“All right, you want to watch my dad get married?”
Indicating his sharp suit, he says, “Why do you think I wore this?”
I grab his arm and haul him down the hall toward the man-door.
“Didn’t think we’d get to touching that fast,” he remarks, looking at my hand on his arm. “I am liking the progression here.”
“Yeah, we’ll see how much you like my touches when I punch you directly in the balls,” I mutter at him.
“That’s not one of the things I hoped you would do with my balls.”
I glare over at his stupid, handsome, smirking face. “Don’t push your luck, Noble. I can murder you and go find the priest after the ceremony to confess my sins and beg forgiveness.”
“You’re not Catholic,” he reminds me.
“I wouldn’t be sorry, either,” I inform him.
Derek grins. “I missed you.”
My heart drops and my throat closes up. Thankfully we’re at the door, so I don’t have to respond. Easing open the door, I step inside, dragging him behind me. My gaze darts to Alex at the front of the room, but he’s not looking. If anyone noticed the door opening over here, they would likely just assume an invited guest came in late.
I cannot believe I’m going to let Derek Noble sit here and watch my father’s wedding.
I cannot believe I am placing Derek Noble in a seat, knowing I am going to walk down this aisle as a bridesmaid. I’ve had plenty of daydreams where I walked down the aisle with my eyes on this man, and none of them went like this.
“This is a terrible idea,” I whisper, as I look down the half-empty pew.
Derek’s voice is firm. “Stand still.”
I freeze. “What?”
I feel a light tug on the back of my dress. “Your sash… ribbon… whatever the hell you call this thing that ties back here, it came undone. I’m fixing it.”
I can hardly breathe at the idea of him having any part of helping me dress or undress. My face burns and I look at Alex again. The longer we stand here, the greater chance he sees. I don’t want to ruin his wedding day, and if he sees Derek… ugh.
“Hurry,” I whisper.
His hand touches my side and he leans in to murmur in my ear. “All better.”
I watch as Derek slides down the pew, then steal one last glance at Alex. We weren’t spotted, and now that I have Derek stashed in a seat, I turn and hustle back out the man-door.
The other attendants are gathered around the double doors now, talking in low murmurs, moving into a single file formation. I was so ready for this a moment ago, but now I’m struggling to draw a breath. My dress feels too tight, but it wasn’t too tight five minutes ago, so I know the reason I can’t draw enough air into my lungs is Derek, not the pretty fabric draped around my body.
A series of mental images whoosh through my mind, lovers standing so close they breathe each other in, light touches on a woman’s exposed shoulders, his big hands reaching around her back so he can drag down the zipper on her dress. Only the lovers in my daydream aren’t the groom and his bride with the dreamcatcher tattoo, they are me and Derek.
This is bad.
“You okay?”
I look up at the sound of a concerned voice. Bethany stands there, beautiful in her gown with her veil covering her blue hair.
I force a smile and nod. “Yep, I’m good.”
“All right, then let’s get me hitched.”
Chapter Five
I take comfort in my ability to stand up here in front of all these people and remain focused on Bethany and Alex. My stomach is a jumbled mess, it’s impossible to stay focused; my train of thought is jumping tracks faster than I can keep up with. Questions swirl through my mind a million at a time. I’ve had a few minutes to process his presence here, but it still doesn’t feel real.