When she turned to face him, he again tried to get a read on what she was feeling. But she didn't give him the opportunity. "Thanks," she said and moved away.
* * *
Olivia knew people were keeping a close eye on her, wondering if it was breaking her heart to see Kyle marry her sister. She could hear them murmuring-"Poor thing … Can you believe he went through with it?" and "She even planned the whole wedding!"
She did her best to bear up under the scrutiny. Their pity humiliated her. But she'd expected as much and couldn't focus on it. Not with Brandon in the room. It was all she could do not to head straight over to him, especially since he seemed so confused by her withdrawal. He'd tried, several times, to approach her.
He was kind to show his support. She appreciated his attempts to make this god-awful night a bit better. But she feared that if she spent even two seconds in his company he'd realize he'd been right all along-she wasn't cut out for casual sex. She couldn't say how it had happened, but she'd somehow lost a piece of her heart in that encounter, which was definitely information she didn't want him to have.
So she avoided him at all costs.
"Are you seeing Brandon?"
Cheyenne stood at the candy table next to her. Olivia had been so busy refilling the jars she hadn't noticed her. "No. Of course not." She cleared her throat. "We're just friends."
"Does he know that?"
She cleared her throat. "Pardon?"
"I've never seen him look at a friend the way he looks at you."
Following Cheyenne's line of sight, she saw Brandon leaning against the wall with a drink in one hand. He had a frown on his face and that didn't change when their eyes met.
She nodded politely, but this time he didn't respond. "He's been very … supportive," she said, forcing herself to turn away.
"I've always thought he's not as bad as people make him sound," Cheyenne said. "A lot of that criticism stems from jealousy, don't you agree? People have a hard time accepting someone who soars so high. Someone who dares to break all the rules."
Olivia wondered why Brandon was on his feet and wished he'd sit down and give his leg a rest. "It's great how much he enjoys the things he loves."
"I think he'd like to enjoy you, too." Her lips curved in a conspirator's grin, but before Olivia could say anything, the toasts started and Cheyenne moved back to her table.
The best man, Noah Rackham, spoke first. He talked about the length of his friendship with Kyle and how Kyle's marriage would make their group of friends larger.
Olivia flinched at that. She'd always thought she'd be the next official member of their clique. Then Nancy got up-Ham wasn't the type-and told her new son-in-law how excited she was to have him as part of the family. She related a cute story about Kyle coming to her rescue once when her car wouldn't start. Everyone smiled because it was endearing, and they'd expect nothing less from Kyle, but Nancy didn't add that he'd done it when he was her boyfriend, not Noelle's.
Kyle's father got up after Nancy and said he'd always been able to depend on Kyle and how proud of him he was.
As the toasts wore on, Olivia began to see a pattern. Everyone had praise for Kyle, but no one had much to say about Noelle.
Determined to be big enough to overlook the circumstances that had brought them to this point, Olivia retrieved her glass from the dessert table where she'd left it when she restocked the candy and lifted it high. "I'd also like to offer a toast."
She regretted her impulsiveness when everyone looked at her. A sudden hush swept through the room, attaching more weight to what she was about to say than she wanted. She got the impression that there were people who hoped to see her break down in public, or perhaps berate her sister as Noelle deserved. But Olivia merely wanted everyone to know that she supported the union and was no longer bitter about how this wedding had come to pass.
Stubbornly maintaining a congenial smile, she turned toward the new couple. She wished she could extoll her sister's many virtues, but … she couldn't. So she settled for a few simple words to show everyone that she harbored no animosity. "To the bride and groom. I wish you health, happiness, prosperity and … abiding love."
Although everyone else applauded, the despair on Kyle's face made it difficult to drink to her own toast. His expression told her he knew what her words really meant. She'd cut him loose. She'd stopped carrying a torch for him. She thought Noelle would appreciate that, but her sister seemed as crestfallen as Kyle. Maybe, now that Olivia no longer wanted Kyle, Noelle wasn't sure she wanted him, either. Noelle couldn't even console herself with the fact that she'd soon be living in a mansion. From Noelle's grumblings while they were at the salon earlier, Kyle hadn't relented and agreed to build her the house of her dreams.
A few others offered toasts, all of them Kyle's friends, except for Noelle's maid of honor. Then the dancing started.
Breathing a sigh of relief that the night was nearly over, Olivia put down her glass and automatically glanced over to where she'd last seen Brandon. But he wasn't there anymore. After a quick search, she caught sight of him, recognized his blond head at the door.
He was leaving.
Chapter 12
"Brandon."
Brandon refused to turn when Olivia called his name. He kept walking through the gardens even when she hurried after him and grabbed his hand.
"Brandon, wait. I-"
"What?" he snapped, stopping so suddenly that she had to back up to avoid running into him. "What could you possibly have to say to me after treating me like I don't exist?"
Taken aback by the depth of his anger, she stared at him. She didn't know what to say, how to explain. Everything that came to her was wrong. Or far beyond what she should feel after so short a time.
"I-I'm sorry," she mumbled and turned before he could see the tears in her eyes. But this time he came after her. He reached her before she could enter the building. And she was pretty sure he cursed when he kissed her.
* * *
Brandon had no idea what had happened at the wedding. If Olivia had been confused, or hurt, or embarrassed. But she was in his arms now and that took the sting away, made it easy to forgive her, to chalk her remoteness up to everything she'd been through in the past few months. When her lips gave way beneath his, allowing him to taste the warm wetness of her mouth, he couldn't even remember why he'd been mad.
"There you are," he breathed as her arms circled his neck. "I've missed you."
She smiled against his mouth. "I've missed you, too."
It didn't matter that it had only been a day. He meant what he'd said, and he could tell she did, too. Eager to take anything she was willing to give him, he groaned as she ground her hips against his. He knew what she wanted. He wanted the same thing. But they couldn't risk being seen, couldn't be caught making out like this.
It would've made more sense to take her home, but he was rattled enough by her earlier behavior to fear she'd change her mind again if he waited. So he pulled her into the shelter of some trees, where they had a degree of privacy.
"You're all I've thought about," he admitted, framing her face with his hands.
"Funny you should say that. You're all I've thought about, too," she said, and then they were kissing again and straining to get closer and she started to remove his belt.
* * *
Olivia knew what she was doing was crazy. She'd never behaved like this before-but she'd never felt like this before, either, never wanted a man like she wanted Brandon. Instead of stopping him when he slipped a hand inside her dress, she encouraged him, shifting so he could reach what he wanted to touch. Only the fear that what they were doing might cause him to injure his leg gave her pause.
"Don't hurt yourself," she murmured.
"I'm fine," he whispered. "All I need is you."
"But your leg … "
"I'm being careful," he said, but he didn't seem to be keeping that promise when he put on a condom and lifted her up against the building.
It was over almost as fast as it had begun. Sheer excitement crashed into frantic need for an incredible few minutes, obliterating every bit of pent-up longing. She could hear the music, smell the roses but all she could feel was Brandon moving inside her.
Afterward, his heart pounded hard and fast beneath her ear and his chest rose and fell as he struggled to catch his breath.