Too bad she had a deranged ex-boyfriend to take care of first. She sure wasn't leaving the reception until she explained the situation more thoroughly to Dominic. It was only fair to give him the opportunity to bow out. No way did he want his face plastered all over the Internet tomorrow any more than she did.
Chapter Five
As far as Dominic knew, the ceremony was perfect. He didn't hear a word the pastor said, nor did he pay attention to his friend's vows. But everyone smiled, so he figured it all went as planned.
For the entire thirty minutes, he stared at Lily out of the corner of his eye. He seriously doubted anyone else noticed. But he loved watching her fidget behind Zia. It was subtle, and he knew he was the cause, once again, but it was sexy as hell nevertheless.
Knowing how he affected her made his dick throb.
He gave her the space she clearly needed or wanted for whatever reason the entire day. After leaving her in the hallway outside that classroom, he didn't seek her out again. He didn't ask her to ride with him to the reception. He didn't follow her to the table. He didn't offer to get her anything to drink or sit next to her or touch her or even look at her unnecessarily.
It was maddening, but it was Zia and Brett's day. And Lily wanted him to back off.
After dinner was cleared, his formal duties were over, and he leaned back to focus on his conquest. Somehow, he had to get Lily to open up to him.
It was totally perplexing that she would lie to him while her body and her mind responded to him so readily. She was keeping something from him. And he intended to get it out of her, even if he had to tie her to his bed and hold her at the edge of an orgasm to get her to talk.
He leaned back in his chair, having loosened his tie about an hour ago, draped his arm over the back of the chair next to him, and watched Lily work the room.
She spoke to Brett's parents. She hugged his sister and her girlfriend. She held their baby for a while.
But she was out of sorts. She was faking.
Even the limited time he'd spent with her gave him enough information to know she was uncomfortable and wished she were anyplace else in the world. Her smile was pasted on. Fake. Her gaze darted around the room often, especially toward the door as if she were looking for someone.
Before dinner last night, she'd been the Lily he expected. During dinner, she'd acted the way he anticipated. Then something changed.
Think, Dominic …
A light bulb went off. The text. She'd gotten a text. Several, in fact, considering how long she'd spent leaning away from him, looking at her phone inside her purse. He knew it hadn't been the alarm company. He'd proven that.
Whoever it was had rattled her enough to turn her into a different person. It wasn't unreasonable that she didn't share the details with him. After all, they barely knew each other. It wasn't as if she could be expected to explain every random text she received to a man she'd only met twice. Especially since they had spent the majority of their limited minutes together fucking.
But the woman he knew her to be at his house that night three months ago and the woman he met for the second time last night were not the woman she turned into after the text, whose body she still inhabited today.
This woman was skittish. Nervous.
Scared.
That was it. She was fucking scared.
He sat forward.
She handed Monica's baby back, hugged Brett's mother, and then made her way around the edge of the dance floor toward Zia.
She was fucking leaving. He could tell. She was saying her goodbyes. Hugs for Zia. Hugs for Brett. Not a single glance toward Dominic.
His heart raced. Not because he was worried about her slipping out and leaving him hanging, but because it made him nervous wondering what sort of problem she had.
He pretended to look away as she turned from her friends. As he suspected, she shot him a glance to make sure he wasn't looking and then raced from the room.
He was on her tail, however. His legs were longer. He wasn't wearing heels. And he knew she would need to pick up her purse at the coat check. He'd watched her leave her purse there when they arrived and thought it odd. Most women kept their purses with them.
He'd blown off the concern, thinking she probably didn't want to keep track of it during the reception since she would be all over the place helping Zia.
Sure enough, he eased behind her while she drummed her fingers on the counter, waiting on her purse. "Leaving so soon?" he murmured close to her ear.
She yelped and spun around. "Oh. Yeah. Headache. It's been a long day." She rubbed her temples.
"Ooh. Sorry to hear that. Things are winding down, anyway. I'll drive you home."