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Chapter 17

DANI

Every drop of him, I took.

I’d never craved a man before, at least not like Jordy, and that would be a serious problem for me because all I wanted was more. I had to cut this relationship off—it wasn’t a good idea for us to continue. We were friends first and foremost, and even with the new changes to the relationship clause in our contracts, I still felt weird having a relationship with someone I worked with.

He laid there in the bed, unmoving.

Did I kill him?

“Jordy—you ok?”

“Yes. Amazing. Just let me lay here for a minute and enjoy my afterglow.”

“What the hell do you know about afterglow?”

He smirked. “This, Dani—look at me. This is an afterglow. I just had my dick sucked by the most gorgeous woman on this island. She sucked me dry and now is sitting in front of me looking like a damn angel.”

I smiled, brows raising. “Oh, an angel, you say? Maybe I should do this more often.”

Jordy sat up, leaning on his elbows. “Um, more often? The answer is yes. It should happen more often.”

“I’m gonna hop in the shower, I have to be in Becca’s suite by eight for hair and makeup, and you need to be in the groom's suite by nine.” I stood, gesturing to the bathroom.

He groaned, flopping back in the bed. “I don’t understand why we have to go get dressed with them when we aren’t even in the wedding.”

“Because they asked us to come get ready with them, and that’s what we're going to do.”

“Fine…mama.”

I grabbed the closest thing I could find, which was ironically his untied shoe, and threw it at him. He ducked, laughing.

***

I sat back on the couch, sipping my mimosa as I watched the hairdresser pin Becca’s curls up. Lenna’s hair was already fixed and while she waited her turn for makeup, she came over and plopped down beside me.

“So, what are your intentions with my brother?” Lenna asked with a swig of her matching mimosa.

I chuckled. “We’re just having fun, Lenna. That’s all.”

She scrunched up her face. “Gross. I’m tired of my friends falling for my brothers.” Lenna losing her oldest brother was so difficult, and from the way she spoke of him more often, I knew she was slowly healing. “But somehow, Becca fell for both of them—I don’t understand.”

Wait, did she say both brothers?

As in, also Jordy?

My face was a dead giveaway—I obviously was confused by what she meant. She blinked rapidly, realizing that she wasn’t supposed to say that.

“ Both brothers?” I choked.

She closed her eyes, taking a breath before she turned to face me, knocking our knees together. "I, uh, I hate my stupid mouth. Yes, um. I mean, you know about Becca and Thomas. But I know that Becca and Jordy hooked up one time—I don’t know much else.”

Glancing at Becca, with her stunning blonde hair framing an angelic face and glimmering green eyes, I could see why Jordy would like her.

A touch on my hand brought me back. “But I want you to know that they never dated or anything like that. To be completely honest, I’ve been waiting for you and him to get together. You just…fit. You balance each other out,” Lenna reassured me.

I knew what she was saying was nice, but there was a tiny bitter bitch inside of me that was pissed off knowing about him and Becca…the gorgeous bride!

Oh my god. Get a grip, Dani.

Becca connected eyes with Lenna and I, and somehow Lenna sent a subliminal message across the room because Becca stood, grabbing another mimosa off the tray to head our way.

Lenna came to her feet, stopping Becca a few paces away before heading to the makeup artist, leaving Becca and I awkwardly staring at one another. She sat beside me and took a sip of her mimosa.

“Okay, I’m gonna give you the rundown of what happened and I don’t ever want to talk about it again,” she stated nonchalantly.

“Okay,” I said with a pit forming in the lower depths of my stomach.

She nodded, swallowing nervously. “One night, I was on vacation in Destin, Florida, and it was only an hour away from where Jordy went to college. I ended up running into him at a restaurant at the beach and we had a few drinks. Now when I say few, I mean many.” She laughed, taking another sip. “Somehow we ended up back at his condo, we kissed, we made it to his room, and then I called him Thomas.”

My eyes widened. She called him by his older brother’s name. Closing her eyes, she sighed and leaned back against the couch. “I called him Thomas. It didn’t matter how drunk we were, that hurt him. He could have gotten mad. He could’ve yelled, or kicked me out, but instead he just said that maybe we should get some sleep.” She tapped her glass with a tink , looking into the orange abyss as she continued. “He tucked me into his bed, and went to sleep on the couch. In the morning, I got my things and left, and we never talked about it again. I actually saw him for the first time after that when I came to visit Lenna for her thirtieth birthday.”

Sitting back up, she knocked her shoulder into mine. “Nothing ever happened, and I’m so glad it didn’t. And here I am, about to marry the guy I swore I wouldn’t.”

We both laughed at that, because Shyloh Mendoza was one of a kind. “But, I do have some advice for you about Jordy. When he loves, he loves big. When he falls, he falls hard. And when he hurts, he hurts more than anyone else. So be gentle with his heart. He might seem like he’s tough and strong, but underneath all of that is just a boy that only ever wanted to be chosen and loved.”

I let her words settle into me as she gave me a side hug before she headed back to survey the make up artist’s work on.

Jordy had always been so kind, so loving, and it made sense. I worried about when the time came for us to go back to normal…would he be able to do it? I should’ve known better before agreeing to come with him.

I didn’t want to regret anything, but at the same time, I wanted to enjoy the rest of this trip with him despite the consequences, which was irresponsible of me. I knew better than to let this relationship go forward. But his laugh. His smile. The way he touched me, looked at me, made me feel like I was the only woman in the world…that was going to be a problem for me.

“Okay ladies, I have a surprise.” Becca looked at Lenna, me, and her older friend Donna. “I know I wasn’t going to have bridesmaids, but…I’d like for you three to stand by my side today. If you’d like.”

The room erupted into a chorus of cheers as each of us gathered around Becca, wrapping her in our arms.

“Okay great, now…I need to get my dress on,” she said with a grin.

Together we slid on Becca’s dress, fastened the laces in the back which formed the perfect bodice.

“Shyloh is going to pass out when he sees you,” Lenna gasped as we fixed the bottom of Becca’s dress. Her off-the-shoulder satin dress fit her body like a glove. She was absolutely stunning, which made sense for Shy. They were the perfect pair.

Lenna clipped the veil in Becca’s hair with tears in their eyes. They had been through so much together, and here they were.

Once we all stepped away, we smiled, taking her beauty in.

Grinning, Becca said, “Let’s go girls.”