Page 2 of Fall For Me
As Aiden leaves, I head toward Cal and Aspen to congratulate them on an institution I firmly believe is a complete crock of shit.
I’m not cynical. I’m a realist.
Marriage is nothing but a social convention we’ve been conditioned to follow. Another box to check. Date, fall in love, get engaged, tie yourself down to someone until one or both of you are miserable as fuck or they betray you, have fucking babies, then rinse and repeat.
Fuck. That. Shit. No, thank you.
Cal extends his hand to shake mine. “I’m glad you came, man.”
“Of course. Thanks for the invite.” I turn to Aspen, and she wraps one arm around my side.
“Thank you for coming, Sean,” she says, releasing me.
“You’re welcome. And you look beautiful. Congratulations.”
Turning to leave, I catch a flash of Hannah walking out the wrong door. She’s knocked back a few drinks tonight, so she’s probably drunk or turned around. I don’t care. She’s not my problem. My legs begin to move of their own accord, but instead of heading out the way I came, I find myself striding out the same door she took into the garden and follow her along the path lined with flowers.
What the fuck am I doing?
Her hair flies behind her as she rounds a bush of pampas grass, clueless that she’s being followed. As I begin to close the distance, she glances over her shoulder, and I step back, hiding myself behind longblades. Peeking around them, I see her back turned, so I step out into the open. She bends at the waist, swiping her hand through the water and a laugh bubbles out of her mouth while she gathers her dress and steps into a fountain.
And I watch.
Curious, I find myself moving closer. I don’t understand the draw. I don’t want anything to do with her. So why am I still walking in her direction? I pause mid-step with the intent of turning around to head back inside, but then her voice, singing along to “Levitating,” floats through the air, and I can’t help but stop and look up at her. She shakes her ass, loudly belting out the lyrics she’s memorized, then trailing off, and quietly mumbling the ones she hasn’t.
And I laugh—something I haven’t done in a long ass time.
Before I realize it, I’ve closed the distance between us as if I’m the one who’s been levitating . . . straight to her.
Two
Hannah
“That’s a hell of a way to cool off.”
Sean’s sexy, gravely, voice curls around me, and sends a shiver down my spine. I inhale a deep breath, smelling the scent of the peonies blooming nearby, and try to mask the effect he has on me before turning around.
“I guess I’m one for creativity.”
“That so?”
Shrugging a shoulder all nonchalant in response, I wade past the floating water lilies and lotus flowers. A gold and white Koi flips, and a giggle escapes my mouth when its fins tickle my leg. My eyes flit to Sean’s as he stands off to the side, watching me; jet-black hair pulled into a man-bun and hands tucked deep into the pockets of his custom-tailored tux.
I never thought a man to be beautiful.
Handsome? Yes. Hot? Absolutely.
But beautiful? Not until him.
My attraction to him is dangerous. Lucifer was known to be the most beautiful angel, and looking at Sean Mac standing here in this garden, I definitely understand why Eve took that bite. His eyes rake over me, and my pulsehammers so rapidly I swear he can see it dancing beneath the skin at the base of my throat.
“What brings you out here, Sean?”
“Fresh air.”
The music from inside the wedding venue grows louder—clearer—then muffles again as if someone stepped outside. Sean casts a glance over his shoulder before his gaze travels back to mine.
“Want to join me?”
