I can hear the laughter in her voice. She knows for a fact, I’ve noticed how good Sierra looks. I feel my body stiffen at the mention of her name, but still, my eyes seek her out over my mom’s shoulder. She’s still sitting at her table, but Bernie has joined her now and I feel glad that she’s not sitting alone, even though she’s hurt me. God, when did I get so fucking sappy? I need to go back to being myself. This wedding is having a strange effect on me and I don’t like it one bit.
I can feel Mom’s eyes searching my face and I realize her statement wasn’t a rhetorical question. She’s actually waiting for an answer, most likely because she wants to gauge my reaction.
“Yes,” I reply.
“That’s it? Yes,” Mom asks.
I shrug. “You asked me a yes or no question. What else is there to say?” I reply, choosing my words carefully, knowing exactly where this conversation is going.
“The way you look at her has changed. Like you’re noticing her for the first time. You like her don’t you? As much more than just an assistant.”
I can’t deny it. Mom will see straight through it if I lie to her. And I’m certainly not about to tell her that Sierra and I got married and then I found out she has a boyfriend. I stick with the standard line, the one I know Mom will believe. “It doesn’t matter how I look at her or how I see her. Dating Sierra would be highly unprofessional.”
My mom laughs.
I frown at her, confused by her reaction.
She shakes her head and quickly rubs her hand over my cheek. “Ah Chance, you can’t help who you fall for you know,” she says.
“I haven’t—”
“You have,” she states firmly. “The fact that the only reason you can think of for not dating her is that it would be unprofessional confirms it.”
I open my mouth to say something, anything that will convince her that she’s wrong, but she’s right. If I wasn’t into Sierra, I would have just said that. Instead of trying to think of something else to say, something that no doubt will dig me deeper into this hole I’ve created and just make things worse. I end the conversation in a different way, spinning mom around quickly and making her laugh.
She’s still twirling and laughing when the song ends. “Chance, you boys sure do keep me young, but right now, I’m feeling my age. My feet are killing me and I need a drink,” she says.
I nod and start to follow her off the dance floor. I don’t get far when Kimberley steps in front of me.
“Not so fast you.” She grins. “You don’t get to go to a wedding and get out of dancing with the bride.”
I laugh as I offer her my hand and we dance. I still find my gaze wandering to Sierra, but it’s different this time. No matter how long I stare at her, she isn’t looking back at me anymore.
Chapter Fourteen
Sierra
At the start of the day, I was really enjoying the wedding. The setting was beautiful. Kimberley and Sebastian make such a sweet couple. Throughout the ceremony, although I tried to concentrate on the vows and the officiant’s words, I kept finding my gaze drawn to Chance. He looked so hot standing up there in his suit and now, I know what’s beneath his suit and it just makes him all the more attractive.
Every time I looked at him, he was looking at me. The first few times our eyes met, he glanced away quickly, blushing and trying to make out like he wasn’t looking at me. By the end of the wedding though, he was blatantly looking at me and I knew I could see the feelings I have for him on his face when our eyes met.
I began to believe that maybe we had a chance. That maybe what happened in Vegas wasn’t a couple of days of crazy, but might actually be the start of something special. I was stupid to believe that obviously, but all of the signs were there, and it would have been next to impossible to read them as anything else.
His speech after the meal was warm and funny and I saw a glimpse of the man I had seen in Vegas. The man with more to him than just work. The man who could make me laugh without trying to. The man who deep down believed in true love, even if he would never admit it out loud.
As the evening reception got going, I hoped he would ask me to dance, but I told myself that really wasn’t his style. There was no way he would allow his family to see him flirting and dancing with a girl. He’s a private person and even when I was dancing with the girls and glancing at him every now again, feeling his eyes on me, I knew he wouldn’t come to dance with me.
At the first opportunity, I slipped away from the girls, saying I needed a drink. I got my drink and instead of going back to the dance floor, I went back to my table, hoping he would come over. He did and we chatted and I found myself getting braver as we laughed. I hinted to Chance, no, more than hinted, I blatantly put it out there, that I was up for some fun. He seemed like he was lapping it up, playing along.
I went out of the room for a second to take a quick call and when I came back, he had gone back to his own table. I figured it was because he felt out of place sitting at my table alone and I took a step towards him, but the way he glared at me when I did told me it was much more than that. It told me he wasn’t
