Page 108 of Olivia's Only Pretending
People couldn’t help but glance our way as his hands met mine, our fingers entwining.
“You made it,” he said, his voice tender, quiet.
I chuckled. “I’m a total mess, but yes, I made it.” My chest was rising and falling fast.
“It ended early?” Victor asked, his warmth wrapping around me.
“No, I left early,” I said. “I skipped the last part.”
“Liv.” His voice was syrup as he tucked a fallen strand behind my ear. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“You always show up for me. I want to show up for you, too.”
“You don’t see it, huh? How you do more than just show up for me. You make my world go ’round,” he said.
Our lips met lightly, and the room applauded around us. We broke into a laugh in the middle of our kiss. I glanced over his shoulder toward Emma and Gabriel’s table, where Gabe whistled.
Linda Hernandez was nodding, mouthing,It’s about time.
I buried my face in his chest. I hadn’t meant to make a scene. I’d only meant to be the smiling face on the front row, like he’d been for me, even if for just the last couple minutes.
Victor led me to his table with the bride and groom and their families. Linda grabbed my hand to give it a gentle squeeze.
“I’m glad you could make it,” Katie said warmly. “You must’ve booked it from your event.”
I’d definitely booked it down the winding roads between the school and Sweet River. “I didn’t even stop to fix my hair.” I gestured toward my falling ponytail.
“Well, now our table feels complete,” Linda said sweetly.
I felt my cheeks go pink. Victor slung his arm around the back of my chair. I rested my tired head against his shoulder.
Gabriel stood up to thank everyone for making it to the rehearsal dinner, his voice loud and eliciting murmurs of laughter throughout the room as he made a joke. Victor’s own laugh hummed under my cheek. A feeling of peace radiated through my body—a rare, warm feeling that I usually only felt with my family on lazy holiday mornings and late nights up talking in Mom’s living room.
Now, as I sat at this table with Victor’s family, with my head on his shoulder, that sense of home snuck up on me. A feeling Victor had more than earned.
He was so much more than a safe zone.
Thirty-Four
Victor
I can’t wait to see you, my official wedding date
This wedding wasn’t mine, or even in my family, yet I felt giddy as I slipped my silky burnt orange dress over my head. My auburn hair was in waves down my shoulders. I’d stayed up late last night with Victor’s family at the rehearsal dinner, sitting around the table drinking champagne and laughing as they shared stories about Emma and Gabriel.
Everyone kept saying,Tomorrow’s the big day, we need to get home, but no one moved from the table for hours.
Coffees and Commas was owned by Katie, so there was no closing time.
I loved having you by my side tonight, Victor had whispered after he’d given me a kiss on the forehead, his breath warm against my temple.I love …But he didn’t finish the sentence.
He loves me,too. I could feel the love in my bones, in his kiss, in the air between us, like it was a tangible thing, heavy between us. Something we carried together, shared back and forth.
I kept replaying that moment in my mind as I drove through Sweet River to the Grenseman Hotel. The wedding was taking place at an old hotel built during the roaring twenties. It had recently been refurbished back to its old grandness.
As I walked through the doors, it felt like stepping back in time to a lavish, grand party in the ’20s with shiny wood floors, opulent mirrors, and art deco stylings lining the walls.
I slipped into the ballroom, searching the seats for Lucy, Adam, and my mom. The ballroom was lavish and filled with autumnal flowers and decorated in rich golds and copper tones.
