Page 27 of The Anti-Bachelorette (The Anti-Bachelorette 1)

He gives me a small laugh. “You sound like you are speaking from experience.”

I roll my eyes. “Yeah, something like that.” I let go of his hand then smile back at him. “Well, let me know when I can repay the favor. You ever need me to make her jealous, just say the word.”

Marco raises his eyebrows at me and gives me a huge smile. “Is that why I’m here? To make someone jealous?”

My eyes widen at him, and I quickly deny it. “No.”

He bites his bottom lip in between his teeth as he grins at me. “You never could lie to me Emory. Remember when I asked about who drank my fifth of tequila I had in the fridge?”

I smile back at him. “Hey, you still have no evidence that was me!”

He leans back against his chair and laughs. “Oh c’mon!” Then he looks at me and pretends to get serious. “So are you going to point him out so that I know when to turn up the charm?”

I push his shoulder. “No, because there isn’t anyone.”

He grins back at me. “Ahh so I guess I’ll just have to be charming the whole night then.”

I smirk back at him trying to hide my smile. “I guess so.”

We head into the hall, and I try to find my dad. He arrived early to help set everything up. I asked if I could help with anything, but my grandma insisted I spend the time ‘getting glamourous’ I believe were her exact words.

I see my dad over with my grandparents, and I go over to greet them. “Hi dad.”

He leans down and kisses my cheek. “Hey, there you are. You look beautiful, sweetie.”

I smile back at him “Thanks dad.” I look over to my grandma and do a little spin. “Is this glamorous enough for you?”

She just laughs. “Oh honey! You are sparkling. It’s beautiful.”

I turn to my grandpa. “Happy birthday grandpa!” I lean down and give him a kiss on the cheek. He smiles back at me. “Thanks sweetie.” My grandpa never talks much. He usually just likes to sit back and watch everyone around him.

I turn back to my grandma, and she has her mouth dropped open. I look over to where she is looking and see she is staring right at Marco. He gives her one of those adorable grins he has. My grandma looks over at me. “Oh honey. Who is this hunk of man you are hiding back there.”

I laugh. “This is Marco.”

Marco steps forward and extends his hand to my grandma. “You’re making me blush.” He gives her a little wink. She just places her hand over her heart. “Oh you got a good one here.” She grabs his hand and pulls him into a hug. “Any friend of Emory is a friend of ours. None of this handshaking nonsense.”

Marco just laughs. “Sounds good.”

He looks over to my grandpa. “Happy birthday sir.” My grandpa actually takes his hand and shakes it. He nods a thanks.

We are chit chatting for a little bit when my grandma’s eyes light up. “Oh Alaric dear, there you are! Come give me a hug, young man. It’s been way too long!”

My spine stiffens at his name. I don’t turn around, but it’s like I can feel his presence behind me. I quickly grab Marco’s arm and lean over to his ear. “Let’s go get you some of that free booze.”

Marco glances behind us and then back to me. He leans down closer to my ear. “That’s him, huh?”

I roll my eyes at him and mumble to everyone. “We’re going to get drinks.”

I pull Marco toward the bar without looking back at Alaric. I don’t even want to acknowledge he is here. Mostly though, I don’t want to see his date.

I get a white wine and Marco sips on a bourbon. I can’t help but glance over toward Alaric. The second I look that way though, my eyes connect with his. He is just staring over here so intensely. I swear my whole body freezes in place, and I can’t look away. The trance is broken though when his date reaches over and touches his arm. Alaric glances down at her but doesn't smile. Typical Alaric.

Marco leans back on the bar and looks over to where I just was. He raises his eyebrows at me. “Emory. I didn’t know you were into the older men. Isn’t that your dad’s friend? Naughty girl.” He smirks at me.

I push against his chest. “You are making all this up in your head. I don’t care about Alaric.”

He gives me a big grin. “Ahh Alaric. So he’s the man we're making jealous tonight.” He looks over to them again. “What’s the story here? Is that his girlfriend?”

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