Page 136 of Harrison's Wedding

Hayden and Ally are dancing near Sebastian and an actress I’ve met a couple of times. I’m assuming that Heather is coming with Gabriel and Ariana in that case. I get a second drink, but I take my time with it, finally feeling at ease when I finish it.

Heather still isn’t here, and if Gabriel and Ariana weren’t missing from Gabriel’s own birthday party, I might think that she could be skipping the event. I get a third drink, recognizing that the alcohol has definitely kicked in now.

I’m feeling numb at the edges, and my nerves are gone. I think I’ll get a water after this one. I sip it slowly, because I’m already tipsy, and I don’t want to get drunk. I’m about a quarter of the way through when I spot Heather striding purposefully toward me across the dance floor.

She’s wearing a red cocktail dress. Her shoulders are exposed, and the sweetheart neckline accentuates her breasts, showing plenty of cleavage. Her hair is half up, with lots of braids running around her head, while the rest of her hair flows down her back. She’s also wearing the red lipstick that she loves.

She is a complete vision. It’s almost as though I’d forgotten how beautiful she is. She takes my breath away.

Right now, though, she has a frown marring her beautiful face, and she’s ignoring anyone who tries to get her attention as she passes them. Her eyes are trained on me, and I’m not sure why.

“Hi, angel. Why don’t you pull up a stool and drink away your sorrows with me?” I grin at her, then turn to the bartender and order for her. “Can you get a rum and Coke for the most beautiful woman in the world?”

The bartender nods and starts making her drink. Heather frowns at me, distracted from whatever has brought her to me, while she tries to figure out why I ordered that for her. I can see the moment that the puzzle pieces click into place for her, and an attractive red flush comes to her cheeks.

“Yes, angel, it’s what you were drinking the weekend we last had sex,” I tell her as the bartender hands Heather the drink. “I can’t pretend that I don’t hope that it’ll happen again tonight.”

I allow my gaze to roam over her body in the red dress. It stops mid-thigh, and as she slides onto the stool next to me, it slides up her legs a few inches, and a shot of arousal heads straight to my cock.

“So, you didn’t bring someone else with you, then?” she asks, sounding very casual as she takes a sip of the drink the bartender gave her.

I raise my eyebrows at her. “What the fuck? No, I wouldn’t. Why would you think that?”

Heather’s entire body relaxes, and I realize how tense she was as she tells me, “The reporters outside told me that Seb had brought someone with him and asked if I was jealous. When I told them that pigs would fly before I’d get jealous over a girl with Sebastian, somebody else said that you’d brought a girl with you, too.”

I frown at her, trying to understand why the hell the reporters would tell her that I had a date with me tonight, then I burst into laughter and tell her, “Ally. I came with Hayden and Ally. She mostly avoided The Gauntlet, and it wouldn’t have been obvious that she was with him, not me.”

“Oh, and it’s a much better story if she’s here with you instead of him, too. The guy seemed very pleased to be able to tell me you’d brought someone with you,” she rolls her eyes.

“How did that make you feel, angel?” I raise an eyebrow at her.

She laughs, “What are you, Harrison? My therapist?”

“No, just your curious ex-fiancé who is desperately hoping that you still care,” I tell her truthfully.

“Yes, Harrison,” she sighs and admits, “I felt more jealous than I’ve ever felt in my life. I thought I might literally die if you were here with someone else.”

These words. The confirmation that she still loves me. The knowledge that she doesn’t want me to be with anyone else. It overwhelms me, and I need her to know the one thing that will always be true.

“Heather York, you are the only woman I want. You are the only woman I will ever want.”

I stand up and take a step toward her. I stare down into her crystal blue eyes as she looks up at me. Her lips are slightly parted, and I reach my hand out to softly brush her bottom lip with my thumb. Her breath catches when I do, and the signs of her arousal are so obvious to me that they might as well be flashing neon lights.

I lower my head to hers slowly. I want her to have the chance to stop me if she doesn’t want me to kiss her. She doesn’t, though.

My lips meet hers, and her floral scent invades my nostrils. She tastes like rum and Coke and sex and love and all the things I’ve ever wanted.

I slide my fingers into her hair, close my fist, and tilt her head up so I can kiss her more deeply. She parts her lips and allows my tongue to access her mouth as she stands up. She slips her arms underneath my tuxedo jacket and wraps them around my waist. In turn, I pull her hard against my obvious erection. I have never needed her more than I do right now.

When our kiss ends, we’re both breathing heavily, and I place my forehead against hers while I try to catch my breath and inhale her scent in equal measure.

I pull my head back to look in her eyes and say, “I’ve missed you, angel.”

“I’ve missed you, too, Harrison,” she tells me.

The slicing pain hits me. For a glorious minute, I had actually managed to forget everything that had happened. Her use of my name brings it all back, though. I close my eyes and turn my head away, unable to look at the beautiful woman I love so much.

I drop my arms from around her waist and start to take a step back, but she tightens her grip around me and begs, “Please don’t.”

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