Chapter Eleven

“I know him already,” I mumbled it out.

Dayton tilted her head to the side, looking at me blankly. “Well, I suppose that will make everything easier. Maid of honor and best man. You guys have to get along.”

“Oh, we do. I can’t say we’ve chatted much, but we get along well.”

I saw the moment it clicked in her head, and her jaw dropped. My mouth flattened into a thin line and an awkward silence wavered as neither of us knows what to say.

That’ll teach me to get a last name next time I randomly do with someone.

Dayton picked up her glass and drunk half of it in one go. “Well, that’s a surprise.”

I snorted. “Yeah? Like the fact that he was the guy who photographed me two days ago?”

“I was supposed to go to that one with him. Oh my god.” She covers her mouth with her hand. “Brenda! Did you do with him after your shoot? Oh my god!”

“Um. I plead the Fifth.”

“Ohhhhh, noooo, shit.”

“If it makes a difference, we’d already met.”

She closed her eyes. “You fucked him twice?”

“I know, right? This week is full of great, little surprises,” I joked, trying to make light of it and avoid her next question.

“And you’re…”

“Well I wasn’t planning on getting his last name, but now I’m assuming it’s Stone, so that throws that plan to shit, eh? And no, I’m not. I’m fine.”

So what if he gave my orgasm back and Mr. Jack Rabbit helped me to it last night with the thought of him? Maybe not totally fine.

“This is bad, Dayton. So, so bad.” I grabbed my own wine glass and do as she did, drinking half in one go.

Two male voices laugh outside.

“And it’s about to get worse,” Dayton gasped

My eyes widened. Oh, hell no. Hell. Fucking. No.

“Hide me!”

Dayton bites her lip, an apologetic glint in her eye, and my heart thuds when I heard his voice.

“Wine already? Isn’t it early, even for you?”

Dayton said nothing, just stared at me.

“What’s going on?” Aaron asked.

“Um, Ivan, I’m assuming you met my best friend, Brenda.”

I’m gonna kill her. She couldn’t hide me, could she? There’s nothing good about this. Not at all.

I turned around and give him a smile. “Surprise.”

Ivan  displayed no outward signs of shock as his eyes met mine and send a cold sweat down my spine. “I like surprises,” he said with a grin.

I like surprises. I like flowers turning up at my door, I like birthday presents, and I like it when my best friend surprises me with a girls’ weekend. I don’t like surprises like this.

Not that Ivan isn’t a nice surprise. He is. He’s very pretty. Okay, he’s fucking incredible to look at. And touch. And taste. And think totally inappropriate thoughts about. He’s a nice surprise when he doesn’t come with an aura of danger and a grin that tugs at my addictive personality.

I mean, really. He is very handsome and every girl like looking at handsome guys, right!

I slided my empty glass to Dayton and she filled it without speaking. First sign of addiction: rationalization of your actions. It’s not okay for his grin to affect me just because of his handsomeness.

Aaron catched my eye. “I think I’m missing something.”

“You and me both, brother,” I mutter under my breath. 

Dayton pursed her lips to hold in her laughter.

“Aaron, honey, don’t you and Ivan have business to deal with?”

“Mmm, Nope,” Ivan answered. “All done at the office.”

“Are you sure you don’t?” She gave them a look that would melt the Arctic.

“You know,” Aaron replied, “I think I do have a contract for you to look over in the office.”

He grabbed Ivan’s arm and steered him in the direction of his home office, and I watched as they disappeared.

Ivan glanced back at me and smirked when he saw me watching him. I took a deep breath and looked into my best friend’s eyes. I shaked my head, and saw worry reflect in her eyes.

“Twice? And now this?”