One Night - Forbidden Hearts Series Book 1

34. Red Velvet or Vanilla?

Two Weeks Later

I pulled up to Ryan's apartment with a frown. We were supposed to go over cake choices for the wedding. Even though he was trying to get out of it, we still had to go along with it until we figured out a resolution.

It was only Ryan, his mom, Jackson, and myself today, and I wasn't sure if it was going to be awkward. Over the past couple weeks, I told Jackson I wanted to wait a little while before we told Ryan what was going on. Especially since he was trying to figure out a way out of the arranged marriage.

He had a lot on his plate and I didn't want to add to it. The wedding was getting closer and was now only two weeks away. The upcoming date of the fake big day had all three of us on edge.

As of now, we were unsure if Ryan and I were going to be spending the rest of our lives together or not. If it turned out that we weren't, I still had no idea what that meant for Jackson and myself. One thing I did know, was that I could not imagine saying goodbye to him.

Over the past couple weeks, Jackson and I have been spending a lot of time together. Ever since the day I spoke to Jackson on the phone and made that little comment about sleeping with anyone I wanted if the wedding gets canceled, he has an acting a little differently.

I didn't know if what I said made him jealous or if it was something else, but he seemed unable to keep his hands off of me. Each time we were together, I would remind myself that I was just setting myself up to get hurt. But the second he kissed me or touched me, all of that disappeared.

I walked up to Ryan's door and knocked lightly. His mom was the one who answered the door and she had her usual fake smile on her face. "Harper."

"Hello, Mrs. Hale. How are you?" I asked as I entered the apartment.

"I'm well, thank you."

Her shortness didn't surprise me. Ever since Ryan worked out the plan for me to stay at my job, I was officially on her shit list. Oh, well, her unhappiness didn't faze me one bit. After all, if we went through with this wedding, she was getting what she wanted. Just like my mother.

"Hey, Anne," Ryan said as he walked into the living room with Jackson following behind him.

"Hey," I said to Ryan in return as he came up to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I looked to Jackson who had his usual charming smile on his face.

"Hello, Harper."

"Jackson. Always good to see you." Especially when you look like that, I thought to myself. He was wearing his usual dark jeans and a black Under Armour shirt. One that showed off his delicious muscles and abs very well.

"Well, since we've all greeted each other successfully, why don't we get started," Ryan's mom said curtly.

The three of us shared a look as we followed her to the dining room. There was a large white binder in the middle of it and I knew it contained hundreds of different cake ideas. Just the thought of sitting there for hours made me want to turn around, get in my car, and leave.

We all sat down at the table and started flipping through the binder. After about two hours, we started getting restless. Ryan's mom said she was going to go pick us up some food and Jackson disappeared from the dining room. That left Ryan and I. He continued flipping through the binder and pointing at different cake designs and flavors. I nodded absently as I leaned back in my chair. That's when I saw Jackson come around the corner.

Jackson held my gaze as he walked by the dining room table. His eyes told me exactly what he was thinking. And my body seemed to know as well. With one look, this man was capable of making me wet and aching. Within seconds, I was dying for him to touch me, lick me, and fuck me. Not necessarily in that order. My heart raced as I heard the creaking of the staircase and knew he was headed to the second floor of the house.