Back Check (Aces Hockey #4)(34)
She sucked in a sharp breath. Then her chin dropped. "I know."
"Katelyn." Her hair obscured her face. "Look at me."
She turned her head without lifting it, pulling her hair back with one hand, and the sweet curve of her cheek made him want to reach out and touch it.
"I lied when I said I was sorry for kissing you. I'm not. But I am sorry if you're upset thinking that Lovey will think less of you because she saw that. If she was worried about it, I doubt she would have sat me next to you." He held her gaze steadily, leaning in closer so nobody else would hear him. "Kissing you was exactly like I remember it … sweet. And hot as fuck."
Her lips parted and her eyes darkened.
"I remembered exactly how you taste," he continued. "How you feel." He whispered the last words next to her ear. "And it was good."
He saw her fingers curl around the napkin on her lap, and sat back before people noticed they were having a decidedly intimate conversation.
Just in time for the champagne Lovey and Duper had apparently ordered. Servers began filling flutes with the golden bubbly.
"Thank you all for joining us tonight!" Lovey said from one end of the table. "It's just a fun evening for us to all meet before the wedding. You groomsmen know each other, but my matron of honor and bridesmaids don't. And also, I wanted you to all meet Katelyn, wedding planner extraordinaire, so you know who is in charge on the wedding day. When she tells you to do something, you listen to her!"
Tanner watched Katelyn smile, her cheeks very pink.
"So let's toast to friendship!" Lovey lifted her glass.
Everyone followed suit, clinking glasses and repeating the toast. Tanner turned to Katelyn to touch his glass to hers. "To friendship?"
She slowly shook her head from side to side. "No, Tanner," she said quietly. "I was wrong. We can't be friends."
He stared at her.
Lovey was still speaking, so he yanked his gaze away from Katelyn.
"We really appreciate you all being a part of our wedding. We booked this room for the evening. For dinner, choose what you like from the menu. We've already ordered appetizers, which they'll be bringing out shortly to pass around and share, also some wine, you can choose either red or white-"
"Or both," Duper said, and everyone laughed.
Lovey continued, "So just have fun." She lifted her glass again.
Tanner rubbed his face. Across the table, Hughie was flirting with Jillian. What a dog.
Army and Duper were having an argument about how big a slob Army was after Duper had moved out and left him living alone. Apparently Duper was a neat freak who kept the place clean when they were roommates. Everyone was doing just like Lovey had asked-having fun. Except him and Katelyn.
She was close enough that he could reach out and touch her and it took all his willpower not to do that. To cup her bare knee. Slide his hand up her thigh. Stroke her forearm.
Christ.
"What did that mean?" he finally asked, again keeping his voice low. "That we can't be friends."
"I mean … being friends with you is too dangerous."
He frowned.
"You said it yourself … it was good."
His heart banged against his sternum and he shot her a quick, questioning glance.
"I remember too," she continued, her voice breathy. "How you taste. How you kiss."
Sweet Jesus, now he was getting a boner.
"I can't look at you without remembering that," she said. "So it's better if we just don't."
"Don't what? Look at each other?"
"Yes."
"Well, I can sit here beside you and not look at you all night if that's what you want. But it won't stop me from wanting to do this." And he laid his big hand on her knee, under the table, where no one else could see.
For a long, throbbing moment, neither of them moved. Or spoke. Or breathed.
Her skin was warm. Soft. He curved his fingers around her and moved his hand in the barest of caresses. Heat and desire pulsed between them.
"That's what I mean," she whispered. "Dangerous."
His mind was kind of shorting out with lust and he struggled for what to say next. Yeah, he got that there was risk in this. Things hadn't worked for them before. It would be crazy to go there again. Love only led to being hurt. For him anyway.
He looked around the table at his teammates-Duper and Lovey about to tie the knot; Amber and Army all crazy about each other; Rupper and Sidney equally in love and now with a baby in their lives. His buddy Richie was married and having a baby too. He was happy for all of them. But that kind of love was never going to be for him.