“His whatta?”
“Basically, the bride’s family is supposed to steal his shoes by the end of the night.”
“This is seriously the best wedding I’ve ever been to.”
“You mean that? I would think those weddings you go to in Bali or castles in Ireland would be way cooler.”
“You’ve seen one Irish castle, you’ve seen them all. So…” Zack twirled his partner around, her blue skirt fanning out for half a second, “your place or mine tonight? Come to my place and I’ll make sure your dress is dry cleaned by tomorrow afternoon. My family has an account with the fastest, best place in the city.”
Rachel wanly smiled. “If you could drop me off at home, that would be great.”
“You’re trying to tell me that you’re at a wedding and don’t wanna get naughty afterward?”
“Wasn’t what I had in mind, no.”
He brought her closer, voice plummeting into her ear. “I could put it in your mind, if you want.”
“I’m sure you could.”
“You’re challenging me, aren’t you?”
Rachel couldn’t help but chuckle. “Maybe a little.”
“What do I have to do to get your hot ass in my bed tonight, Rachel Taylor?”
“Stop talking, for one. Sometimes your actions speak louder than words.”
Zack mimicked zipping his mouth shut before wrapping both arms around Rachel. She hesitated before bracing both hands against his broad shoulders.
See? That’s all he cares about. Fooling around. Playing pretend in front of a crowd. He’s not really…
She was dipped backward before she had a chance to protest, let alone process what was happening. When she popped back up again, it was to see his calming countenance in a sea of talking heads and chewing mouths.
Rachel had been fighting it for weeks. The attraction. The desires. The need to hold him and feel his heart beat next to her own. Basking in his warmth and even warmer scent. Feeling his body against hers, wondering when, if ever, they could become closer. Kisses and fooling around had never been enough. She knew it. He knew it. Even with a hundred climaxes shared between them, none of it was enough as long as they knew it was foreplay.
But every time Rachel entertained the idea of taking it all the way with Zack – which included calling him her boyfriend – she remembered the promise she had made to herself.
Wasn’t it curious, though, that this man walked into her life that same day?
She had been fighting it for weeks: the fact that she was pretty sure she loved him.
God, wasn’t that frightening? Loving him? Of course she loved him. Why wouldn’t she? This was the man who had been by her side for several weeks, seeing her ups, her downs, and hearing some of the sorriest stories he could ever hear. He saw me crying about my mom. He saw how scared I am of everything… not just the water, but of losing my mom and hot having the money to take care of her…
Rachel needed him as a friend more than anything else. To lose him now would be like losing a part of herself.
But she also wanted him as her lover. A lover she could see herself waking up beside for the rest of her life.
That was love, wasn’t it?
There’s no way he could ever feel that way for me.
Zack must have caught on to her energy, for he tipped her head back and kissed her.
“Nope. Can’t hold it in any longer,” he said. “I wanna talk. Talk, talk, talk.”
“You can’t stand the silence.”
“I can, if there’s something worth contemplating.”
“Like…”
Zack tightened his hold on her. “Like how much I like being with you.”
“So it’s not worth contemplating right now?”
“If you’re here, I’d rather tell you.”
The song came to an end. Rachel stepped away, teeth firmly on her bottom lip. “I want some cake. How about you?”
“I’d love to take a break from being the most sought after man at the wedding, yeah.”
His words were both silly and divinely honest. So much so that Rachel continued to reel from them even after they stumbled to one of the buffet tables and sampled the cake. Especially after Zack insisted on feeding some to her, making sure his fingers remained in her mouth far longer than was kosher for a public wedding.
“Just want to make sure I don’t get any on your nice outfit,” he said with a wink.
“I should smear some of this on your face.”
“Save it for our wedding.”
Rachel froze while he asked to sample one of the other cakes. The chef behind the table happily handed over the chocolate cake drizzled in strawberry glaze.
Our… wedding.
That was classic Zack at work again. Making jokes, never being serious… Rachel needed to loosen up and throw it right back at him.
“Wait until I tell you that I love you before you start going on about our wedding.”
“Oh, so you do love me?” He offered her a piece of chocolate cake from his little fork. “You should try this. Think you’d like it.”
Rachel turned around. “Could you be serious for a few seconds?”
Zack put the plate down and followed her through the crowded lines. “The hell did I do?”
She came through the other side with a sigh on her lips. Stop playing with me like this. Asking her back to his place. Joking about them getting married. Joking about loving her. It wasn’t fair. She couldn’t keep doing this to herself.
Because the longer she stayed around him, the more she bought into his funny anecdotes and suggestions that they could be more than friends who happened to know what each other’s bodily fluids tasted like.
I hate how I get around him. Rachel hid in the shadows, hoping her bright blue saree wouldn’t be too easy to see. She would have dipped into the women’s restroom, but it was so crowded with crowing aunties that she didn’t dare get mixed up in that. He’s going to destroy me, and he won’t even mean to do it.
“Rachel.”
Damnit. There he was.
“I’m sorry if I offended you.” Damnit, and he was still talking! “I wish you would tell me what I did this time, though.”
“It’s not you.” Rachel couldn’t believe she took this route. “It’s me. I need a little space.”
“Is this because I was joking about us getting married? It was a joke, Rachel.”
“No, I…” She shook her head. “It’s not like that.”
“Do you mean your feelings, or what we’ve got going on here?”
“What do we have?”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to get you to tell me.” Zack slammed his hand against the wall. “You confuse me more than all the languages I hear spoken here. At least they’re being direct with each other.”
Rachel couldn’t respond. Her heart was racing, torn between forcing her to flee and begging her to dive into his arms again.
“You kinda drive me crazy.”
“I could say the same thing about you.”
“Why do you like me so much? Why?”
He shrugged. “Why not? Is there a good reason not to like you?”
“I’m a mess. I string you along, making half-promises that I never intend to fulfill.”
“What makes you say that? I can’t think of any promises you haven’t fulfilled to me.”
Rachel didn’t say anything.
“Does this have to do with sex?”
She still wouldn’t say anything.
“Rachel Mary-Ann Taylor,” how the hell did he learn her whole name? “You drive me crazy because I think you’re the damn bees-knees. We’re not going to question Cupid and his quiver full of arrows.”
“Why do you make jokes like that?”
“Who says they’re jokes? I’m not ashamed to say that I’m halfway to loving you.”
Rachel’s eyes widened. There was no way that he said… “What’s stopping you from committing to full love?”
“Honestly? Insecurity.”
“Inse… !”
“Insecurity that you don’t feel the same way about me.” Zack took a step back. “We guys get insecure about our feelings too, you know.”
Rachel stared at him, dumbfounded. Was it possible? That he really had feelings like those for her? But was afraid to admit them because of her… her reluctance?
That was crazy!
“You’re nuts.” Rachel couldn’t hold in the laughter. “You’re holding back because of me? That’s fucking crazy! Look at you! You could have any woman you want, and I’m the one making you insecure?”
He wasn’t laughing along with her. “Yes. I can have any woman I want. Except you, apparently.”
“Which makes you want me more. Always after the fish you can’t catch.”
“More like aimlessly hoping that you’ll take things to the next level with me. But that’s okay. I’m a patient man, if I think it’s worth it.”
Rachel still couldn’t believe what she was hearing. This was like some twisted dream come true. Assuming he could be trusted, of course. “You think I’m worth it?”
“Absolutely.”
He tried to suppress an excited smile, but in the end, Zack couldn’t hold back the giddiness overcoming even a man like him. It was the closest he would get to a love confession for now. As for Rachel? She didn’t even try to suppress it. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in the emerald green kurta that already smelled of him.