grins, and I can’t help but laugh a little. “I’d say sometimes it’s detrimental.”
“I just don’t want you to forget what they did to you,” I say, unable to ignore how defensive I feel on his behalf.
As in, I want to defend him. Protect him. This is what friends do, am I right?
“I will never forget,” he says, and I can tell from the serious way he’s watching me, he means it. “Right now, though, I’d prefer not to dwell on the horrendous details of when my future marriage went up in flames.”
Pressing my lips together, I nod once. “Sorry.”
“Hey. It’s all good,” he says easily.
The server returns with our drinks. Theo gratefully reaches for the beer and takes a sip, leaving a thin line of foam on his upper lip. He licks it away quickly and I experience a weird dip in my stomach.
Yeah, no. I’m not ready for weird dips. I’m off men, remember? Especially ones I consider an actual friend.
“The main reason I wanted to meet for lunch with you is that I was hoping I could convince you to…” His voice drifts, and he glances down at the table for a moment before he lifts his head, his gaze meeting mine once more.
But he doesn’t say anything.
I shake my head a little, giving him a confused look. “Convince me to what?”
“Be my date. For the wedding,” he says softly, suddenly looking bashful.
My mouth drops open. “You want me to go with you to your ex-fiancée’s wedding?”
“Yeah, I do. I definitely do.” He nods eagerly.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” I start, trying to choose my words carefully, but he cuts me off.
“Honestly, Kels, what’s the big deal? I need a date, we’re friends, you’re gorgeous, Jess will take one look at you and realize I made a major upgrade, and I’ll look like I am on top of the world,” he says, his words coming out all at once, like one long string of consciousness.
I’m guessing he’s been thinking about this situation a lot. And he wants me in on it.
I’d love to help, but…
“I just worry about you,” I admit, reaching out to rest my hand over his. “Have you seen her lately?”
He slowly shakes his head. “I was invited to a family get together recently, and when I found out they were going to be there, I didn’t go.”
“Right. Because you didn’t feel ready to see her.”
“Well, I feel ready to see her now.” He flips his hand up so now our fingers are interlaced, and he gives them a squeeze. “Come on, Kels. Go with me. Be my wedding date. We’ll show everyone I’m completely over Jessica once and for all.”
I don’t know why, but the idea of going to Theo’s ex-fiancée’s wedding to his cousin fills me with dread. Like this is a bad idea.
Perhaps even the worst idea ever.
But have I mentioned how hard it is for me to resist Theo when he’s looking at me like that with those big brown eyes? I’m suddenly filled with the overwhelming need to make him smile, make him happy, and so of course I say:
“Sure. All right. Let’s go together.”
Two
Theo
The relief I feel at hearing her agree to go with me to Jessica’s wedding nearly makes me sag in my chair. But I keep it together because I don’t like showing signs of weakness. Especially in front of Kelsey. She always somehow encourages me to stay strong no matter what. Maybe because she’s so strong too.
And stubborn.
And smart.
Did I mention beautiful?
The woman is a complete knockout. Long, shiny dark hair. High cheekbones, plump lips, brown eyes. Lush body with curves in all the right places. When I accompany her places, we get stares. Correction, she gets stares. Men watch her with their mouths hanging open and I fully expect to see drool falling from their lips. Women study her like she’s a puzzle they want to figure out. Kelsey is absolutely stunning. To the point that if I don’t watch out, I could find myself becoming attracted to her.
Okay, fuck it. I am attracted to her. You’d have to be dead not to be attracted to Kelsey. But I knew the moment I spent one-on-one time with her, no way could I ever have a chance. I shot my own self down, and once I got past that, I realized that we got along well. She makes me laugh. I make her laugh. We have great conversations. Sometimes they derail into