Chapter Four
Eli
I shouldn’t have beensurprised when Roy’s hand pressed on my shoulder and practically pushed me towards the woman holding the bouquet.
“Dance! Dance! Dance!”
The crowd cheered, egging us on, and I found myself standing in front of the wedding planner, her soft blue suit nearly gray, and noticed that it was also a dress of some sort. She looked regal and yet like she wanted to blend with the background—something I should have been doing as well.
“This is not happening,” she mumbled under her breath, and my eyes widened.
“Nice.” I hadn’t meant to say that aloud, but damn, I was the only one who was supposed to not want to be there. Not her.
She blushed and looked up at me. “Sorry.”
The bride moved forward, her eyes bright and a bit manic. “Dance! Come on, Alexis. It’s my wedding. And I want you to dance, darling.”
The wedding planner leaned forward, and I tried not to inhale her rich scent. “Phoenix, I need to help with the next part of the setup.”
“You can do that after you dance.” The bride put her smile towards me, all teeth and manic eyes. “And, hello stranger. I don’t know who you are, so you’re probably with my lovely groom. However, you are about to dance with one of my bestest friends. This is my wedding planner. Wedding planner, this is the stranger.”
“Eli. My name is Eli.”
The bride gave me another shark-tooth smile. “Good. Eli, darling. Now, dance. Dance for me, my pretties!” she said with a clap of her hands as her groom came forward, rolled his eyes, and pulled her back.
The groom grinned. “Just do what she says, and it’ll all be over quick.” He winked as he said it, then kissed his bride’s neck, and she let out a little giggle. The two seemed in love, and like they were perfect for one another, even if the bride seemed a little high-strung. However, it was her wedding, so for all I knew, this was just an abnormality.
“Come on, let’s just get this over with,” the wedding planner mumbled under her breath as she slid her hand into mine.
“It’ll be over before you know it,” I replied with a grin as I put my hand on the small of her back. Her eyes widened, and I swallowed hard at the feel of her against me. She was all soft and curved, and it was hard for me to focus. Fuck, it was just hard for me in general. She was beautiful. Gorgeous, and she smelled like sin. Or maybe that was just floral perfume. I didn’t know, but she was gorgeous. How was I supposed to focus when she was pressed up against me?
“Hopefully, the song will be over soon. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be a jerk, but I do have things to do for the wedding, and I’m not supposed to actually be around and in the spotlight like this.”
I swallowed hard as the music turned into something softer, and we danced carefully.
“I should probably tell you then I shouldn’t be in the spotlight either.”
Her eyes narrowed even as her lips twitched. “Tell me I’m not dancing with a wedding crasher.”
“Technically, I was invited. Just not by the wedding party.”
She looked up at me, blinked. “You are with Roy then.”
I frowned. “I don’t know ifwith Royis the right statement.”
She laughed and it lit up her whole damn face. What the hell was with this connection? “You’re here to watch Roy and to see what he does because you’re thinking about buying something similar. To join the innkeepers and wedding venue circuit.”
I couldn’t stop staring at her mouth, so it took me a minute to catch up with her words. “I didn’t realize he told you all that.”
“Of course, Roy told me. We’re about to have strangers at the wedding. I should have put it together beforehand, but I’ve been a little sidetracked. Busy day.”
“It sure looks like it. The wedding looks fantastic, though.”
“I hope so.” She looked around, smiling softly. “We worked hard on it. And the bride and groom are beautiful together.”
I looked over at them as they swayed from side to side, not dancing, just the two of them holding one another off the dance floor. It was just the two of us on the dance floor. Alone. With all eyes on us.
I held back a frown at the thought, even with the warmth of the woman in my arms. “I don’t know if I like being the center of attention. I won’t be once we run the place.”