“All right, then. See you later.”
Gray had barely left the living room when I grabbed my phone and checked. No missed calls. No text messages. Why was Carter ignoring me? I redialed his number, but the phone went straight to voice mail again.
Dammit.
I opened my IG app to message him. The page refreshed, and a picture of Carter popped up with his lips sealed to a half-naked guy straddling his lap in a Jacuzzi. My heart thumped. Damion Bartley, according to the IG handle, had posted the photo an hour ago. He’d tagged Carter in the picture with the caption, “After kissing hundreds of frogs, I’ve finally found a prince.”
Tremors rattled my body, my stomach churned, and the room spun. How could he? A thousand thoughts raced through my mind, spiraling in a whirlwind of confusion and hurt. Did I even have a right to be furious when I’d kissed his father? Maybe this was my karma. Or my wake-up call.
I locked my phone and sprinted out of the living room. Right into Gray. He wrapped his arms around me, and I grabbed him for balance. Why had he come back?
“You okay?” he asked.
I nodded, unable to speak.
“Look, I know you preferred staying to make wedding plans, but taking a few hours off won’t matter too much, will it? Why don’t you change your mind and come along with me? It’ll do you—”
“Yes.”
“Yeah?” Gray’s smile lit up his face. Yes, I had made the right decision.
“But I’ll need to change. Just give me a few minutes. Ten minutes tops, I promise.”
“No rush.” He glanced at his watch. “We can always spend less time at Lawson’s. Take all the time you need to get ready. I’ll pack us some food to take with us for the drive-in.”
Everything he said flew over my head except for the “take all the time you need to get ready.” How often had Carter left me to drive myself to an event because he got tired of waiting for me?
I’d always thought it made sense. After all, sometimes it could take me a while to get ready. Who knew there was another option called waiting for your partner? Uncertainty gnawed at my heart. Every second I spent with Gray pointed out flaws in Carter I hadn’t seen before.
No, being around Gray’s a good thing. If the things I excuse in Carter are flaws I need to be concerned about, it’s better for me to acknowledge them now before marrying him.
“You’re not changing your mind again, are you?” Gray asked. “If you’re worried about what happened between us, I promise I’ll be a perfect gentleman. You can take me at my word, Ozzie. I won’t do anything you don’t want to do.”
I stepped back out of his arms. “I’ll get changed, then.”
Once in the bedroom, I placed my suitcase on the bed. I hadn’t unpacked. Easier to make a quick getaway if the wedding plans fell through. I sank onto the bed and inhaled deeply with my hand over my chest. All this time, I’d been living with an escape plan. What did that say about me wanting this wedding? I let out a bitter laugh as the image of Carter kissing the other man flashed through my mind.
It was hypocritical to mind, but I still did, dammit. I unzipped my suitcase and rummaged through the items. One night to have fun without Carter’s restrictions. How could I not take advantage of it?
When I was finally ready, doubts fired bullets at me as I stared at myself in the mirror. For once, I was wearing something Carter wouldn’t have approved of. He preferred me to wear dark, slimming outfits.
My light blue jeans were too tight, and the corset I had underneath snatched my waist in to make my curves stand out more. And I liked it. Each time I moved, the russet-colored one-shoulder top swayed around me. For the first time in a long while, I felt sexy. I brushed my hair and applied some eyeliner, blush, mascara, and cherry-flavored lip gloss.
I grabbed my wallet and phone. “Oh shit.” Curling my hair and applying light makeup had taken up more time than I’d expected.
Instead of sliding my phone into my pocket, I turned it off and left it on the bed. Carter could wait for me for a change. If he even cared.
With determined steps, I hurried down the stairs and almost smacked into Gray, who walked out of the living room. Why was I always running into the man? He stopped, his gaze moving from my face down to my body, not like I was a freak and making me uncomfortable, but like a caress.
God, his expression. He made me feel beautiful, desirable. Not in a cheap way, like he wanted to tumble me to the floor and fuck me right there. And yeah, I sensed that in him too. But he made me feel seen. Not the Ozzie who guys tried to score with. No, the Ozzie who had been stifling for the past two years to express himself and feel good about it.
“Wow, Ozzie, you look amazing.”
I let out a deep breath and smiled. “Thank you. I’m sorry I kept you waiting. It’s been quite a while since I’ve dressed up and played pretty. I might have overdone it.”
“Play? You are beautiful and definitely worth waiting for. I hope you know that.”
My legs wobbled as if they were made of jelly. I had to lock my knees to keep upright. “I thought you would wait in the truck.”
