Page 30 of Falling for You Again

I give him a skeptical look. “What sort of affection?”

“Hand-holding, kiss on the cheek, maybe the lips. Remember, we’ll be newlyweds. Think you can handle it?” He looks smug.

I glare at him. “One condition. No sex.” I don’t trust myself not to fall for him. “I mean it. Last night was really great—”

He leans in close. “It was unforgettable.”

My mouth dries. “Yes, well, this is a business relationship, not pleasure. We can’t mix the two.”

His head falls forward in exaggerated disappointment. “If that’s what you want.”

Wantisn’t the issue. I’m protecting my interests and emotions. I know my boundaries.

“I’ll sleep in a separate room.”

Aaron sighs deeply. He stares at me, then offers a hand. “You have a deal,wife.”

I shake his hand. “Husband.”

A knock on the door has us jumping apart. I roughly exhale, shaking off my nerves.

“Ready for this?” Aaron asks, striding for the door.

“We’re going to tell them now?”

“I don’t see why not. Do you?”

“They won’t try to talk you out of it?”

“My parents? Absolutely. Charlie and Murph? Nah. They’ll understand why I’m doing this.”

Before I can say anything further—before I can prepare—Aaron opens the door. On the other side are his sister and brother-in-law.

“All set to go, bro?” Murphy asks. He and Charlie glance between Aaron and me. I wonder how much they overheard. Given the glint in Murphy’s light-blue eyes, I wouldn’t be shocked if they’d had their ears pressed to the door.

Aaron reaches for my hand, then turns his grin on Charlie and Murphy. “We’re getting married.”

“You’re joking.” Charlie laughs.

“No joke,” Aaron says, serious.

Charlie must have seen something in his expression because her smile disappears.

Then hers and Murphy’s jaws fall open. Aaron beams like he’s the luckiest man on the planet. A beer bottle slips from Charlie’s fingers. Glass shatters on the floor.

I gape at Aaron. We are fucking doing this. Holy crap.

He just shrugs and mimes ripping off a bandage.

Murphy finds his voice first. “I guess that means we’re family, Meli. Welcome!”

Chapter 13

Dinner for Four and a Half

Shortly before 6:00 p.m., after showering and changing into a mixed-print off-white midi dress with puff sleeves, I cross the hall and knock on Emi’s door for her dinner party. I’ve brought lemon posset, a tart pudding I whipped up from three simple ingredients—cream, sugar, and lemon juice—topped with fresh raspberries and chilled before I left for the shop this morning. I also picked up a chianti from the wine store I pass every day on the way home from the T. I don’t know much about food and wine pairings, but I searched online to find what complements an artichoke-stuffed beef tenderloin and these came up.

The door flies open to laughter and the aromatic scents of shallots, thyme, and smoked paprika. Emi stands there, holding a coupe glass full of a shimmery lavender cocktail, looking casually elegant in a paisley-patterned maxi dress. Her hair is in a high bun and wrapped in a scarf. Large gold hoop earrings swing from her lobes.

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