Page 78 of Calling a Cease-Fire

“Damn right.” I moved between her legs, and she scooted to the edge, wrapping her arms around my neck. The icy condensation of her lemonade cup between my shoulder blades did nothing to cool my need for her. “Every time I look at you, I have to fight the urge to suck and lick your stomach and slide my hands up under these insanely short shorts. I’m fucking sure every other guy here wants to do the same thing.”

“You’re paranoid,” she said with a roll of her eyes.

“He just called you hot,” I argued. Did she miss that comment?

“Okay.” Her lips twitched. “Mostly paranoid.”

I raised a brow, slightly amused she was fighting back a laugh. “You think my jealousy is funny?”

She nodded enthusiastically. “Hilariously funny.”

I gripped her thighs and leaned forward. “Maybe you need another reminder of what I do to this body?”

“Oh.” She beamed. “Another spanking? That could be fun.”

“Keep up your sass and I’ll do it right here in front of all these people.”

“You would not.” She laughed. “You would be too jealous of everyone looking at my ass.”

“That’s true,” I said with a self-deprecating chuckle. But something about showing everyone she was mine enticed me. “Want to walk around, or hang out here some more?”

“Let’s walk some. I’m curious what kind of stuff they have.”

I gripped her by the waist and helped her slide down. Her hands lingered around my neck, and I bent forward, placing a quick kiss to her lips.

Threading my fingers through hers, I turned us toward the vendors. As we walked, hand in hand, I couldn’t stop feeling like we were a real couple. And in that moment, I didn’t think there was anything that could ruin this feeling of complete and utter happiness.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

MIA

I was about to lose my shit. He was acting like a goddamn child. I wanted to yell and scream, tell him to grow up and get his shit together. That it wasn’t about him. But I couldn’t. Not in front of all of our friends.

Zack sulked all the way through Logan and Izzy’s bridal party pictures. He hated that I’d brought Charlie here. But we’d been over this a dozen times in the last week. Charlie and I were just friends, basically coworkers who got along well, and he had nothing to worry about. I didn’t know what else he wanted me to do. I’d RSVP’d I was bringing a plus one, and I’d asked Charlie months ago. He’d already requested the time off, and it would be shitty to uninvite him a week before the wedding. Zack was just going to have to get over it.

I crossed my arms and glanced over at him with a frown. He wouldn’t even look at me.

Adam stepped in front of us and narrowed his eyes. “What the hell is going on with you two?” When neither of us answered, he went on. “It’s like you’re back to hating each other.”

I bit the inside of my cheek and looked away. I didn’t hate Zack. That idea seemed so foreign to me now.

“It’s nothing. We’re fine. I’m just exhausted.” Zack’s voice was clipped, and eerily devoid of emotion.

Adam coupled a sardonic scoff with a look that said he thought Zack was full of shit. “Yeah, I’m not buying that. But you two better start getting along again or Lyla is going to be pissed.”

Between the night at the bar and now this, I was starting to feel guilty about making him hide things from his friends. Especially when it was obvious it wasn’t his style.

Once Adam was out of earshot, and I glanced around making sure no one else was close enough to hear, I spun on Zack. “I told you Charlie and I are just friends.” It was now the tenth time since we’d arrived that I’d told him this exact thing.

“Doesn’t mean I have to like it,” he bit out.

“God.” I huffed under my breath. “You’re being ridiculous.”

He shrugged. “Then just ignore me.”

That wasn’t my style, and he knew it. And I hated that he was upset, but I just didn’t know how to make it right.

“What did you want me to do? Uninvite him and come with you?”