Page 29 of One Day Like This (Excess All Areas 1)

Minutes passed, hours maybe. Izabel lost any sense of where she was. Matt was kissing her. And in a perfect world, it would be because he loved her as much as she loved him. Instead, it was a ruse, a plan to fool Harry. But it was enough. It was a ray of moonlight she’d hold close long after the weekend was over.

“Damn, Iz.” Matt rested his forehead against hers.

She fought to capture her breath.

Then he grinned. “I’m going to enjoy doing that again.”

During the kiss, she’d reached for him, her hands splayed on his back. Where she was still rubbing them up and down. She quickly pulled them away.

Matt ran his fingers down her cheeks. “Yeah. You see Harry in the next ten minutes, he’s totally going to believe we just fucked.”

The words were like a splash of cold water to her face. For a moment she thought Matt had felt something. Something powerful like she had. But perhaps it had just been part of the game. Steeling herself inside, she smiled the best she could. “Well, let’s go then.”

If Matt noticed the change in her demeanour, he was smart enough to not say anything. He led her out of the room and, like a gentleman, offered her support as she navigated the stairs in her heels.

“I told Gemma the truth. About you. And this. When I asked her if she knew about Harry bringing Sophia, which she didn’t. She was mad on my behalf. I couldn’t lie to my best friend.”

Matt squeezed her hand. “Wouldn’t expect anything less from you.”

When they reached the rehearsal room, it was buzzing with her friends.

“Izabel,” Gemma squealed, flying in her direction, and squeezing her so hard Izabel could have sworn a rib cracked. “Hey, Matt.”

“See you in the bar?” Matt asked.

She caught a glimpse of Harry. He’d brought Sophia with him, and she struggled to not make comparisons, to understand why Harry had done what he’d done. “Yeah, won’t be long,” she said, forcing a smile. “Right, Gemma?”

Gemma nodded. “Twenty minutes. Half an hour max. Ollie is gagging for a pint and his mum wouldn’t let him have one before the rehearsal.”

“Tell him I’ll go have one for him,” Matt offered.

“Oh, God. Have a rum and coke for me too, then,” Gemma said. Ollie called her name. “We need to go. See you later, Matt. Come on, Iz.”

Izabel remained where she stood and watched Gemma head back to Ollie.

“You okay?” Matt said, tipping her chin so she faced him. His eyes were focused on her with such intensity.

“No. Take me with you.” She pouted. “I don’t know why he had to bringherwith him to the rehearsal. I thought it was meant to be just the wedding party.”

“You’re going to stay here and do two things. First, let the fact you look so fucking pretty in this dress give you enough confidence to stand in here alone without me. Second, remember ... everyone in this room knows what Harry did, and that says more about him than you.”

“You’re right. I’m fine. Big girl undies, right?”

“Right. Now kiss me goodbye.”

Izabel stepped up onto her toes and kissed his cheek. “Bye, Matt.”

“Pathetic,” Matt grumbled, placing his hands on either side of her face before stepping into her space. “You need to show Harry what he lost.” His kiss was one-step shy of being unacceptable in front of Gemma’s family. Yes, there were tongues. Firm and searching. And oh, God, she might melt into a puddle any minute. She placed her hand over his and held on. Then he finally let her go. “That’s how you kiss me goodbye, sweetheart.”

And with that, he turned and left the room.

Dear mother of God. She’d no idea what happened, but the kiss seemed to have removed her ability to walk. But it had also removed her nerves and evaporated any thoughts about her ex. Which she suspected was Matt’s goal.

She took a deep breath.

“Oh, Iz.” Gemma gripped her hand when she finally found her feet and walked over to her friend. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing? I know you said it was just for show, but that looked very, very real.”

Izabel watched him disappear down the hallway.

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