Page 40 of Jilted

“Sloane.” We shook.

“So what kind of work do you do, pretending to be a guest at a wedding? Wait—you’re not an undercover bodyguard or something?”

“Definitely not.”

He rubbed his chin. “Food critic?”

“Nope. But you’re getting warmer.”

Joe and I talked for ten minutes. He was funny, with a self-deprecating humor I liked, so when he asked me to dance, I should’ve said yes easily.

“Umm…”

“You look like you’re on the fence, so let me get my hard sell in. I’m not a very good dancer. I’ll probably step on at least one of your toes. But…” He held up a finger. “I did grab the cologne bottle without my contacts in earlier, so I probably smell minty fresh. It turns out I slapped mouthwash all over my neck.”

I smiled. “Now how can I pass up such an enticing offer?”

Joe stood and held out his hand to me. I scanned the room as we walked, hating that I was looking for Wilder on my way to dance with another man. It was a slow song, so he wrapped one hand around my back and led with the other. Unlike my dance partner at the last wedding, Joe left room for Jesus. Yet I still felt tense dancing with him.

I took a deep breath, trying to relax a bit, and the minty scent of mouthwash washed over me. I laughed. “You weren’t kidding. You smell like Scope.”

“I was already running late and didn’t have time to shower again.”

“It doesn’t smell half bad. Clean, at least.”

Joe smiled and attempted to turn us, but his footwork did onething and mine did another, and he wound up stomping on my pinky toe. I lifted my foot and winced.

“So sorry,” he said.

“You really didn’t exaggerate anything, huh?”

We both laughed. I was still smiling when my gaze moved over his shoulder. And landed on a man who wasnotsmiling.Wilder. His stare was intense, but his face was expressionless. Like earlier, he soon turned away, this time without even the casual wave.

After that, I just wanted to go home. But that wasn’t happening until tomorrow since we were four hours from the city. I found Elijah and told him I was tired and ready to head back to the hotel next door. He hadn’t found a cute waiter this time, so he left with me.

Back in my room, I changed out of my dress, tied my hair up, and washed the makeup from my face. I’d just slipped under the covers when there was a light knock at my door.

My heart raced upon seeing Wilder through the peephole. The rest of my body joined in when I opened the door. Unknotted bow tie hanging loose around his neck, mussed hair, and a hint of five-o’clock shadow peppering his angular jaw—the man was a sight for sore eyes. He held up a bottle of wine, and his presumption pissed me off.

“Why aren’t you with the blonde?”

He frowned. “Because I couldn’t do it—even though I wanted to.”

I folded my arms across my chest, feeling anger rise within me. “You probably had too much to drink. It happens to men.”

Wilder closed his eyes. “That isnotwhat I meant. I meant I wanted to fuck some random woman and not be here right now.”

I started to shut the door. “Then why don’t you go do that?”

He stuck his foot in, stopping it. “Fuck,this is coming out all wrong.”

I opened the door halfway back and sighed. “What do you want from me, Wilder?”

He raked a hand through his hair. “Can I come in? So we can talk?”

I wasn’t sure what was left to say, but I would never be able tosleep without hearing whatever it was, so I gritted my teeth and stepped aside.

Wilder took two steps into the room and stopped, staring at the bed. He shook his head. “Actually, your first instinct was right. You shouldn’t trust me in here with you. How about we go for a walk? Maybe on the beach?” He caught my eyes. “Please?”

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