He downed the last of his champagne and bunched his lips together. He was clearly deep in thought. “It’s hard to be around you sometimes, Lily. You’re a very beautiful woman. I like you a lot. But you’re also extremely important to our company. Sawyer would have my head if I touched you. And quite frankly, I’d be more than a little disappointed in myself. So, yeah. There have been a few moments in the last twenty-four hours that were more than I’d bargained on.”
Lily wasn’t sure she was still breathing anymore. Her brain was sucking up all the oxygen her body needed. That wasn’t quite the response she’d been expecting. “Wow.”
He shook his head. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m sorry.”
Lily reached out and grasped his hand. Touching his skin felt as though she’d completed a circuit and electricity was now free to zip back and forth between their bodies. “No. Noah. I’m glad you said something. I’m just taking it all in. I was starting to wonder if you found me unattractive.”
“No. Quite the opposite.”
Heat rose in her cheeks. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m just as frustrated. You’re way too hot to be fake engaged to.”
He laughed, and unleashed his megawatt smile. “You’re funny.”
She would’ve done anything to kiss him right then and there, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to stop if she started something. “Not really what I was going for, but thanks.”
Noah’s phone beeped with a text, pulling them both out of the moment. He fished his cell from his pocket. “It’s Charlotte. She and Michael are saving us seats. We should probably go.”
Lily slugged down the last of her champagne, jammed the cork back into the bottle and put it in the fridge. “No matter what, you and I are sharing the rest of that bottle later tonight. Out on the beach.”
The surprise on Noah’s face was priceless. She should catch him off guard more often. “Yes, ma’am.”
They held hands during the short walk to the ceremony, which was in the garden on the far side of the pool area. White chairs were set up in orderly rows with sprays of tropical flowers hanging from the back of each seat. A satin runner ran up the aisle between the two sections, nearly filled with guests, and at the very end sat a beautiful bamboo archway covered in orchids and lilies with a waterfall behind as the crowning touch. It was a gorgeous sight, picture-perfect, and everything a bride could ever want. Lily decided to start pricing everything out in her head, to keep her mind from wandering to bad memories. She’d planned her own wedding right down to the guest favors and the fondant icing. She knew exactly how much all of this cost or at least she knew the ballpark. Lyle and Marcy Hannafort were sparing no expense.
Noah and Lily found Charlotte and Michael. “Where are Sawyer and Kendall?” Noah asked.
“Kendall hasn’t been feeling well since dinner last night. I don’t know if they’re even going to make it for the ceremony.”
“I hope everything’s okay,” Lily said.
“I think so. She said the baby is kicking like crazy and Mr. Hannafort had a doctor friend check on her this morning. They’re making sure she gets lots of fluids and some rest,” Charlotte said.
Noah grumbled and crossed his legs.
“Everything okay?” Lily muttered into his ear, taking her chance to inhale his cologne.
“Yeah. It just irks me when Sawyer doesn’t let me know what’s going on. I hate that Kendall is sick and I didn’t know anything about it. What if it’s something serious?”
There was the evidence of how close the three siblings were and just how easily they could set each other off. Lily took his hand and laced her fingers in with his. “It’s okay. I’m sure he didn’t mean anything by it. And maybe it was a guy thing. You know, like he didn’t want you to see how upset he was. It’s probably easier for him to be vulnerable with Charlotte.”
Noah looked at her and smiled softly. “Yeah. You might be right. Thank you.”
“Anytime.”
The music started and the groom and his groomsmen took their places up near the archway. The minister stood at center stage, hands folded in front of him. Lily tried to ignore the way it felt to hear the strains of Pachelbel’s Canon in D. Like a zillion other brides, she’d chosen this song for her own wedding as a prelude to her big moment. She’d stood at the back of the church and listened to it, a little bit nervous, a little excited, a whole lot of ready to get her show on the road.
Today, every note grated. They picked at the memory of standing in the back of the church and having her cousin run out and proclaim that there was no groom. Peter had not come into the church with his groomsmen. This exact music had sent Lily scrambling to find him. Later, she would find out from the church organist that he’d played it seven times before Lily made her way into the chapel and announced to everyone that there would be no wedding that day.