The Wedding Party (The Wedding Date, #3)(14)

“Yeah,” Maddie said. He wondered if she’d heard what he’d left unsaid. “He seems like he really loves her.” She glanced toward him with her eyes narrowed. “Don’t worry: if he doesn’t, I’ll know.”

He lifted his hand to high-five her. “

He’s moving here—you heard that, right?”

He nodded.

“Yeah.”

“Yeah.” Maddie sighed. “I am so happy for her—I’m not just saying that—but . . .”

“Same here,” Theo said. “It’s going to change things.”

Maddie flipped a U-turn and pulled up in front of his building.

“Yeah. It’s going to change things. I wouldn’t take this away from Alexa for the world, but it’ll require some adjustment. I hate change. Anyway, I feel like an asshole now.”

Theo put his hand on her arm.

“Don’t. Or, I mean, do, but know I feel like an asshole, too. I don’t like change, either.”

Maddie turned off the car.

“Well, at least I’m in good company.”

Theo grinned at her.

“I can’t decide if that’s a compliment or an insult.”

She pushed her hair out of her face.

“I’m not going to be the one to clear it up for you.”

They grinned at each other, until she looked away.

“Anyway, thanks for the ride home,” he said. “Even though you clearly had no choice in the matter.”

She shrugged.

“I could have made Drew do it. Congratulations again about tonight.”

“Thanks.” He pulled her in for a quick hug and half expected her to recoil to the other side of the car. But instead, she wrapped her arms around him and held on tight. They sat like that for a while, not talking, not moving, just breathing in unison.

When she rested her head on his shoulder, he was scared to move or breathe, in case she pushed him away. Finally, he moved his fingers into her hair. She sighed, and he could feel her breath on his neck. He dropped a light kiss on her hair, and waited. After what felt like hours, he felt her lips on his neck.

Don’t rush, Theo. Don’t freak her out. Go slow.

He gently pushed her hair back and kissed her hairline. Then her forehead.

She sat up slowly, and they looked in each other’s eyes for a long time.

He had no idea who moved first, but suddenly they were kissing so hard it almost hurt.

“Inside. Now,” he said in her ear.

In response, she opened her car door.

The next morning, Maddie opened her eyes in Theo’s bed and shook her head.

“We were NOT going to do this again,” she said to her pillow.

He chuckled in her ear, and his arm tightened around her waist.

“We didn’t do it on purpose,” he said. “It was an emotional night, we lost our minds, maybe someone put fairy dust or something in our drinks. That’s our story, and we’re sticking to it.”

She couldn’t bring herself to regret the night before, at least not right now when she was so cozy and satisfied. She was certain that would come later.

“Mmm, good, as long as we have a story.” She should probably get up to leave. She should definitely get up to leave. But instead, she sank deeper into the bed and pulled Theo’s arm closer against her. He took the hint. His fingers moved up higher on her torso and cupped her breast.

“ How . . . how long does that fairy dust last, anyway?” she asked him.

He stroked her nipples, and she sighed. He draped his leg over hers.

“Mmm, I would say twelve hours.” He kissed her neck, and she turned over onto her back to give him more access. He smiled down at her. “So that gives us about two more hours.”

She moved her hands up and down his back.

“We’d better not waste a minute, then.”

A while later, when Maddie woke up again, she kept her eyes closed. What the fuck was wrong with her? Was there some sort of force field around Theo’s apartment that led straight to his bed?Was there an invisible sign when you turned onto his street that said in big letters BAD DECISION CENTRAL? How had she ended up in his bed again?

And why was she still there? They’d had morning sex, for the love of God!

She needed to pull the plug on this immediately. She forced herself out of bed.

When she came back from the bathroom, Theo was in the kitchen. Making coffee, she assumed. She pulled her clothes on and went to the doorway of the kitchen.

“Um, is there enough coffee for me?” she asked.

Why did she ask that? She should have just snuck out the door while he was making coffee. Now she was stuck here.

He gestured to the two cups waiting by the kettle. He was shirtless, with those gray sweatpants on again. Did he have anything on underneath them? No, Maddie, no, she was not going to let herself think about that.

“Plenty of milk, no sugar, right?”

She nodded. “Right. Wait, don’t you have to go to work?”

He picked up his phone and waved it at her.

“I sent ten emails while you were in the bathroom. I have to make it to the office eventually, but I have time for coffee first.”

The kettle whistled, and he made coffee for both of them, then handed her the milk from the refrigerator. She poured some in her cup and passed the milk back to him.