Page 74 of I Choose You

“Breathe. I don’t want another one to pass out on me today.”

I shot her an alarmed look. “Someone passed out here?”

“Get a few every day.” She shrugged. “Part of the trade.”

I was proud I didn’t scream at the first rip. After the second, I blinked away tears.

I wouldn’t agree that it was the speediest experience I’d ever had, but when I walked out to Rena, I made sure I walked normally. If I could have, I would have sprinted out of there, but I had my dignity.

“Not bad, right?” Rena beamed at me.

“I’m never, ever doing that again,” I vowed darkly.

25

KADEN

Brooke didn’t contact me after the engagement party. I knew she did yoga on Sunday mornings, and I figured she might want space after we’d been so intimate. Honestly, I hated it. I felt like I had to walk on thin ice around her. Being considerate of what she needed was one thing. But torturing myself by missing her felt shitty too.

But she’s not mine to miss.

It was too damn easy to forget that what we had and what we did was fake. We weren’t on a real date that night. We weren’t at the party as a real couple. Every second of slamming my dick into her drenched pussy was very real, but the aftermath of it was a strange, confusing thing to figure out.

I didn’t have to call her, but I wanted to.

I had no reason to see her, but I wished I had one.

When Wednesday came along, after three days of debating how I should approach her, I was uneasy.

Tonight, Kody, Mercedes, and I were meeting up at a bakery for a cake tasting, and I’d invited Brooke along. It wasn’t an official wedding-related event that Brooke had to attend. Dad wanted me and Kody to have a date for the wedding, but I took it a step further to really show everyone that Brooke was with me—kind of.

She had seemed excited about the cake tasting though, when I told her about the appointment, so I wouldn’t burst that bubble of happiness now. I’d mentioned the cake tasting before my brother was an ass to her at the party though. Now I wasn’t sure how it would go.

Kody had lucked out. He’d traveled for the last couple of nights on a project. If he had been around before this afternoon, he would have gotten an earful from me.

First, about the way he treated Brooke.

Second, about the hunch I had that he was hitting on Mercedes.

That guy needed a fucking keeper to make sure he toed the line. And it shouldn’t have to be me.

Dad and Margaux were supposed to come as well, but at the last minute, they decided to let us “kids” handle it. They trusted our judgment. Okay, maybe not Kody’s, but Mercedes and I could agree on a damn cake flavor.

I was under the impression that the bride and groom weren’t concerned about the details. Dad wanted this to be the event of the year, but because he’d been married before, he wasn’t picky about the finer points. And Margaux wasn’t controlling, likely because this wasn’t her first time down the aisle either.

At the bakery, I waited for the employee to bring out samples. I’d gotten there first. Mercedes arrived next, smiling at me as she wrapped up a phone call. What does she do again? I knew Dad had told me, but strangely enough, Mercedes and I had covered a variety of small talk and get-to-know-you crap that didn’t include careers.

Well, I think she can guess where I’m employed.

“Hey,” Brooke said in a rushed greeting.

I straightened from peering down into the glass cases. Returning her smile, I watched as she entered. Still in her work outfit, she looked like a walking wet dream. If she added glasses to that librarian-like skirt and blouse?

“How was your day?” She came to my side and rubbed my arm.

Long. Lonely. What was this pat on the arm? I pulled her into a hug and breathed in the sweet vanilla scent of her shampoo. “You smell good enough to eat.”

She blushed, stepping back. “Well, I’m here to taste a cock.”