Page 83 of My December Darling

He kisses the corner of my mouth, and my toes curl despite the limited space in my sister’s boots.

We spend the next twenty minutes talking about the wedding while drinking our coffee and eating some leftover bagels from yesterday morning. It feels like a normal part of our routine. Like we always wake up every morning together, swapping stories and sharing laughs despite never having done this before.

It makes me feelwhole, so when Luke is the one to remind us of our brunch plans, I’m hesitant to leave our little bubble.

“You’re always welcome to stay the night again.” He grabs my coat from the couch and helps me into it.

“I might take you up on that.” I flash him a smile.

I thought sex would complicate matters, but if anything, it clarified my biggest worry.

Luke and I have a chemistry that can’t be ignored, and no amount of avoiding it will make it disappear. And after last night, that’s the last thing I want.

That much I know.

Luke and I are seated at opposite ends of the table for Catalina and Aiden’s celebratory brunch, so I don’t get a chance to talk to him again before I’m carted away with the bridal party to get ready for tonight’s New Year’s Eve bash at a bar in town called Last Call.

My sister’s second-favorite holiday is New Year’s Eve because she loves fireworks and gets all sentimental about new beginnings, so I can’t think of a better way for her to spend her first day as a wife than celebrating the holiday amongst family and friends.

As soon as we make it to the rental house Gabriela and Aiden booked for their wedding weekend, my sister holds true to her earlier promise and pesters me with questions about Luke, all while her bridesmaids listen in like we’re on a talk show.

Gabriela drops onto the couch beside me. “So…”

“Yes?”

“You and Luke.”

“Mm.” I nearly stab my eye with my mascara wand.

“Are you going to do the long-distance thing?”

I stare at her for a few moments. “Why are you asking?”

“If I didn’t, that would make me a terrible sister.”

“Terrible? Or respectful of my privacy?”

She tosses a throw pillow directly at my head. I dodge it, and it lands with a thud near one of her bridesmaids, who accidentally messes up her winged liner.

“Sorry!” Gabriela waves her hand with a laugh.

My hopes of my sister dropping the subject are dashed when she asks another question.

“How was it?”

“What?”

“Thesex.”

I glare at her. “I’m not talking about that with you.”

She falls back against the couch with a sigh. “Okay. Fair enough, but will you at least update me on what’s next for you two?”

“Nope.”

“Cata!”

“That’s none of your business.”

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