Just friends? Pfft. Yeah, right.

Chapter 38

Chapter 38

I smoothed my dress. I reached up and ran my fingers through my hair before patting it back down again. I have been doing that for hours, nerves and worry tangled up in a complicated web. It was my rehearsal dinner and everyone that was supposed to be at my wedding was here. I had been in and out lately ever since Dave kissed me at the lake. Logan could sense something was wrong because I kept avoiding talking to my best friend. Still, he did not question it.

I took a deep breath in and gulped down another glass of champagne. From the corner of my eye, I saw Dave, looking handsome in his suit. The dark suit fit him perfectly, showing his fit form. His hair was combed back, neat but boyish in a way. As he smiled to the woman he was talking to, I saw the way his eyes lit up. The laughter and warmth in them made my stomach knot. Dashing and sweet, that was him. He turned in my direction, our eyes clashing. Oh boy.

I rolled out of sight, hiding behind the wall. Placing a hand over my heart, I tried to slow down my breathing. What the hell is wrong with me? Why was I the one to be running away from him? I was not the one to have initiated the kiss. But, still, I felt the guilt eating at me.

Raising my eyes, I saw Logan on the other side of the room. He was also in a suit although his shirt was a light blue where Dave’s was crisp white. The blue brought out the colour of his eyes, my favourite feature. He flashed me a smile and I shot him back one. As he attended to some guests, I turned away.

“I need to talk to you, Jo,” Dave’s voice whispered in my ear the moment i turned around.

His face was only inches from mine and my mouth went dry. I cleared my throat. “I’m busy.”

“At what? Staring at the guests? Thinking and worrying about what happened between us at the lake?” he asked, eyes hard. He knew very well I wanted to avoid him.

“Hush,” I hissed urgently, glancing around to make sure no one had heard what he said. “Can we not do this now?”

“Stop avoiding me,” he pleaded, eyes softening. He had grabbed my arm when I was walking away.

I looked back at Logan who had a slight frown when he saw me and Dave. I smiled to ease his worry. I grabbed Dave’s arm and pulled him outside the grand hall of the hotel to the hallway outside. Dave followed, silent. I closed the door and wrapped my arms around myself after making sure no one had followed us.

“What do you want to say?” I asked, guard up instantly.

Dave saw it. “I want to apologise for that day.”

“You already did that,” I reminded him, blushing at the memory of him retreating away from me like I had burned him.

He took a step closer and I stepped back reflexively. His eyes looked hurt. “I want to apologise for how I reacted. Not for what happened, Jo. I don’t regret it.”

My jaw clenched and my heart started pounding so fast and so loud I had difficulty hearing my own thoughts.

“I know you love Logan and I have no right to even be here, wanting to tell you how I feel and the words I want to say. But, I’m an idiot, that way,” he said, giving a strained laugh.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Your feelings?”

Dave smiled, sad and regretful. He came closer and this time, I did not move away. He took my hands in his, wobbly smile and unsure eyes. “I don’t understand it. What happened at the lake, that was unexpected. I just know that something changed. That kiss changed everything. I felt something. Did you?”

I wanted to lie. I wanted to tell him that I felt nothing. I wanted to tell him that he should leave and we should never mention what happened ever again. That I love Logan and I have moved on. But, looking into Dave’s eyes. The way he was laying his whole heart to me, the uncertainty and the confusion, it made me soften. “It doesn’t matter.”