Page 68 of Forbidden Billionaires, Vol. 9

I grabbed another glass of wine off one of the trays that waiters were carrying around.

"What do you usually do at weddings when you don't have a date?" Rory was smiling at me.

"Honestly? I usually drink too much and try to make out with someone in a closet." I lowered my glass of wine.

He laughed. "Well, I guess it's good I came with you then. Because I wouldn't mind making out with you in a closet at all." He wrapped his arm behind me and let his hand rest on my hip. "By all means, keep drinking."

"You don't have to get me drunk if you want to kiss me, Rory."

"But what if I want to do more than kiss you?"

I could feel my face flushing. I had never done anything like that before in public. But for some reason the idea excited me.

"From the look on your face, you probably don't need to be drunk for that either." Rory glanced behind him. "There's a closet right over there if you're interested."

Holy shit.

"Oh my God, Keira, is that you?!"

I turned my head to see another girl from my journalism club.

"Hi, Ella. Wow, it's been so long." I gave her a quick hug.

We had never really been friends. I probably wouldn't have even said anything to her if she hadn't approached me.

She always talked too much and tended to annoy me.

The only thing I ever wanted to listen to when I was writing was music, not Ella's endless chatter.

"And is this your boyfriend?" Ella stuck her hand out to Rory and gave him a big smile.

Shit don't use that word, Ella! You freaking bitch! I took a deep breath. I was completely on edge tonight. I almost wanted to laugh at my reaction. Calm down.

Rory coughed. "We're just friends," he said and stuck out his hand.

"Oh, sorry. You just..." she let her voice trail off and let go of his hand. "It was nice seeing you, Keira." She quickly walked away.

My reaction hadn't been that inappropriate.

That was completely awkward. But I didn't want to dwell on it.

Rory and I still hadn't had that conversation.

I might have said the same thing if one of his friends had asked.

It definitely wasn't worth ruining our night over.

Besides, I had never seen Ella shut up so quickly.

It was probably good that Rory had acted weird.

Rory put his hands in his pockets instead of putting his arm back around me.

Damn it. "Do you want to go find our seats?" I asked. The cocktail hour was winding down and the doors had been opened to the banquet hall where the reception was being held.

"Is that a rain check on the closet?"

"I'll probably need another drink before that."

"Then let's go find our seats and get you another drink." He put his hand on the small of my back and escorted me over toward the reception room.

I wanted to sigh with relief. His hand on my back made me feel like we were back to where we had been before Ella had almost ruined everything.

Rory pulled my chair out for me and sat down beside me. "So, are you going to know any of the other people at this table?"

"I'm not sure. I wasn't super good friends with Becca. We were in that club together but never really hung out beyond that. But since I'm a huge nerd...we saw each other a lot."

Rory laughed. "I like that you're a nerd." He put his arm behind me on the chair and scooted a little closer to me. "How many weddings have you been in?"

"Five. I was a bridesmaid four times and I was Emily's maid of honor. What about you?"

"Just one. I was Connor's best man."

"How long have you two known each other?"

"Since fourth grade."

"That's adorable."

Rory laughed. "I'm not adorable."

"I hate to break it to you, but you're super adorable."

He leaned toward me. "I thought you said I was super sexy?" he whispered in my ear. "I prefer that over super adorable."

I turned toward him. Our faces were only a few inches apart and I could smell the aroma of cinnamon wafting off of him. "I think you're super sexy and super adorable. I like that you're both." The way he was looking at me made it hard to breathe.

"I'm pretty sure the things I've done to you aren't adorable."

"No. But the things you do with your wolf pack are. You guys are quite adorable."

Rory laughed. "Is that what you call us? I like that so much better than what Jackson calls us...a threesome of big strong men."

I couldn't help but laugh. "I'm so sorry, but I have to ask. Is Jackson gay?"

"What? No."

"Are you sure? Because sometimes he says...well, the gayest things."

It was Rory's turn to laugh. "Geez, he really does, doesn't he? But no, he's just like metrosexual or something. Trust me, he likes women."

"Okay," I said skeptically.

"Keira, just because he doesn't have a crush on you like the other members of the wolf pack doesn't mean he's gay." He gave me one of his smiles that made my knees weak.

I swallowed hard. Rory has a crush on me? Rory has a crush on me! That was all I needed to hear. I put my hand on his knee. "Well, thank you for making me an honorary member of your weird wolf pack metrosexual group." I looked down at his lap.

"I should really be thanking you for that."

"Have there been any other honorary members of your group?" I kept my hand on his knee. I wasn't sure why I wanted to know the answer to that. I was basically asking him if any girl that had sucked his cock had ever gotten along with his friends before.

"Really just Connor's ex wife."

I tried not to sigh out loud. I was the only girl that he liked that had gotten to know his friends.

For some reason that made me feel better.

It also meant that his ex girlfriend hadn't gotten along well with his friends.

I wondered if that had something to do with their break up. "What was Connor's ex wife like?"

"She used to be really cool. I was always third wheeling with them, ever since high school.

Cindy was one of my best friends too. I still don't get what happened.

One day she just started being really cold.

Connor put up with it for as long as he could.

I know he wanted to make it work." Rory shrugged.

"That's sad."

"I think you're a better honorary member anyway. But maybe that's just because you're mine."

Mine? Is that how he thinks of me? I so badly wanted to be his. Maybe I already was. I didn't need him to say anything else. That was all the commitment I needed. Him calling me his and admitting he had a crush on me was the best feeling in the world.

"Well, you'll be happy to know that you're my favorite member of the group," I said.

"You're becoming my favorite too."

I just stared into his hazel eyes. That was it. He liked me just as much as I liked him.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to interrupt you guys."

We both turned to the girl next to Rory. She was sitting next to a guy that looked like he'd rather be anywhere else in the world. Awkward.

"But you two are like the cutest couple here," the girl said. "Besides for Becca and Jeremy, of course. How long have you two been dating?"

Rory pulled his arm off my back, picked up his wine glass, and took a big sip.

I wanted to cut in and tell her we weren't official or anything, but I was curious to see what Rory would say. He had just said such wonderful things to me. Maybe his response would be different this time.

"Oh, no," Rory said and laughed awkwardly. "We're actually..."

"Aw, are you engaged? Congratulations!" the girl said.

What the fuck is everyone's problem here?

Rory coughed and spit his wine back into the glass. "Oh, God no." He set his glass back down on the table. "We're not even dating."

The girl made a strange face and I looked down at my lap.

Rory wasn't just acting like he was scared of commitment.

The tone he was responding to people in made it seem like I was the problem.

As if he just couldn't possibly see a future with me .

He almost sounded repulsed every time someone asked if we were a couple.

And even if that wasn't what he meant, it still embarrassed me every time he said it.

I didn't even know that girl. It would have been cute and funny to just pretend we had been dating for years. What was Rory's problem?

"Now, for the first time ever, Mister and Misses Rogers!" said the DJ into his microphone.

I stood up and clapped as my friend and her new husband walked into the room.

And I felt like crying. The first few weddings I had gone to after college were okay.

They were actually fun. But four years later, it wasn't fun anymore.

I was falling so far behind. And Emily was having a baby.

Her kid would be like ten before I had my first one.

We had always talked about our children being best friends too. I took a deep breath.

"How about we go find that closet," Rory said as he wrapped his arms around me.

He seemed to be thinking along the same lines I was.

Not about falling behind, but about how he hated weddings.

Although he probably hated them because he hated commitment and he hated me.

I rolled my eyes at myself. I was being dramatic.

Rory didn't hate me. But I still didn't want to give in to him.

Despite our conversation earlier, I was still worried that sex was all he wanted from me.

Maybe sleeping with him so soon had been a mistake.

He pushed my hair to the side and kissed the back of my neck, sending chills down my spine. I may have slept with him too soon, but I definitely didn't regret it.

I tilted my head back. "They're about to serve dinner.

And I'm starving." I removed his hands from me and sat back down.

I hated that this was somehow still a game between us.

All I wanted to do was tell him how I felt.

But if strangers asking if we were dating freaked him out, I didn't want to know how he'd react to me telling him that I was in love with him.