Page 58 of Why Not Both?

I know weddings bring out the loneliness in some people and they act in ways they wouldn’t normally. But Annie’s behaviour is more of a turnoff than a turn on and I try to ignore her while dinner is served. Wait staff top up glasses of wine and people start eating.

After everyone is settled, but before I can make another quick departure, Annie stands and catches my arm, keeping me in place.

“Weddings are so lovely, aren’t they?” she asks.

“They are,” I respond, gently extricating myself from her touch.

She’s saying something else when I catch sight of a rainbow-haired siren coming up the stairs. Instead of paying attention to the guest, I watch Lis’ sure steps as she makes her way toward us, eyes fixed on me.

Annie must notice she doesn’t have my attention anymore because she’s watching Lis approach as well.

“Hey babe,” Lis says as she slips an arm around my waist and rises to her toes. I tilt my head down so she can brush my cheek with her lips. The whole interaction is so smooth, it’s like we’ve done it a million times instead of never. My arm settles around her waist, keeping her against me and every part of me relaxes.

“I just came up to check on things, see if we’re still on schedule for dessert.”

She didn’t have to come up to see that. She could have texted me. In fact, she should have texted me. It would have taken a lot less time. She came up to see this woman who wouldn’t leave me alone and had taken it upon herself to help me.

“Running like clockwork. Everyone loves your food. We should be ready for dessert in about twenty minutes. Maybe bring it up in fifteen?”

She checks her watch, noting the time and, even though coming up was a ruse, I know she’s going to have the dessert here in exactly fifteen minutes from this moment.

“Sounds good.” She reaches her free hand out to Annie. “Hi. I’m Lis, the head chef.”

Annie shakes her hand, her gaze darting between us.

“I’m Annie. The maid of honour. So, you and Spencer…” she trails off.

Lis turns to me with a bewitching smile, and I catch myself before I kiss it off her lips. “How long has it been, babe? A year almost? Time sure flies when you’re as madly in love as we are.”

“It sure does,” I respond, slightly bewildered at this amazing firecracker.

“Well, I should head back downstairs to the kitchen. Will you come down in about ten minutes to help get everything onto the elevator?”

She lifts onto her toes again, to give me what I’m certain is supposed to be a quick peck on the lips. But as soon as our lips touch, sparks shoot through me and my arm tightens around her, pulling her closer. She responds in kind, her hand grabbing a fistful of my shirt. The kiss, that was probably meant to last half a second, turns into three seconds, which turns into five. I don’t deepen it, but fuck, I want to. Though they’ve become like the Charlie Brown adults, I know there are twenty people around us, including Annie who is right fucking there, ruining what would have otherwise been me pressing Lis into a wall and taking her lips in a searing kiss that leads to—

We draw apart and Lis looks up at me, her eyes darkened to green and heavy-lidded. I keep my arm around her to steady her.

“As you wish,” I whisper.

I don’t know what I’m saying. Am I teasing her? Drawing out the Princess Bride joke? Or have I just told her I love her? Because I’m not sure how far from the truth that might be.

Annie clears her throat, and the moment is broken. Lis steps back and I let her go. I can’t stop from staring at her retreating back as she hurries down the stairs and I’m left to deal with Annie on my own again.

Chapter 23

Lis

The rest of the night flies by in a blur. The feeling of that kiss lingers on my lips the whole time. Tina and I get the desserts out and onto the trolley. Spencer arrives as I’d requested—a request that was supposed to just give him a legitimate reason to leave the party and escape Annie. Once dessert is delivered, we clean up and do some prep for the dinner tomorrow. I double and triple check everything, filled with a nervous energy I don’t exactly understand.

His whispered words come back to me almost as frequently as that kiss. He’d been teasing me. Of course he’d been teasing. He couldn’t possibly have meant it the way Westley meant it.

I’m the last one in the kitchen, scrubbing a spot that doesn’t need to be cleaned as the kiss and his words play on an endless loop in my brain.

“You know, I’m pretty sure you can’t scrub the counter away.”

I jump at his voice and turn. Then, I chuck the rag into the bin where we keep our soiled laundry.

“You all done for tonight?” I ask.

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