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Fortunately, Elle arrived and Kate ushered us bridesmaids to our positions before the bride. I took one look at my friend and smiled encouragingly at her. She looked amazing, like there was this glow about her that was unique to brides. There was an uncharacteristic softness to her, too.
I couldn’t believe one of my closest friends was actually getting married.
“That could be you next year, you know,” Dora nudged at me.
I shook my head. “Dan and I haven’t made any plans yet—”
“Good God, Ross, I wasn’t referring to that prick you’re going out with,” she rolled her eyes at me. “I was talking about that hot piece of ass over there.”
I knew I shouldn’t take advice from someone who delighted in shocking the living daylights out of the senior citizens of Georgetown with her antics, but my eyes followed the direction she was pointing at anyway.
Lo and behold, Oliver Compton stood just a short distance from me and I felt my mouth go dry at the sight of him.
Dora was right—he was a “hot piece of ass”, as she graciously put it. He had been tall back when we dated in high school, with broad shoulders I loved leaning my head on. However, he had apparently acquired a little more muscle over the years, and he now filled out his dark suit really well. He turned around and I felt the warmth spread across my cheeks when I realized thatOliver Compton had a really nice ass.
“See? Hot piece of ass, right?” Dora snickered softly in my ear.
I glared at her. “Dora, I have a boyfriend already.”
“You dating him doesn’t change the fact that he’s a prick, Ross,” she smirked at me. “You could always do better, you know.”
Except that no, I really didn’t want to.
Unlike Oliver, who would probably leave for London after the wedding, Dan was perfectly fine here in Georgetown. Sure, he was often away on business trips, but it wasn’t like he livedthere.
Dan represented familiarity and safety, and those were the things that I was looking for.
The band began to play, signaling the start of the wedding. I sighed and tucked those dangerous thoughts away, filing them away for another day when it was safer to reexamine them without the cloud of old memories fogging my sanity.
Compartmentalize, Amanda, I told myself, breathing through my nose.Just compartmentalize.
Yes, Oliver Compton had become even more handsome than he was back in high school, but that didn’t mean we could just pick up where we left off. Whatever it was between us was all in the past, and things were different now.
Things were much more different now.
CHAPTER THREE
OLIVER
She’s here!
She’s actually hereafter twelve freaking years!
So this was the surprise they were talking about last night!I realized belatedly, my heart pounding so much in my chest it felt like I was giving myself a heart attack.
If it wasn’t her wedding, I would probably murder my little sister for springing this surprise on me. I stared at my ex-girlfriend, Amanda Ross. Elle had known all along that Amanda had been back, and she didn’t even bother to inform me before the wedding. Not so much as a “Hey, bro. Did I mention your ex-girlfriend was going to be one of my bridesmaids?” She had wasted so much breath on threatening me but couldn’t even tell me this.
She wasunbelievable.
But then again, so was Amanda.
My God, had it really been twelve years? Those twelve years hadn’t been wasted on her, though.
Her hair gently tumbled down her slender shoulders in soft, deep golden curls that gleamed under the fairy lights. She wore only very light makeup, if any, and her eyes shone a more vibrant green than Ireland itself. Her dress was also perfect for her, bringing out a sense of this ethereal beauty… She was so beautiful it was almost like she wasn’t real.
“I see you liked my little surprise,” Elle muttered knowingly under her breath. “Surprise, bro, and welcome home.”
“I hate you,” I hissed back at her.
