Make Me Yours (Bellamy Creek #2) - Melanie Harlow Page 0,62

Blair, telling her how beautiful everything was. After chatting with them for a moment, we headed back to the table, where cake had been served along with pitchers of coffee.

Cole was back at Mariah’s table, but he looked over at me as I sat down. Averting my eyes, I poured myself some coffee, took a couple bites of cake without tasting them, and tried to keep breathing. He stayed at the kids’ table, his cake left untouched.

“When’s the wedding party dance?” I asked Blair.

“In about ten minutes,” she said.

“Good. I’m just going to grab some air first if that’s okay?”

She hesitated, and then nodded. “It’s okay.”

Without looking in Cole’s direction, I went to the coat room and asked the attendant for my faux fur stole, which all the women in the wedding party had worn. Wrapping it around my shoulders, I slipped outside.

The snow had finally stopped falling, and the night was clear, a few stars visible in the sky. I tipped my face up and out of habit, wished on the first one I saw.

I wish Cole could be mine.

Then I shook my head, blinking away tears. I really needed to stop doing that—wishing on stars was for kids. I was fucking thirty, and that wish was never going to come true. Taking deep breaths of icy air, I shivered and pulled my stole tighter around me. But I didn’t want to go in yet—I wanted to get so cold I felt numb.

“Cheyenne?”

At the sound of his voice, I turned. “Cole. Hey.”

“What are you doing out here? You’re going to freeze.”

“Nah.” I looked up at the sky again, at the traitorous stars. “I’m just getting some air.”

“Blair said you were out here—I said I’d come get you. It’s about time for the dance.”

“Oh. Okay.” Glancing at him, I tried a joke. “Ready to bust a move?”

He laughed a little. “I’m just hoping I don’t bust your toes.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll try to keep them out of your way.” I moved for the door, but he reached for my arm.

“Cheyenne, wait. I was hoping we’d have a chance to talk.”

“Maybe later, okay?” I said, gently shaking his hand off me. “We’d better get inside. I can hardly feel my feet, which won’t help us on the dance floor.”

Nodding, he pulled the door open for me without another word.

Inside, I dropped my stole in the coat room and made my way toward the edge of the dance floor, where I saw the rest of the wedding party waiting for the music to start.

Blair looked relieved when she saw me. “You’re back.”

“I’m back.” I could feel it when Cole took his place beside me.

“So when the song begins, we’re all just going to go out there,” Blair said, addressing everyone. “No announcements or anything.”

“Got it.” I nodded, a shiver moving through me as Cole placed a hand at the small of my back. I remembered being in his arms last night, the way his body had felt on mine, the way he’d kissed me. The song began, and he gently nudged me forward onto the floor.

I held my breath as he slipped one arm around me and took my hand in his. Placing my left palm on his broad shoulder, I made sure to keep my body several inches from his, so that our chests were not pressed together. We swayed a little awkwardly to the music, like middle schoolers at their first dance, afraid to get too close. My stomach jittered with nerves. Eventually I had to inhale, and when I did, the scent of him filled my head.

Oh God, how long was this song going to go on?

Over Cole’s shoulder, I saw Griffin holding Blair tight, Beckett and Alexis laughing at something, and Frannie grinning as Moretti turned her beneath his arm. Everyone was having a better time than we were—was it obvious?

Glancing at the guests, I saw my mother dabbing at her eyes, Charlie Frankel smiling fondly, Mariah shifting her weight from side to side, impatient to have her turn on the dance floor. It gave me an idea.

“You should dance with Mariah,” I said.

“Yeah, I promised her I would, at some point.”

“No, I mean during this song. Like, trade me for her, so she can be part of this. After all, she’s in the wedding party too.”

Cole was silent a moment. And then, “I don’t want to dance with Mariah right now. I want to dance with you.”

“I really don’t mind,” I said, suddenly desperate to make an escape