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But I don’t. I want to do things right.

I’ve waited this long for Elena. I can wait a little longer.

CHAPTER NINE

ELENA

The other sideof the bed is empty when I awake the next morning, but the T-shirt I’m wearing smells like him.

Bringing the neck of the shirt up to my nose, I inhale Jake’s clean spicy scent and groan. Why does he have to smell sogood?

I’m so content lying there in the comfy hotel bed that it takes me a minute to remember why I went to sleep in such a bad mood.

Then the memory of the confrontation between Derek and Jake comes flooding back, and I smash my face into the pillow. Every member of the wedding party was at the club last night, which means they must have all witnessed the brawl.

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. I’m still Carmen’s maid of honor. I need to focus on her.

Rolling over, I pick up my phone to check my messages and see a flood of notifications crowding the screen. I must have had my phone on silent, because I have no fewerthan six missed phone calls from Carmen and a slew of drunken texts.

10:21: You’re leaving?????? But the party’s just getting started!

10:38: Whoa. Derek is pissed! What happened with you guys?

11:14: Are you and Jake shacking up?

11:17: Guuurl, you better answer me!

1:01: How big is Jack’s penis?

*Jake’s

1:45: Elena!!!!

1:52: Ur my best friend, and I love u, but Drek is gross.

*Derek

Snorting, I set my phone down and stare at the ceiling. I know I need to say something to Carmen since I bailed on her bachelorette party. But my feelings are so tangled and confused that I honestly don’t know if I should be defending Jake or complaining about what an overbearing ass he is.

Breathing in his yummy scent, it’s hard to be too angry with him.

I can’t count the number of times I’ve fantasized about sleeping with Jake, and last night he and Iliterallyslept together. I don’t know why, but last night felt more intimate than if we’d made out in the back of the Uber or had filthy, passionate sex in the nightclub bathroom.

We slept in the same bed, and his oversized T-shirt is chafing my nipples.

I realize with a flush of heat that if Derek hadn’t shown up when he did, I would have let Jake do a whole lot more than get a little handsy on the dance floor. The thought makes me squirm, and I feel pathetic.

While Jake may not have returned my feelings, he was my first love. And I’mstillnot over him.

By the time I drag myself out of bed, Carmen is grumpily sipping mimosas in the hotel restaurant and poring over a seating chart. She’s a little green and looks as though she’d rather be spending the morning with her head in the toilet, but a few of her family members are fighting again, which means she needs to redo the seating chart.

Unfortunately, her head is fuzzy from the hangover, and she keeps forgetting which of her aunts are on speaking terms and which are still cat-fighting. Carmen’s family also has two Josés and three Marcos, which makes rearranging the tables even more confusing.

After breakfast, we shut ourselves in Carmen’s room to assemble the wedding centerpieces. It takes longer than expected, and by the time I get back to the room to change for the rehearsal dinner, I’m running a little late.

I’m also beginning to worry.

I haven’t seen Jake all day long, and I’m starting to wonder if he murdered Derek and skipped town or if he’s just avoiding me.