Page 12 of Yours, Truly

Ivy had chosen The Ritz Hotel; one of the most glamourous venues in London. The afternoon tea was as luxurious as you could get. Anyone with money would have been here, it literally screams ‘dining with the stars’. Which showed how rich Ivy, Jude and their families were. If this was the engagement party, then the wedding would be even more extravagant.

I wandered through the foyer which featured an enormous, golden glass table with a colossal vase of pale pink roses and was greeted by a small walkway leading to the immense roomwe had hired. High ceilings, gigantic glass doors, everything was clean white with gold accents, enormous crystal chandeliers lighting the room, you could smell the money. I walked the red, old-fashioned carpet, ready to make Ivy’s night a dream come true.

Ivy’s parents came over to greet me and introduced me to Jude’s parents and sister quickly, before they pulled me to the side to thank me for helping plan and put this together for the happy couple. Ivy, Carol and I had pulled this party together in a week, we were lucky there was a cancellation for a date this close.

Carol had contacts in the city which helped to pull a few strings on this crazy but impressive deadline. I guess money could get you anything you desired when you wanted.

I examined the room to notice everyone was a stranger to me; I hadn’t even met the other bridesmaids yet. Despite not knowing many people, I admired the decor; we had really outdone ourselves. The place looked incredible. Carol introduced me to some of the guests, handing me a glass of champagne from a passing server. My eyes scanned the room looking for that one person I wanted to see. But there was no sign of him.

The party flowed, more of a casual get together with finger food served on silver trays and a continuous supply of champagne. It was time for the announcement to reveal the big news to the other people in Ivy and Jude's life. Just as we were about to begin, the door opened making a slight bang.

“Here's my big brother, late as usual,” Ivy announced, all eyes focussed on the newcomer as he strolled in confidently, as if he was the most important person in the room.

“Sorry, baby sister, I apologise for the late arrival. I couldn't find my watch,” he projected across the room as he strode towards us, crowding around the happy couple. Ivy and Jude stood a couple stairs up, mimicking a stage ready for the performance. The crowd laughed at the sibling’s banter. A weak chuckle escaped from me as my stomach dropped from the guilt as Nate’s eyes stopped on me for a split second; I had his watch. “Continue, dear sister, it's your night.”

Ivy continued with her announcement and the story of her engagement. Ivy explained she had come home from work the day of the proposal. It was the couple's five year anniversary together. They had met in the last year of uni when Jude bumped into her on campus as he was late for a lesson, from then it was love at first sight. Jude had decorated his parent’s whole house with pale pink roses, while candles lit the way, and cooked a simple mac and cheese dinner; that had been Ivy and Jude’s first date meal that Jude had cooked himself, because back then that was all he knew how to make. After dinner that night, he slow danced with Ivy to their song before getting on one knee and proposing.

I noticed Nate moved to stand with his mum. His tall frame towered over her as he placed an arm around her shoulder and she hugged him. Mark moved away slightly, not making contact with Nate, while all eyes were on Ivy and Jude. Beaming withpride, Carol let a few tears fall at the romantic story and at seeing her daughter incredibly happy. I swallowed and glanced curiously in his direction, hoping he noticed me like he had that first night. He did. He examined me, a shy smile appearing, as he stared in admiration. I bit my lip as I held back my smirk.Mission accomplished. I wanted to tease him a little and I had. I caught his attention, despite there being other more beautiful women here who had left nothing to the imagination, in very short dresses like they were at a college party.

Confidently, standing tall like a peacock, I focussed my attention back to Ivy, who also introduced me to everyone, announcing my maid of honour role and a little about our friendship. I felt my cheeks burn up as everyone glanced at me. I hated being the centre of attention. I would rather sink back into a corner than be stared at by everyone. Nate’s gaze stuck on me; hunger filled his eyes as he subtly licked his lips. I blushed a little at the attention, glad that I had slightly more makeup on to hide that. After the speech, the music started up so people could dance if they wished and Ivy began to work the room. Their friends and family all wanted to look at the ring and congratulate the happy couple.

This was my cue to hit the bar, I needed a whiskey to take the edge off, I needed something stronger than champagne. My anxiety was bubbling up and the adrenaline was rushing over me. I ordered two whiskies, swigging the first drink down in a couple of seconds in an attempt to take the edge off quickly, the second drink was to sip slowly and socially.

Startled, a hand pressed to my lower back, followed by the familiar scent consumed me. His touch ignited me.

“I think you owe me a watch, sweetheart,” he said quietly in my ear. He stepped to the side of me flagging down the bartender to order himself a drink.

“Is that so?” I teased, reaching for my whiskey, raising the glass to my lips before a small smirk formed. I was ready to give him a bit of an attitude. “I thought with your hourly rate you'd be able to afford a new one.”

I figured he liked a challenge, he liked to be talked back to, he liked to be in control. Nate scoffed at my response, shocked but amused. He glanced around the room to see if anyone was paying attention but everyone seemed busy so he made a very bold move. He moved closer to my ear.This is dangerous. My body was shifting as alarm bells rang in my head.

“Oh, sweetheart, you're brave this evening,” he growled, the tone I’d grown to love sending a shock through me, causing arousal at the promise he was making. “I already warned you about that attitude of yours.” He pulled back and swigged the rest of his drink before he flagged down the bartender and ordered another whiskey.

10

THE ENGAGEMENT PARTY

My mouth felt dry, my breathing uneven, I could feel my body heating up every time he was near me. My body felt like a magnet being pulled to him. He knew what he was doing as he studied me.

“You look ravishing. I wish I could rip that dress off you like I did the first time and take you, right here on this bar,” he smiled innocently as he raised his glass to me before disappearing back to his family.What a dick.

I couldn’t control my body. I was aroused at his confession. I could finally let out the breath I had been holding in, trying to calm myself down as thoughts raced in my brain; I craved him more and more with every interaction we had.

As inappropriate as it was, I wanted him to touch me, to run his hands over my body right here, the trigger of us drinking whiskey at a bar just like we did that night. I wanted to grab him by the collar, drag him to the coat room and replay that night. I wanted to fuck him, good and hard. I wanted his lips on mine and all over me and I couldn’t deny that any longer. But this was wrong and I felt like such a bad friend having sexual fantasiesabout my best friend’s brother, right in the middle of her engagement party.

I needed to stay away from him. Every time I tried though, he seemed to gravitate towards me. Whether it was work or being around Ivy, or even when I was alone at night, he was always there, in person, in my thoughts, in my dreams.

Frustrated, I composed myself, grabbed my drink and began to work the room, introducing myself to the guests and getting to know a lot of faces of names I had heard over the years. That was until Ivy pulled a couple of us women over and introduced us all as the Bridal Party.

The bridesmaids were Mia, Chloe and Jade; I didn’t know the backstory of these friendships. We shared a few stories with each other as Ivy popped to the bathroom, before she came back to join us girls. Then she stole me away to thank me for an amazing evening, hugging me tight. The happiness was radiating off her like the sun on a hot summer’s day.

I could feel Nate's glare from across the room burning my skin. He couldn’t take his eyes off me but I also kept getting distracted by him too, no matter how hard I tried to avoid him. Scenarios playing out in my head, driving me so crazy that I couldn’t focus.

“Earth to Gi!” Ivy pulled me back to the conversation.

“Sorry,” I chuckled, feeling embarrassed. I couldn’t tell her I was mentally fucking her big brother. “I zoned out a little. It’s been a long week at work," I smiled, trying to put my attention on her.

“I wanted you to meet Zak, Jude's best friend,” she introduced the good-looking average man. She pulled him out of nowhere like a magic trick.

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