Page 103 of Playing Flirty

My stomach pulled tight.What if Neema accidentally exposed us in front of Shaun?While her intentions were always good, she occasionally ran her mouth a little.

“Come and pretend to be my dad,” she begged. “Please walk me down the aisle?”

William sighed and glanced at me. I tried to avoid his gaze, needing more time to figure out what my next move would be and what his intentions were, but he caught my gaze and his eyes initiated a game. And all I wanted was to play with him.

“Some grooms walk down the aisle too,” I whispered to Shaun.

“I haven’t decided what I’d like to do.” He stood next to me as Neema dragged William down the aisle.

“You know the answer to this question,” I joked.

“Ask Neema?”

I laid my first finger over the tip of my nose with a grin. “Bingo!”

Laughing, he called out to her. “Love, should I walk down the aisle on the day?”

“Try it out. See how you feel,” she called back.

Shaun offered me his elbow, and I hooked my arm through, looking up at him as we walked together. My best friend was marrying my other best friend. Aside from the crazy life I was currently leading, that was enough to keep me happy.

“You two need to practice.” Neema pointed at William and me. “You’re both stiff as hell. One time at least.”

I should have known Neema would do something like this. William offered me his elbow, and I weaved my arm throughhis. This time when I looked up at my escort, shivers ran down my body.

William was ridiculously handsome. The bright sun turned his tan skin golden and lit up his angled features. His dark brows were a shade darker, and the jaw I’d spent so many moments kissing was stubbled with fresh growth. I bit down on my lip, remembering how his straight nose brushed against mine when our mouths met.

“I’m glad you’re back,” I confessed.

Smiling, William gazed down at me, and my heart fluttered in the most absurd way.

“You’re hiding something from me,” he said, reading me like an open book.

If he only knew.

“I could say the same about you.” I gave his arm a gentle squeeze, hoping to relay my thoughts before I found the courage to say them. “When are you going to tell me all these horrible secrets?”

His mouth kicked upward again. Then he bit down on his bottom lip. “They’re not all bad. Some are good, hopefully—really good. I’ll explain everything. I promise.”

“If secret-keeping were a game, you’d win.”

He threw his head back and laughed, almost carelessly. The pressure in my chest grew with each laugh of his I was privileged to hear, as though my body were storing them.

We reached the end of the aisle, and Neema hooked her arm into mine before whispering, “You look good together.”

“You’re not really helping to keep me away from him.”

I tried to pull her away, but Shaun ran up to us.

“I have a surprise. Follow me,” he said and turned on his heel.

Neema dragged me back to create distance between us and them. “I thought I’d discourage it. It’s a really, really bad idea.A terrible idea, but…” She dropped her voice to a whisper. “But then I saw the way you smiled at him.”

My cheeks flushed hot.

“I can’t believe Shaun hasn’t figured it out. It’s so obvious. You practically drool while looking at William.”

“I do not,” I said, knowing full well I absolutely did.

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