Page 11 of Jilted

I was annoyed, yet oddly flattered. And tipsy now, too. And… I really liked the way it felt when he held me. Which meant I needed to put some distance between us—make room for Jesusand my sanity. I shook my head, wiggling out of his hold. “I need another drink.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“I don’t need an escort.”

“A drinking buddy?”

I hesitated.

“Do you know anyone else here except for me and the lovely bride?”

“No, but—”

Wilder released his hold around my waist, only to slip his hand into mine and tug. “Come on. One drink. I’ll be on my best behavior.”

I hadn’t been sure it was a good idea to have one drink with this man.

Which meant two was a terrible idea.

And that third we had, that was the one that landed me in the coat closet…

4WILDER

“Thanks, mate. You’re a lifesaver.”

The waiter counted out the cash I’d handed him. “No problem. You ever want to pay three hundred bucks for a cupcake again, I’m your guy.” He stuffed a few of the bills into his front pocket. “Oh, and if you happen to run into the chef who made these, you paid two hundred for them, not three.”

I chuckled and shook my head—the same head that I was pretty sure I needed to get checked after what I’d just shelled out for a freaking cupcake. Though it was still warm, and smelled pretty delicious, too.I should’ve negotiated a little extra for being fresh out of the oven.

I glanced across the room to Sloane’s table. Her seat was empty, as was her friend’s, so I took a lap around the ballroom. There was no sign of her anywhere, but I did find Elijah.

“Hey. Have you seen Sloane around?”

“She’s looking for the woman who works the coat check. No one was there. I told her I’d meet her out front in a few minutes. I want to say goodbye to someone before we get out of here.”

“A waiter that sort of looks like Jared Leto?”

Elijah’s eyes lit up. “Hedoeslook like him, doesn’t he?”

I thumbed behind me. “Just went into the kitchen a minute ago. Door’s over there.”

“Thanks.”

He started to walk away, but I reached out and stopped him. “Think you can take your time saying goodbye and give me a few extra minutes with Sloane?”

Elijah grinned. “Absolutely. Go get ’er, cowboy.”

I hurried to the coat check room. When I got there, the door wascracked open. I found Sloane inside alone, riffling through coats. Her back was to me, so I slipped in and quietly shut the door behind me. She turned when she heard the metal clank, and her eyes widened before dropping to the cupcake I was holding.

“Oh my God.” She lifted her hand and covered her smile. “I cannot believe you found one.”

“You said the only thing that could make you kiss me was a cupcake.”

“That was because I assumed there weren’t any to be found.”

I grinned. “Well then you underestimated how bad I want that kiss.” I held the cupcake up. “I believe the deal was a kiss for a cupcake with chocolate frosting. What do I get for one that’s still warm?”

Her tongue peeked out and ran along her top lip. “It’s really still warm?”

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