Page 88 of When Love Is Unexpected

She looks out the window again and remains quiet for the rest of the thirty-minute ride to our destination.

When we arrive, the rest of our party is already there: Emma, Luke, Abby, Andrew, Tiffany, Josh, Luke's best man, Tom, and his wife Annie.

I sit next to Laila and reach for her hand under the table, but she pulls it away.

The conversation with everyone else at the table flows easily, and we all have something to add about the upcoming wedding.

"Where are you going for your honeymoon?" asks Laila.

"Spain!" Emma squeals, "I'm so excited! We leave Monday, and we'll be gone two whole weeks."

"Now it's time to burn off all those calories," says Tiffany, grabbing Josh's hand.

Everyone at the table grabs their partner and heads to the dance floor.

"Will you dance with me?" I ask, offering Laila my hand.

Her green eyes are boring into me like daggers.

"I don't know how to line dance yet," she says.

"It's a slow song," I say, listening to the lyrics of one of my favorite songs.

She takes my hand, and I lead her to the dance floor. I wrap my arm around her waist, pulling her close to me. Moving on the dance floor with her in my arms is sweet torture.

"Something about strawberry wine?" she asks. "Interesting lyrics."

"Yes," I say. "But you're much sweeter than any wine."

After rolling her eyes, she says, "Don't try to sweet-talk me; it's not going to work. As soon as this little charade of yours is over, I'm going home.

"I told my parents everything this morning."

"Is that right? Then I can go home."

"You're my date to my sister's wedding. Please don't leave."

"Fine. I'll stay for the wedding, but I'm leaving Sunday."

"What about the reunion?" I ask.

"What about it? You can take Patricia."

"I don't want to go with Patricia. I want to go with you. I lo—."

"You what?" she asks. But I can't say it. I can't bring myself to tell her I love her, so I show her.

This song serves as the perfect backdrop to our kiss, making all other sounds and voices disappear. The music is slow, and the words are true. Her lips are sweeter than anything I've ever tasted. She wraps her arms around my neck, and I wrap my arms around her, pulling her even closer. She not only lets me kiss her but responds by kissing me back. We dance, and we explore each other's lips. I wish the song could last forever, but when it ends, so does our kiss.

"Don't ever do that again," she says, her eyes glistening with tears.

"You kissed me back," I say in protest as I watch her walk back to our table.

"You said the best and easiest plan is to go back to being just friends. Remember?"

I remember, and she knows it, so she continues.

"I'm not going to be your friend with benefits," she says, sitting down. "Even if the only benefit is kissing, I'm not going to do it."

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