Page 11 of Something to Someone

“Why?” I tried again, breathlessly.

“I don’t think the dance floor is too small.”

“This may be one of the weirdest things you’ve ever done, and I can’t even hear the damn music.”

He chuckled and looked down at me. My eyes traced the line of his sharp jaw and up over his smooth cheek until I met his blue eyes. It was an unsettling sort of blue, one that someone with less willpower than me might easily get lost in. Especially when said person’s heart was thudding against their chest, and they couldn’t help but inhale and be overwhelmed by his deep, clean scent.

“You’re right,” he said. “The music is a little soft.” Then he started singing the lyrics loudly, drowning out the soft background noise. When the room wasn’t filled with linens and flowers and people, sound carried, and Ryder’s voice bounced off the walls around us.

“Ryder, you’ve got to be kidding me!” I angrily whispered, tugging my hand free and slapping it over his mouth.

We stopped moving, but he didn’t let me go. His hand I’d dropped appeared on my other hip, and his hold on me tightened. My eyes bounced between his, and I swore I saw excitement sparking behind his irises.

“What is your problem?” A shrug was his response. Not that he could speak with my palm covering his mouth, but that was beside the point. “Are you going to stop singing if I remove my hand?”

Another shrug, then a slow smile tilted his lips. I felt his grin against my palm, and the excitement I thought I saw before was truly blazing in his blue eyes.

Ryder made everything exciting and fun, and, fucking hell, it was contagious. I had no control over the twin smile that tugged at my mouth. With his eyes glued to my face, Ryder didn’t miss a second of it. He saw me struggle with my grin by rolling my lips.

It only made his smile widen, and the brush of his hips against mine was too much. I dropped my hand, and when I stepped away again, he let me go.

SIX

I SMELL TROUBLE

Ryder

Standingacross the gravel parking lot under a large oak tree, I continued doing what I had been doing all day: watching Caroline.

It was hard not to watch her. No matter how hard I tried, my eyes traveled back to her. She was magnetic and beautiful. Especially when she was in work mode.

When Stephen and Miles told me they were getting married, and how tight the timeline was, I knew Caroline would make it happen. That was why I’d sent them her way. They were getting the best wedding planner ever, and she was getting a new, exciting client.

I’d met Stephen and Miles freshman year of college. They’d walked in on me hooking up with one of their fraternity brothers in a bathroom at the frat house. The guy hadn’t come out yet, so he very quickly shoved me off him only for my head to collide with the counter behind me.

Miles and Stephen stayed behind to make sure I was okay, and the rest was history.

Now, we were planning their wedding.

On the other side of the parking lot, Caroline was talking to the owner of the third venue, Susanna, and saying her goodbyes. I leaned against her car, waiting for her and thinking about how amazing it would feel to take my damn dress pants off. I’d lost my jacket on the way to the third venue and kept checking to make sure I hadn’t started sweating through my shirt.

With graduation imminent and a corporate job calling my name, I had to learn to love a suit and tie. Or at least put up with it. My interview had gone well, and I was one step closer to securing a job after graduation. I had two more interviews scheduled for later that week. One of which would require me to move several states away.

Although I was in the second to last round of interviews, I hadn’t told anyone about that possibility. It was the highest-paying position, and they were willing to help me relocate. But I wasn’t going to get my hopes up until I had an offer in my hands.

Honestly, I was exhausted. Between preparing for finals, interviewing, and helping plan two of my best friends’ wedding, I didn’t have a lot of free time. But seeing Caroline made me forget about everything else.

She waved to Susanna and dropped her sunglasses onto her nose. Her long legs ate up the distance between us. Even over gravel, her stride was sure and confident.

“I thought you’d already left,” she said, unlocking her car and tossing her papers and bag into the back seat.

I smiled and tilted my head. I knew she was lying. Her eyes had darted in my direction several times while she spoke to Susanna. It was hard to miss when I’d been staring at her the entire time.

“No, you didn’t,” I said casually, and she flashed me her standard annoyed look I’d grown so fond of. Especially since it often held a little hidden humor behind her blue-gray eyes. “So, it’s definitely the last venue, right? It has to be.”

Caroline closed the car door and leaned her shoulder against it. “Yeah, I mean, I have to check with the grooms first, but I think they’ll agree. It meets all their requirements and then some. And they have the exact wedding date they wanted.”

“You’re really good at this,” I said, motioning to the venue behind her. Underneath the shade of the tree, she pushed her sunglasses on top of her head and smiled.

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