Page 54 of The Friendship Pact

When the elevator doors opened, Ruth used her foot to keep them open. They wheeled in the cart, carefully guiding it over the threshold. Soft Christmas tunes played over the speakers. The doors closed, and Ruth pushed the button for the floor above. The elevator jolted. They both lunged for the cake in case it tumbled, their hands outstretched, but the cake hadn’t moved. They looked at each other, their eyes wide with surprise.

Nervous energy made them titter. When the doors opened, Kate said, “Like I said before, the hardest part.”

“Definitely. I’ll have maintenance look at the elevator. We don’t need anyone getting stuck.”

With the cake secure in its place, Kate glanced around the ballroom.

“There sure is a lot of mistletoe hanging from the ceiling.”

Ruth chuckled. “That was all Paige.”

Kate hoped there wouldn’t be a special signature drink, because she would not make the same mistake twice: drink too much and kiss Nick senseless.

With the ballroom doors locked, she took a deep breath and released it slowly.

Ruth accompanied her to the kitchen to gather her things. “Will you be bringing a date to the wedding?”

“No. No date. I haven’t seen my cousin since June and want to spend time with him. Henry will be busy fussing over Paige, and it will give us time to catch up.”

Kate would have liked it if Nick had asked her, but she supposed that would be outside the boundaries of their agreement. She decided not to ask him if he was bringing a date, knowing she wouldn’t like the answer if he was.

“Nick should have asked you.”

“We’re not dating, we’re just—”

Ruth cut her off. “Even if you are only friends.” She smiled warmly.

If Nick wasn’t bringing a date, maybe he intended to meet someone at the wedding. Kate had just read that fifty percent of people experienced a romantic encounter while celebrating someone else’s nuptials. With the amount of mistletoe present, she’d bet that percentage would increase.

* * *

At home after a nice breakfast with Michael and Henry, Kate showered, then set her phone’s alarm and took a quick nap. She awoke minutes before her alarm went off.

Feeling refreshed, she dressed and applied a minimal amount of makeup. She had never been one to wear much, just enough to accentuate her features.

After slipping into the silky red dress, she looked out the window. The sun had melted the snow on the pavement. Paige and Ethan’s wedding day, this late in December, had turned out to be the warmest on record with no snow in the forecast. Six inches of snow still covered the lawn, but the temperature remained above freezing. That was a good day in northern Minnesota, she had learned.

Kate avoided contact with her furry friends so as not to have hair clinging to her dress. She filled their bowls and drove to the church.

* * *

Nick and the groomsmen lined up off to the side, waiting for the last guests to take their seats. Cole nudged him and discreetly pointed toward the doors. Kate entered the church in a rush, removed her knee-length black leather jacket and furry white scarf, and handed them to the attendant gathering coats. Nick’s pulse quickened at the sight of her. Wow! The adjectives going through his head were on rapid fire. Beautiful. Gorgeous. Sexy. Her dark hair fell over the swell of her cleavage, her lips a luscious red. He swallowed hard, remembering their bodies close together, their tongues tangling.

His brother whispered in his ear, “You’ve got it bad.”

“I do,” he said in a muffled tone.

Cole chuckled and slapped him on the back. “Nice choice of words.” He shook his head. “Another one bites the dust.”

“What?”

“Nothing,” Cole said with a smirk.

Kate moved gracefully toward the ushers, where she locked arms with one of Ethan’s pro baseball friends. He bent his head and whispered into Kate’s ear, causing her to giggle like a schoolgirl on a first date.

Nick’s fist clenched at his side. She never glanced his way. Granted, they were somewhat hidden, and Kate was focused on finding a seat. Why hadn’t he asked her to the wedding? He knew why. They were just friends. He needed to remedy that before the night was over. But how? He didn’t know. If he professed his feelings, he’d break the pact. Why hadn’t they set an end to the agreement?

The wedding planner, a petite woman with white hair, interrupted his musings. “All right, everyone, showtime!”