Chapter Eight - Shana

And that’s how we learn the truth. Our wedding is one and the same. We could dance together. Except that Trevor has a friend from New York flying in the next morning. Apparently, Trevor’s been working on an out-of-state project and wasn’t even sure he’d make the wedding. If he’d accepted the best-man offer from Duncan, we’d be paired.

Now he’ll be with a pretend date, and I’ll be alone.

“I know,” he says, “I’ll call her and tell her not to come.”

“No, you won’t.”

“Yes. She won’t mind. She is coming here anyway, except…”

“Except what?” I ask, my mind filling with a thousand reasons why I don’t want his friend who is a woman to be with him at the wedding.

“Her fiancé is a friend of mine.”

My eyebrows arch. “Her fiancé?”

His shoulders shrug. “Okay, I’m about to share with you a Willis family secret. But first you must promise to never tell a soul.”

“I don’t know. My best friend is marrying your brother. Don’t you think she should know the secret?”

“No, most definitely not.”

The bartender eases two more shots our way. “I-I’m…” I wave it away.

“One more shot,” Trevor says, “and I’ll be brave enough to tell you what very few people know.”

I never have been one to step back from a challenge. Whether it is moving from my small town to New York or from New York to London, I am driven to want more. That includes knowing family secrets. I lift the shot glass, fascinated by the way the Fireball no longer burns. Instead, it’s a warm cinnamon liqueur much like a Christmas drink. Either that or my throat is now numb.

Trevor lifts his glass. Together we swallow our third, or is it fourth?

Slamming the glass down on the piano, I say, “Okay, spill.”

He eases from his barstool and offers me his hand. Without hesitation, I place my hand in his. It fits in a way I’ve never felt before—like it’s right. Like it’s meant to be. Like fate brought me back to the hotel, to this bar.

The world wobbles as I step down from my tall chair. Immediately, Trevor’s arm goes around my waist. “Do you need to go to your room?”

The patio is just beyond the long bar and a few tables. I tilt my head that way. “Maybe some fresh air.”

The fake red glow of the fire pit is the only illumination as the off-key singing and celebration from inside fades to a ringing in my ears. “Spill, Mr. Willis…” A laugh bubbles in my throat, growing until tears are falling from my eyes.

“What’s so funny?”

“Mr. Willis. That’s what Kimbra used to call Duncan.”

“That’s my secret,” Trevor says in all seriousness.

I squint again, trying to see him better. “What’s your secret?”

“Before Kimbra, Duncan was a lady’s man like no other.”

I shake my head back and forth. “From what I’ve heard that’s only partially true. Women like to talk as much as men.”

“I’ve never been able to keep up with him.”

This time I lean back and take a prolonged look at Trevor Willis, his handsome features, and sexy, casual confidence. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“It’s true. I’m awkward around women.”

“You don’t seem awkward to me.”

“You’re different,” he says as he moves closer.

“I’m a woman.”

“Oh, Shana, you are definitely a woman.”

My breathing accelerates as his lips near mine. Cinnamon fills my senses as we kiss. It’s soft and fresh, growing warmer by the second. When we pull away, I smile. “Definitely not awkward.”