Page 86 of Play the Last Track
It’s not a large wedding. Scott’s parents invited a few friends, and the rest of the guest list is mostly teammates and a few teachers from Ivy’s school. There are no more than a hundred people here, but I think that’s exactly what they wanted.
The woman standing directly in front of me leans back, her shoulders pressing into my chest, her head rolling onto my shoulder. She sighs, a smile painted on her lips, aimed at the couple.
When her eyes flicker up to mine, dark lashes showcasing the brightest blue, my heart seems to skip a beat. I’ve come to realize that the heart skip, the racing pulse, it’s all going to be normal from now on. It’s the effect Katie Murphy has on me.
One I know she’ll likely have on me forever.
“They’re happy, right?”
“If they were any happier, they’d be taken away to be studied.” I drop my head, pressing my lips onto the exposed skin of hershoulder. My hands find her hips, and I tug her back into me. Her surprised squeal makes me smile, grazing my teeth over her skin. My palms slide around her waist, fingers slipping over the satin fabric wrapped around her body. The light blue creases under my touch, and Katie lifts her hands to stop my movements.
“Don’t play with my dress, it’s expensive.”
“Did I pay for it?” I say, turning my head to look at her. Her eyes sparkle, her lashes painted and surrounded by makeup. She’s stunning. I haven’t been able to take my eyes off her since the moment she walked down that aisle earlier.
“Obviously.”
“Well, it’s mine to ruin then, isn’t it?” I lift an arm, trapping her chin in my fingers and angling her head so I can drop a kiss on her lips. She sinks into me. Her mouth moves with mine, and we get lost in the feeling. But, only for a moment.
“Stop it,” Katie says, pulling her lips away. I pout and lock my arms around her tighter, keeping her from stepping out of my orbit. “We’re supposed to be watching their first dance.”
“Who cares,” I murmur, leaning in to kiss the corner of her mouth. “They’re swaying back and forth in the middle of a room. Not much to miss.”
“These are our friends.”
“But I don’t like kissing them the way I like kissing you.”
“You’re annoying.” She shakes her head but doesn’t pull away when I kiss her again. When we break apart, she sighs and leans back into me, resting her head on my shoulder, and looks up at me.
“I missed you last night,” I tell her quietly, not looking away from her face. “And this morning.”
“It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours. We only slept in separate rooms down the hall from one another.”
“Too far,” I say, my thumb dragging back and forth across the satin fabric of her dress as I hold her. “How was this morning? Manic?”
“Actually.” Katie’s gaze flickers back to the dance floor, where Scott and Ivy are wrapped up in one another, swaying from side to side. Just like I said. “It’s been the calmest week of my life. I expected Ivy to be out of her mind stressed, but Scott’s made it pretty damn easy.”
“He’s a simp.”
“He’s inlove.” She playfully hits my hand. “He organized a driver to take her to all the appointments this week. Organized a spa day. This morning he had breakfast delivered to the suite—”
“We,” I interrupt. “Wehad breakfast delivered. I was a part of the ordering.”
She narrows her eyes at me before rolling them and smirking. “Fine,youas well.”
“Thank you.” I kiss her hair.
“As I was saying.” Her hands drop, fingers curling over my forearms as if she’s silently telling me not to let her go. As if I would. “Ivy’s been so calm. This morning was a dream. Everything was on time, and she was ready with plenty of time for photos. There were a few tears about her parents and her grandparents.”
“Wouldn’t be Ivy without a few tears,” I say gently, squeezing my arms around her. Ivy loves to cry; at movies, at books, at commercials. If it’s even the smallest bit sad, she’ll have a tear in her eye.
“I think it helped having the empty seats in the front row. The spaces for them.”
“That was a nice touch,” I say, lips pressing into her hair again, just above her ear so no one else knows. “It was a good idea, Rockstar. Proud of you.”
Katie flushes a deep shade of pink, and her eyes drop to where her hands are covering mine. She wriggles her fingers. Her empty fingers. Particularly one. On her left hand.
I so, so badly want to give her a ring.
