“I’ve made multiple attempts at asking you on dates, and I can never get you to say yes.”
“I didn’t really think you were being serious.”
His brows dipped low. “Why not?”
Why not indeed? There wasn’t a single valid reason for her to have rejected his advances all this time other than the fact she was afraid of the future with any man. Afraid of becoming a clingy copy of her mother. “I…”
“See, you don’t have a reason. This putting me off ends now. Tomorrow we’ll spend some time together. Just you and me. Now, say yes.”
What she wanted to say were a couple of choice words her mouth refused to let loose. But how could she say no again? She’d be turning him down when what she really wanted was to be with him. If she didn’t give it a chance, she knew she’d live with too many what ifs. “I will consider seeing you tomorrow, but I make no promises of any other time.”
He stalked her. Tension poured out of each of his steps toward her. Her hackles rose at the line bisecting his brow into a deep frown. Then he moved forward, crowding her and kissed her one more time before taking a step back from her. “Tomorrow.”
She nodded in defeat. “Tomorrow.”
“Emma, I don’t think she really cares what color of blue you pick.” Karla tried to keep the bite from her words, but her OCD friend was getting on her last nerve.
It had been like this for an hour. One frickin’ hour of them staring at decorations. All for a bridal shower for their friend Jordan. Aric, hunky leader of the Sexy Four, finally popped the question, and she’d said yes. Not that it came as a surprise to anyone. The way poor Jordan went beet red whenever they spoke of Aric was a major indicator she had more than the hots for Ellie’s oldest brother. But now they were in a scramble to do things in a matter of days. The couple had decided they’d marry ASAP, which played havoc on Emma’s planning tendencies. Her very annoying bossy tendencies. And it meant Karla was going to have to plan the bridal shower with Nicole, or she’d end up stabbing one of her closest friends with the pretty pen she had in her hand.
“No, it has to be perfect.” Emma frowned while tracing the lines of the lace overlay she wanted to use on the reception tables.
That’s it. She couldn’t do this. There was too much other shit on her mind. Mainly, on the frustrating Nathan Wolfe. Stupid man. And why was she letting the fact that he wasn’t around annoy her? Just because they had sex—hold it. They hadn’t had sex. They’d had toe-curling, skin-biting orgasms. And now that she thought about it, her body heated with memories.
Fucking Spot.
Almost three weeks since the day of the scenting ceremony, and she’d seen him only one time at a barbecue his parents held for Jordan and Aric. And her mind and heart could do nothing but miss him. Their promise to see each other had been thwarted by multiple issues concerning Jordan and then Ellie. Then Nate had ended up leaving to help Caleb and “tomorrow” had turned into “someday." Not that she could ever be angry with her friends. It wasn’t their fault all kinds of crap had taken place. She loved them and was happy things had finally calmed a bit. But it saddened her that what had been something she’d looked forward to had disintegrated before it started.
“Okay, Emma. This is what’s going to happen,” Karla turned toward the drill sergeant with a soothing smile, “you’re going to go off and take care of all those wedding details you need to and leave this to me and Nic. We’ll handle all of it. Alone.” She tugged the fabric out of Emma’s hands with force, all the while clenching her back teeth. Emma’s grip didn’t budge. Karla tugged again and became woozy with the quick moment. The room spun for a nanosecond before righting itself. Another tug and Emma released the material. Karla wasn’t a violent person, normally, but Emma could drive a saint to murder.
Emma’s brows shot up, and her pretty hazel eyes went wide. “Are you sure? I thought you didn’t like having to decide on this kind of stuff.”
She took a breath and held it before slowly letting it out. She really needed to calm down. And stop thinking about Nathan. “No, honey. You don’t like giving me a chance to make any decisions. But as of right now, I’m releasing you from this task. I’ll handle it.”
Emma gave the fabric a longing stare. “If you’re sure—”
“Go!”
“Okay, alright. I’m going.” She grinned and headed out of the hall.
The coordinator returned with an armload of different shades of blue table cloths. “Where is Ms. Ferro?”