Tessa was shocked, and she didn’t know how to react. She felt as if her skin were made of spun sugar, as if even the slightest tiny movement would cause her to shatter into a million pieces. She didn’t know if she was going to laugh, or cry, or hyperventilate, or…
Luckily, she was saved the embarrassment of doing either of the latter by Amy, whose facial expression had just turned distinctly queasy.
“Wait a minute.” Amy’s face grew serious. “Do you mean to tell me that I’ve been…um, making out…with my fiancé to a song that is actually about my brother?”
“’Fraid so, darlin’.” Karina winked. “And I doubt you’d be that shade of red if all you and Matty boy were doing was ‘making out’ to that song.”
The room exploded in laughter and Karina’s face lit up excitedly as she clutched her chest.
“I feel like Al Green! Did you make the baby to my song?”
Amy just shook her head. She was smiling but obviously embarrassed by the unwanted attention. She touched the top of her nose as if she were pushing up nonexistent glasses as she answered, “No.”
“Do you want to pick another song for the wedding?” Karina asked, letting Amy off the hook.
“No, I still love that song,” Amy answered.
So did Tessa. So. Did. Tessa.
Chapter Twenty-six
‡
Jake looked down at his “date” and pasted a plastic smile on his face. Inwardly, he was doing anything but smiling. The last thing he wanted was to be here with this card-carrying member of the B.B.B club, but fair was fair. Her ticket had been pulled in the “Win a Date with the Fire Chief” raffle his guys had put on without his knowledge. It wasn’t her fault that his thoughts—along with his heart and his soul—belonged only to Tessa. Nope, she had paid her money and won her prize, and he was going to do his best to be a decent companion this evening.
Still, he found himself glancing around every two seconds to see if Tessa had arrived. He just couldn’t stop himself. He knew that she was going to be here this evening. She was working, taking photos on assignment from Say Cheese. Just the thought that he was going to get a glimpse of her beautiful face was enough to lift his spirits and make his heart expand—not to mention other parts of his anatomy. He just wished that she were here with him. Damn.
“Who do you keep looking around for?” his date pouted. “You’re supposed to be paying attention to me!”
Jake winced inwardly. She was right. The truth was that she had won this. He was her date and he should be paying attention to her. It was just that grating, wheedling tone she used was annoying the shit out of him.
He turned to her and smiled, doing his best to look sincere. Stop grinding your teeth, Maguire, he warned himself. Just be nice.
“Sorry. You’re absolutely right,” he conceded and saw the ghost of a slyly triumphant smirk grace her lips. That annoyed him, but he fought to maintain his pleasant demeanor. “I promise, for the rest of the night, I will be completely and totally focused on—”
He trailed off mid-sentence, not even grasping the irony, because at that moment, he caught his first glimpse of Tessa. His breath caught in his throat and his eyes widened.
She looked like an angel.
The smooth black satin of her dress skimmed her trim curves like a glove. She moved effortlessly through the crowd, her smile lighting up the room as she snapped photos and chatted with everyone she came across. Her hair was pulled up, showcasing the gorgeous, sexy slope of her neck. The sight of her exposed skin made Jake’s mouth water, and he was having a hard time drawing in a full breath.
Breathtaking. That was the only word for it. Tessa was breathtaking.
“Only focused on what?”
Jake barely registered the words, and he definitely was not aware that they had been aimed at him until he felt a sharp poke in his ribs.
He looked down, unable to hide his annoyance now that physical pain was part of this torture ritual, AKA “date.”
“What?” he snapped.
B.B.B. stuck her bottom lip out, playing up a fake tremble for full effect.
“You’re only going to be focused on what?” she whined.
Great. Now the pouting was back. Is this chick for real? He sighed to himself as he clenched his teeth.
It didn’t matter. Jake knew he had to pull his head out of his ass and fast. It wasn’t Rib Poker’s fault that he was here with her instead of Tessa. Jake just needed to man up and follow through with his commitment.
“Only focused on you,” he admitted, doing his best not to show how tightly gritted his teeth were as he said the words.