The groom joined in, thumping his own fist and laughing, staring straight at me. “Kiss him. Kiss him. Kiss him.”
“Dean, no!” Dara sprang from her chair, pinning his hand to his side. “Don’t encourage this.”
“Kiss!” More people took up the cry, the voices, thumping, and stomping carrying through the room like an endless wave. “Kiss her. Kiss her. Kiss her. Kiss her.”
Jake closed his eyes for a moment before he stood, hauling me from my chair and slipping his arm around my waist. He leaned in, giving me a light kiss on the lips and drawing back.
A roar reverberated through the room.
“Boo! You call that a kiss? Do it properly!”
“Kiss, kiss, kiss!” Another wave of voices joined the fray.
Jake pressed his lips to my ear, pulling me closer. “They won’t give it up until we give them the full show. Let’s get it over with.”
I stared into his eyes, tipping my chin and sucking in a breath just before his lips crushed mine. Nothing to do but accept that it was happening. It was only a kiss. A damn great kiss … mmmm … his hair so silky soft under my fingertips … his skin so warm … his tongue so incredibly sweet … that heavenly spicy aftershave …
He pulled away, and I gasped for air, my knees trembling so hard they barely held me up. My cheeks burned as the room erupted with wolf whistles, cheers, shouts, and applause.
Jake lowered me onto my chair, me clinging to his arm and pressing my fingers to my lips, trying not to look at his wide-eyed sister with her hands clapped over her mouth.
Jake sat and leaned back in his chair, picking up his fork and stabbing a baby potato, shoving it in his mouth as the din died down. The buzz of conversation and silverware ringing against china resumed.
Luciana lifted her own fork and ate a dainty bite of her salmon, the corners of her mouth twitching.
I feared I’d unwittingly revealed how not over Jakob Cavallaro I really was. There was no way his little sister would ever let me forget it.
Chapter 3
Now that dinner was almost over, the couples we’d shared our meal with were dancing floor or socializing.
Luciana sat back as the servers placed our plates in front of us and moved on to the next table. “Wow,” she said. “That kiss sure was something.”
The last of the wine chugged into Jake’s glass. Even as the bottle thunked down, he tipped back the rich red liquid, already waving a hand at one of the servers.
His sister inspected the empty bottle. “You’ve had enough, Jakob.”
“Mind your own business, Luciana.”
She looked at me, then back to her brother. “Is there something going on here? I mean … why would they add your names to that jar as a couple? That’s weird.”
Jake lifted a shoulder. “Guess someone thought it would be hilarious.” He tapped the golden caramel of his crème brûlée, breaking the crisp surface with a satisfying crack before taking a small, deliberate scoop. “It’s good.” After the second bite, he glanced at his sister and said, “It was only a kiss, Luci. Part of their wedding game. No biggie.”
I kept my head down and dug into my decadent slice of chocolate cake.
“Huh.” Luci pointed the tines her dessert fork at Jake. “A peck on the cheek is no biggie. Examining Amara’s tonsils with your tongue is an entirely different affair.”
Jake shovelled in his last bite of crème brûlée, then stood without even looking my way. “I should congratulate the happy couple.” He tossed his napkin onto his empty plate and wove his way toward the head table.
Luci angled toward me. “Nothing to say about that bit of tongue wrestling?”
“I should … ummm … freshen up … excuse me.” I rose and dodged through the guests, glancing over my shoulder before I stepped inside the coat check and ducked behind a rack of jackets. The rustle of fabric and footsteps in the doorway had me holding my breath and crossing my fingers, hoping that Luci hadn’t followed with intent to grill me further.
“I saw you sneak in here.” Dara peeked around the corner, then threw her arms around me. “What are you doing?”
“Dar! Just needed a quiet moment.” I hugged her back. “You look gorgeous, and amazing, and happy.”
“Thanks for being here. It means a lot that you travelled across the country to join us. I’m sorry we haven’t had time to visit.”
“It’s your wedding day. You have better things to do than babysit me. Let’s see that ring.”
She presented her left hand with a flourish. “Isn’t it incredible? Dean picked it himself. It’s three carats!” Little prisms of colour danced across the extravagant princess-cut diamond as she turned her hand.
“It’s stunning. You picked a good one.” I tucked my own hand out of her sight, my thumb worrying the empty spot on my ring finger.
“I love him so much. To think I have you and Jake to thank for introducing us.” She giggled. “Sometimes blind dates do pay off.”
“Well, Dean thought you were adorable, and Jake had been on the lookout for the right girl for his friend.”
“Was that so Dean could quit hanging around all the time? My guy always says you were lovely, never complaining about your third wheel.”
I laughed and shook my head. At that time, I’d considered Dean as a playboy dating a string of women who seemed ditsy and self-centred and not even close to long-term girlfriend material. I formed the impression that maybe the guy liked it that way since it gave him plenty of excuses to avoid commitment. When Jake suggested a double date to bring Dean and Dara together, I’d dithered for weeks, but he’d been right in the end. Dean had simply been reeling from one too many bad love affairs, hiding his warm and gentle heart in hopes of avoiding further disaster. Once he’d shown himself, we’d become the closest of friends.
“Amara?”
“Sorry, just …” Drifting into the past? Not the place to be. Not tonight.
“Jake … the kissing thing … sorry about that,” she said.
