, and Kelly was still nowhere to be found. The ballroom was the same. Her family was still enjoying the party, the dance floor packed, and the liquor flowing, but she wasn’t with them. I wondered if all the happy couples had gotten to her as well. It was hard to be one of the few single people at a wedding, a place I’d been in when my siblings had paired off and married.

Weddings could be incredibly romantic, especially one held on Valentine’s Day. But it was lonely as hell when you didn’t have someone to share the atmosphere with. I hated thinking of Kelly escaping somewhere alone because she couldn’t stomach being left out. At first, I’d been worried my staring would be noticed by her date, but there hadn’t even been an empty chair beside her at the head table. She was here without a plus one, just like I was.

I moved out into the hallway bordering the courtyard; the thin layer of snow outside was illuminated by the soft pink lights strung in the trees. It reminded me of the first time I’d seen Kelly, her flushed cheeks lit by the fairy lights that Evan had covered the courtyard at the Met Cloisters with during that dinner in New York. I hadn’t let myself acknowledge it at the time, but something had drawn me to her even then. And as I eavesdropped on her unsubtle comments to Kristine about how she’d like to climb me sent a thrill through me at the time, I’d quickly tamped it down because of my commitments elsewhere.

Now that those weren’t an issue, that attraction flared to life as I saw dark red velvet and white fur at the edge of one of the outside windows.

I had a feeling I’d just found my runaway bridesmaid, and I didn’t think I had the strength to stay away from her any longer when I glimpsed her profile and saw her wet cheeks glistening on the other side of the glass.

KELLY

Minneapolis

Angrily swiping at the tears that gathered in the corners of my eyes, I pulled my cloak tighter around my shoulders and tried to ignore the soft instrumental music that drifted through the open doors of the venue. I should be in there—at my own brother’s wedding—having fun, not throwing a pity party for one. I’d blame it on my period, but it wasn’t due for weeks, and I’d felt this way for months. Ever since…

Sniffling, I tried to stop the tears, hating that I was so upset over my brother tying himself to the love of his life. It just didn’t seem fair to me. Evan was over four years younger than I was, spent almost two years in total seclusion, and his life was still more put together than mine.

And when Miguel had regaled everyone within earshot of the story of Isobel going into labor and the mad dash to the hospital, I couldn’t hold in tears anymore. I escaped into the cold after my obligations as maid of honor were complete. I hadn’t even paid attention while my dad talked to me on the dance floor.

Sure, I looked like I had my life together. My job was well-paid, I lived in a nice condo several blocks from Madison Avenue, and I had a new-ish sedan I rarely drove parked in an underground parking space that I paid way too much for, but those were just things.

My last serious boyfriend was almost a year ago, and he was even dating someone new now. Thirty-two—almost thirty-three—shouldn’t feel ancient, but I’d had goals ten years ago, and it seemed none of the personal ones would be accomplished anytime soon.

Maybe spending the morning with Isobel had been messing with my head, making me think about things I couldn’t have. I imagined what it would be like if one thing had gone differently last year, but focusing on something like that would only make me miserable. I didn’t miss the man, I missed having possibilities.

What bothered me about Evan finally getting married was that I couldn’t even find a date for his wedding. No one took me seriously enough to look past the outside package.

“Kelly?”

Shit. This was just great. The man saw me half-naked this morning, which was embarrassing enough. This was just the icing on the cake.

“Go away, Nathan.”

His deep chuckle made the hair on my neck stand up as I turned away from him, swiping my fingers underneath my eyes. We’d had a brief flirtation months ago and exchanged a few friendly text messages, but even those had faded away, like my sex life.

“What’s bothering you? You slipped out without anyone noticing. I thought you’d be in there tearing up the dance floor.”

I clenched my eyes closed even tighter as I willed away my reaction to his voice, that deep timbre setting off something in me that I responded to on some primal level.

“And yet you noticed,” I muttered.

He didn’t respond, his sober expression unchanging as he looked at me with concern.

“Just enjoying the lovely night.” I shivered, my voice cracking as I tried to press myself into the window I leaned against. Maybe I could disappear into it, and he’d leave me alone to wallow.

“You’re so full of shit,” he chuckled as he stepped forward, placing one hand above my head on the glass and using his pointer finger on the other to tilt my chin toward him. “What’s wrong? Did your date stand you up?”

I hated that he was so tall; it made me feel vulnerable, and I didn’t like feeling at a disadvantage. I also didn’t like how his chestnut-colored eyes glowed in the dim lighting or the neatly styled hair and clean-shaven jaw he sported, which was so different from this morning. He looked utterly handsome, and I was a mess.

“Leave me alone,” I sighed, averting my eyes, and he clucked his tongue at me.

“Cut the shit, Kelly.” My breath caught at the authoritative undertone of his voice, my nipples pebbling under the thin layers of my satin dress. I tried to convince myself it was just the cold, but damn, his raw whisper had me shaking from something entirely different. “You don’t need to shut me out because I saw you in your lingerie. If I pushed away everyone who saw me half naked, I wouldn’t have any friends left.”

“What do you want?” I exhaled as I looked back into his eyes, challenging him to be honest with me. “Didn’t I embarrass myself enough around you this morning? You don’t need to be out here rubbing in how alone I am.”

“Well, aren’t you a little ray of sunshine?” he laughed humorlessly. “You thought that was embarrassing? I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it all day.” He paused, his gaze trailing down the front of my dress. “You looked sexy as hell, although I’m sure you’ll probably have a nasty bruise with how hard you went down.”

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