Page 4 of The Roommate Remodel

Brax seems so cool and calm, like a silly wedding tradition would never affect him.

He looks over his shoulder at me. “Not a fan of garters, unless it’smybride’s.”

A ripple goes through my middle at the thought of Brax’s hands slowly and deliberately peeling off a garter. Whoever ends up as his bride is going to be one lucky girl.

He nudges open a storage closet door with his shoulder, then backs up against it, still balancing three plates.

“After you,” he says, flipping on a light to reveal a closet filled with shelves of toilet paper, parking cones, extra linens and, oddly enough, a leather-worn saddle draped across a sawhorse.

“Are you sure about this?” I look over my shoulder once more.Hiding in a closet with Brax is definitely a bad idea. He’s unfairly gorgeous. And I make notoriously bad choices when I’m hungry. But then again, when has that ever stopped me before?

He points toward the reception, where I can hear the “Chicken Dance” playing, my least favorite song of all time. “If you want to dance, be my guest. Or you can enjoy some chips and guacamole on this comfortable saddle.”

His lips quirk into a crooked smile as he hitches his leg over the saddle and straddles the sawhorse. He looks like a ridiculously adorable cowboy, which is hardly fair.

I shake my head and steal his guac, settling on the floor instead. “It would be a shame to let this go to waste.” I stretch my legs in front of me, arranging the silky pink bridesmaid gown over my crossed ankles and setting my beaded clutch to the side.

“Where do you think this came from?” Brax asks, plucking a random tiara off the top shelf. It’s a weird thing to find in a storage closet. But then again, there’s also a random saddle in here.

I shrug. “Maplewood High’s prom? Mia mentioned the town uses this renovated barn theater for many events.”

“The prom queen left her crown behind?” He looks at me, puzzled.

“Who knows what happened? It’s a mystery. Like how we went missing from the reception.”

“Well, it’s yours now.Finders, keepers.” He holds it out to me, the fake diamonds glittering in the light. “It would look good on you.”

“I don’t want it,” I say, pushing it back to him.

“Why not?” he asks, more seriously. “You look like a princess tonight.”

There’s a thousand reasons why I shouldn’t. But the first one is that I can’t play this game with Brax.

He kneels in front of me, so I can’t look away from him. “In case you haven’t noticed, every man out there is looking at you.” Then he sets the crown on top of my head, sending goose bumpsacross my arms. He looks me over, satisfied. “You wear it better than any prom queen could.”

My stomach does this weird flip as I glance away from his intense gaze, my cheeks heating.

Is he flirting with me? Because I think he’s flirting with me, and I should walk out right now.

Just then, the emcee announces that the bouquet toss will happen in a few minutes. If I leave now, I’ll have a bullseye on my forehead that says,Hit me with your best shot.

As if he reads my mind, Brax urges, “You don’t want to go out there now.”

Then he sits beside me on the floor and steals a chip, like we’ve settled into a comfortable relationship where we share food.

We spend the next half hour polishing off the appetizers as Brax asks me questions like we’re in a speed dating round. I have all his attention now, and despite Mia’s warning, he’s not doing anything that sets off alarm bells.

“Favorite dessert?” he asks.

“Red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing.”

“Steak or seafood?”

“Both.”

“I should’ve guessed,” he says, eyeing my mostly empty plate.

“Ice cream flavor?”

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