Page 55 of Not a Friend (Crescent Light #1)
Now
What is it about a black dress?
T he herd of weddinggoers made their way to the cocktail reception, which was being held in the same tasteful courtyard where the welcome party was.
Yet again, the space was transformed. Its chic, Italian, rustic look was now covered in white, pink, and champagne-colored roses and lush greenery that matched the flowers Nate and I worked on the day before.
It felt like weeks ago that Nate and I sat pruning and arranging those damn flowers, weeks since we fought in the walk-in, since our almost kiss…
Kieran followed closely behind me, hovering as if nothing was wrong. I was caught between wanting to whip around and scream at him to go back to the suite and ignoring him altogether.
To make a scene, or not to make a scene, that is the question.
I opted for the amiable approach and ignored him. Let him loiter around if he wants to. It won’t change anything. What’s done is done.
He went straight to the bar, which was somehow already occupied by a mile-long line of guests. I spied Leo, Miles, and Martinez circling together in one corner and took up a position in their huddle .
Martinez and Leo seemed deep in conversation about how much a weekend like this would have cost if Gemma’s uncle wasn’t the co-owner versus how much they think was actually paid. Miles and I ignored them, instead ooh-ing and ahh-ing at the decorations and the view.
“Hey, guys.” I heard Nate’s smooth voice behind me. He and Jared must have B-lined to the bar right after the ceremony, and they took the liberty of grabbing drinks for everyone by the collection of beers in their hands—six in total.
“Have I told you I love you today, Nathaniel?” Martinez gratefully took one of the outstretched beers from Nate’s hands while Jared distributed his extras to Leo and Miles. Nate wordlessly handed one to me, leaving the last for himself.
Kieran would probably be annoyed when he came back from standing in the long bar line to find me with a drink already in hand, but I was having a hard time caring.
“Thanks.”
“Of course.”
I took a long slug of the beer, unsure of what else to do with my hands, and eyed Nate over the neck of the bottle as I chugged. Coincidentally, he was doing the exact same thing, causing us both to nearly choke with laughter when we made eye contact.
My first laugh of the whole day.
“Sorry,” Nate coughed, a giggle bubbling from his throat.
“You were staring,” I accused, wiping foam off my lips and chin, careful not to smudge my lipstick.
He took a micro-step closer, tilting his head in that Nate way. He kept a respectful distance, but only I could hear his next words.
“It’s just hard for me to see you look this pretty and not stare. Even harder to not say anything about it.”
I was grateful my face was downcast because I wasn’t sure what expression overtook it before I gathered my wits about me.
Huffing a nervous laugh, I mumbled my thanks and smoothed a hand over my black dress. It was tighter than my typical wardrobe, and the front dipped a little lower than usual, too. But it had a timeless simplicity that could flatter anybody. It was the prettiest thing I owned.
“Sorry if I shouldn’t have said that,” Nate added, glancing behind us conspiratorially.
Bullshit. He isn’t sorry.
“It isn’t a come-on or anything. I mean, unless it’s working.”
I wanted to play back, tell him it was working. Continue the conversation we’d started in the walk-in. Tell him how I felt. But I settled on scoffing as I hit his shoulder with the back of my hand.
“I’m kidding!” he said, dramatically staggering back a step to humor me. “But you do look really pretty.”
I bit back a smile, finally meeting his eye as I raised my bottle to my lips again.
“You shouldn’t say that kind of stuff to me, Cassidy.
” Not because I was taken anymore—nobody knew about that but Kieran and me, or apparently just me, since Kieran ignored it—but because it might’ve sent me into cardiac arrest.
“I know, I know.” He tipped back his beer and took another swig, raising his eyebrows as if to say, It’s true, though.
A few minutes later, Kieran and Michael joined our little group, a beer in Michael’s hand and a gin and tonic in Kieran’s.
The power trip started almost instantly.
Even though Nate—in an attempt to not put me in an uncomfortable position, I’m sure—had moved to stand next to Jared on the opposite side of our huddle, Kieran still placed himself between us.
Then, in a grand spectacle of alpha male dominance, Kieran leveled a stare at Nate as he draped a heavy arm around my shoulders.
Poor thing. Nate knew exactly what he was doing and ignored him completely, casually sliding a hand into his pocket and continuing his conversation with Jared without a care in the world.
I, on the other hand, rolled my shoulders about as aggressively as I rolled my eyes and stepped out of Kieran’s hold.
Just ignore him, Oli. Enjoy the evening.
“Hey, wasn’t there supposed to be appetizers?” Martinez asked, pinning me with a look. “Gemma was telling me to try the bruschetta. Olive, wanna help me track some down? I’m starving.”
I agreed all too eagerly.
He wasted no time looping his arm through mine as we turned away from the group and disappeared into the crowd.
“This is better than TV,” he whisper-shouted as we walked through the crowd.
“No, it isn’t,” I groaned. “I want to die.”
“I know we’ve been playing it cool, but what is going on with you three?”
“Do you want the context first? Or just the juicy gossip?”
“Juice first, always.”
“I broke up with Kieran this morning.”
His steps faltered. “Shut the fuck up.”
I urged him along, laughing. “Kieran overheard you talking on the boat yesterday. Thanks for making my sex life a topic of conversation, by the way.”
He grimaced and mouthed, Sorry . I waved him off.
“Kieran went all macho man, marking his territory, and he may or may not have gotten into it with Nate.”
“No judgment, but he’s also been wasted the whole weekend,” he added.
“I know . Add that to the list of things that have upset me. Anyway, I ended things this morning and told him not to come to the wedding, but he still showed up and is acting like nothing happened.”
Martinez gave me a look, clearly feeling sorry for me despite the entertainment value. “Do you need me to run interference? I know I just met him, but I’m happy you broke up. I don’t like that guy. Not for you, anyway.”
I laughed humorlessly. “Thanks, but I’ll be fine. My plan is to just ignore him. We fly home tomorrow, and I can figure things out then.”
He nodded. “It’s going to be a fun night. We’ll make sure of it.”
We camped out by a table littered with salted meats, cheeses, grapes, strawberries, and bruschetta—which really was to die for—until the cocktail hour ended and the wide double doors into the reception space were opened. The DJ called everyone inside, and we all herded in like cattle.
Thank god—and also Gemma—that Nate was not sat at the same table as Kieran and me for dinner.
Kieran sat next to me, drinking two more gin and tonics while we ate, and kept a heavy arm permanently around the back of my chair.
When his fingers inched onto my shoulder, I sat up straighter, leaning away from his touch.
And when he slid a hand over my knee, I subtly plucked it away and returned it to his lap.
How am I supposed to ignore him when he is suffocating me?
As our plates were being taken by our servers, Kieran leaned in so close his lips touched my ear.
“If he looks over here one more time, I might lose it.”
I was so sure I’d misheard him. “What?”
“You know what.” He jerked his chin in the direction of Nate’s table. “He’s looked at you, like, three times since we’ve been eating.”
I ground my teeth together. “You are unbelievable. I told you not to come because today isn’t about any of this bullshit.
You need to stop.” I dabbed my mouth with my napkin, hoping I wasn’t being loud enough for the others at our table to hear.
“And he’s probably looking over here because you are staring at him . ”
“Or because he wants to fuck you,” Kieran mumbled, leaning back with a painfully unattractive, cocky look on his face, sizing up the room as I shot daggers at him.
This is going to be a long night.