Page 47 of On Her Terms

Why did he do that? Was it for show, to let everyone know I was his possession? Or did it stem from something else, something like jealousy? If so, could that mean he feels more for me, too? After our staring contest, he tears his gaze away and goes back to talking to Tate and Alec, and a giant lump fills my throat.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” I say as Will and Amber wait for an introduction. “Amber, this is my cousin Will. Will, this is Amber—she’s Summer’s bridesmaid.”

As the two begin to talk, Granddad comes up to me, his friend D

eloris on his arm. “Found my plus-one for the wedding,” he says with a cheeky grin.

“Hi, Deloris. Nice to see you again,” I say and take her frail hand in mine. It’s nice to see that Granddad has found someone to keep him company. And she’s not half his age like Uncle Don’s new wife. I wonder when I’ll be settling their divorce. I nearly laugh at that, even though it’s not at all funny. No, a breakup is never funny, which is why I always avoided anything serious...until now.

“Where’s your plus-one?” Granddad asks.

I fake a smile. “We’re not joined at the hip, Granddad.” I point. “He’s over there, talking to Tate and Alec.”

Granddad turns, stares at the men for a good long moment. When he looks back at me, his astute blue eyes moving slowly over my face. I catch a hint of worry lingering in the depths. I stiffen, my back pressing into the oak bar top. Oh God, is he onto us? Does he know we’ve just been pretending?

He glances at his watch. “Well, we must go mingle. Then I’d like to turn in early.” He grins at Deloris, and I shake my head. I do not want to know the details of their relationship.

“Night, Granddad,” I say and give him a kiss on the cheek.

I finish the champagne in my glass and take in the long length of Luca, who looks incredibly handsome in his suit. Is he ever going to talk to me tonight? Then again maybe he’s waiting for me to go to him. I push off the bar, but that’s when Summer comes over, a big smile on her face, oblivious to the storm raging between Luca and me.

“You ready?” she asks.

I rack my brain. What the heck am I supposed to be ready for? Oh right, girls’ night. “You bet,” I say, injecting enthusiasm into my voice that I don’t feel. This is Summer’s week and I refuse to let my emotions ruin anything for her.

She waves Amber and Cara over, and they excuse themselves from the men they were talking to. “I’m so happy I get to spend tonight with my girls,” Summer says and links her arm in mine. “Champagne, facials and chick flicks,” she says as she leads us toward the bank of elevators.

I take a quick look over my shoulder and find Luca watching me. When my eyes meet his, he tears his gaze away, and it hits like a slap to the face. I honestly have no idea what’s going on with him. The only thing I know is what’s going on with me.

I’ve fallen hard for a man I thought I hated.

We take the elevator to our floor. Apparently all the guys are staying in the suites one level up from us. Summer hands us key cards to our respective rooms.

“I love you guys, but I need my own bed when we go to sleep.”

Amber laughs at that. “That’s so you can get your snore on without anyone throwing socks at you to shut you up.”

Summer laughs. “I do not snore.”

“The last time you came to Palo Alto to visit me and we shared a room, you woke up with twelve pairs of socks on the bed. Are you forgetting why?”

I grin at the two, then let myself into my room. It’s beautiful and spacious, but it feels so empty without Luca in it. The bag I’d packed earlier and left with the concierge is on my bed. I open it and pull out the nightshirt I bought the other day. A knock sounds on the adjoining door, and I open it to find Cara there. I look through her adjoining door and see Summer popping a bottle of champagne in the honeymoon suite.

“Get in your pajamas and get in here,” Summer says.

“I’ll be right there,” I say and pull my phone from my purse. The only messages awaiting me are from work, and I’m in no mood to deal with them right now. I drop the phone and head into the bathroom, walking by my plum bridesmaid dress hanging in the closet. I strip off my little black dress, and I exhale slowly. Dammit, this is so not the way I wanted it to come off my body tonight. The nightgown wisps over my skin as I slide into it, and I gather my dress and toss it onto the bed.

All the girls are dressed in pajamas when I meet them, and I put on my best smile. Summer falters for a minute as she hands me a glass of champagne.

“Everything okay?” she asks.

“Fine,” I say and then take a big sip.

Cara grabs the remote and flips through the stations as Amber looks through the packages of facials.

“Everything okay with you and Luca?” she asks, lowering her voice.

I tug on the collar of my nightgown. “Perfect.”

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