Page 37 of The One

I stepped back, crossing my arms while I watched him pick through the peony and rose boutonniere attached to his suit. He pulled out two safety pins and placed one in his mouth before kneeling at my feet.

“Hold still, Mia. This might tickle.” As playful as his words were, the deep tone of Rhys’s voice and the tortuously lethal way his fingertips crawled along my leg from under my dress left me even dizzier. “Hmm,” he thought aloud, one pin between his teeth. “We might need to take this off to pin that lace in a way that my mother and your sister won’t kill you.” He rolled the fabric above my hip, gliding one perfect finger in a path of destruction from my ankle to my hip, softly pressing his lips against my skin.

“A professional photographer, professional flirt, and now a tailor?”

Rhys laughed while working to pin the lace. The soft tugs of his fingers on my dress bumped me closer into him while he fiddled with the fabric.

“I’ll be anything for the woman I love,” Rhys whispered, clasping two pins and slowly letting the fabric unroll with his hands slipping along my legs.

A pounding at the door distracted him, but I still couldn’t move. Neither could he. Whoever knocked on the door had no clue their sound mirrored my heart as Rhys remained squatting at my side, the hem of my dress clenched in his hand as it rested stiffly on my foot.

Someone called out once the knocking paused, “Are you in there, Rhys?”

His name caught in my throat, but one of us needed to say something. I felt the weight of his slow exhale in the space between my foot and his knuckles. It was heavier when he released my dress and stood, his stare fixed on my wrist as he tentatively reached for it, tracing the diamonds of my bracelet.

“You don’t have to be nervous.” I knew I couldn’t fool him with the tremble in my voice. I lifted my free hand to his jaw, feeling Rhys’s tension melt with my touch.

Whoever needed him, whatever Rhys was putting off, it didn’t matter to him in that moment. And right there, with his fingers tightening around my wrist and his head pressing into my hold, I was in control again. Better yet, we were.

“Please look at me,” I whispered, caressing his cheek with my thumb.

His dark eyes were full, absorbing me and taking away my breath when they slowly rolled up to meet mine. Rhys tightened his grasp around my wrist and lifted that hand to his chest, holding it against his heart. “That was bound to slip from how tightly I’ve been holding it together. I’m sorry for being so forward, Mia.”

Relieved he was talking again, and talking about the word that was still swirling around with the butterflies, I grinned at him. “Since when would I expect you to not be forward?”

He lowered his forehead to mine, his lips parting into the smile that made me melt into a puddle. “Let me see what my dad wants and, if you can spare a minute, I’d like to tell you more about how much I love you, Mia.”

“Is that what this is?” Not sure if it was nerves or confidence, but I giggled and leaned in closer to him because that was where I wanted to be.

“You tell me,” he challenged, his voice deep as he lowered his mouth to my neck, his warm lips leaving a trail of kisses from my earlobe to my collarbone, “this isn’t love?”

The pounding continued and Rhys kissed me once more, winking as he spun me around to watch him slip into the hall. With the few seconds the door cracked open to let his gorgeous figure disappear behind the panel, I could already hear my mom and sister calling for me like I was a kid who was late for dinner.

“Find me after the ceremony,” I told Rhys when he returned, combing back his hair. “If I don’t get back there, they’ll blame me for something.” Picking up the hem of my dress, I approached Rhys and the door, preparing myself to face my family.

Rhys chuckled, shaking his head. “Too late. We’re both in trouble, but the joke’s on everyone else because they don’t know just,” he paused, squeezing his hands around my hips, “how much trouble we can get into.”

Thankful for my heels, I barely had to stretch to kiss him. “Be careful with my dress,” I teased. “My tailor just repaired it.”

“I’m talented, Mia,” Rhys returned my kiss, deepening its intent, “but I bet you a weekend in bed that dress won’t make it through the night.”

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