One Night with the Best Man(28)

“I meant your first horrible message this morning,” she gasped, giving him a light swat on the chest. “God, what a mess we both made. I was so completely crushed because I thought you were dumping me.”

“Oh, God, Raney, can you forgive me for this morning? I should never have hurt you that way, even if you didn’t want the same thing I wanted. I just still had trouble believing I’d ever be important enough to hurt you.”

“Well, you are. You can. So don’t do it again.”

With a muffled groan, he took her face in his hands and kissed her with almost clumsy desperation, and she returned the kiss with every bit as much urgency. They were just starting to really get into the kiss when there was a tap on the restroom door.

Meg poked her head in. “Is everything okay in there?”

Raney pulled out of the kiss and kind of collapsed on Justin’s chest, gasping and giggling. “Yes. It’s fine.”

“Okay, good. I’m glad. But don’t do too much making up, all right? We still need to cut the cake and throw the bouquet. Then you all can have some real private time—hopefully somewhere other than a bathroom.”

“Okay. We’ll be out in just a minute.”

She gave Meg an emotional smile, and she saw the feeling reflected on her friend’s face before the door closed again.

Raney and Justin looked at each other for a minute, and then Justin pulled her into another tight hug. She felt safe and protected and loved and home.

“I’ve heard through the grapevine just now, when they were all yelling at me,” he murmured against her hair, “that you think I don’t really like you.”

She sniffed and couldn’t contain her smile. “That’s what I thought. Is it true?”

“You know very well it’s not true.”

She pulled back again so she could look him in the eye. Both of them were grinning like fools. “So you do? Like me, I mean?”

“I do.”