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Guilt immediately racked me. For the secret of my virginity. For the fact that I wanted to keep it a secret. That he thought for one moment I didn’t want every single thing he was doing to me and all the ways my body reacted.
“That’s not it,” I said, stepping closer and placing a kiss on his jaw. On his chin. “What are you doing tonight?”
I already knew the answer.
He smiled underneath my lips. “Any ideas?”
“I’d like to check on your apartment, make sure it’s still in good shape—you know, for my job.”
“For your job,” he repeated, kissing my cheek, nipping the shell of my ear.
I let out a shaky breath. “We should get back...”
And in five minutes, we did.
37
Tyler
Weddings might be my new favorite date with Henrietta. Although she sat at the bridal party’s table for the meal, I loved watching her, seeing her smile, meeting her eyes across the room.
And knowing she was officially mine... it made it that much better.
After the meal, Mara and Jonas shared their first dance. They held each other close, Mara gently playing with the hair at the back of his neck as they swayed back and forth. Then the DJ invited other couples to the dance floor.
I crossed the room to Hen. “May I have this dance?”
She smiled up at me. “I’m not sure what my ‘male friend’ will think.”
I laughed, remembering how heady and nervous I’d felt to be introduced to Hen’s entire family as her male friend. But now I wouldn’t want to be known as anything else. “I think your male friend will be mighty disappointed if he doesn’t get to spin you around the dance floor.”
Her chocolate eyes warmed. “I’d love that.”
I extended my hand, and she slipped hers in mine. The perfect fit. As we walked away from the table, I spun her twice, and she giggled, her dress flaring around her. On the third spin, she fell into my chest, breathless and smiling.
“I wasn’t ready for that,” she said with a laugh.
“Well you looked damn good doing it,” I said, two-stepping with her. We fell into rhythm together, just like we had that first night I taught her to dance.
She leaned her head close. “Thank you for coming. I know weddings aren’t for everyone.”
I kissed her crown. “I love being here with you. And you might be surprised—I think weddings are fun.”
“Yeah? What do you like about them?”
“Other than the leap of faith it takes to commit in front of everyone you know?”
She chuckled. “Yeah, other than that.”
“Hmm.” I thought it over for a moment, letting the music wash over us. “I like the cake cutting, and not just because I inherited my grandpa’s sweet tooth.”
Smiling, she said, “What is it then?”
“You know how they hold the knife together? It’s ridiculous and adorable at the same time. And then you get to see their personalities on full display by the way they feed each other.”
“What do you think of shoving cake in each other’s face?” she asked.
“A waste of perfectly good cake.” He winked. “Unless you get to lick it off.”