You May Kiss the Bridesmaid - Camilla Isley Page 0,24

was a tough biker. This morning at yoga, he was Mr. Sporty Mc SweatPanty. And now this. What next?

A snapshot of his ripped abs pops in my head, and I’m ashamed to say the next guise I want to see him is au naturel. Last night, we were in the dark and I didn’t get to admire his body in all its glory. At least, not with my eyes; my hands did a wonderful job—and, oh gosh, I must stop obsessing about it.

“What are you thinking about?” Archie whispers close to my ear, making me jump in my seat.

I turn to him, seething. “It’s none of your business.”

A half-smile tugs at his lips. “Oh, I think it is. You’re blushing.”

“I said none of this during the day,” I hiss. “And that includes flirting.”

“All right,” Archie says. “I’ll just sit here and be a good boy.”

I roll my eyes. Even the way he said “good boy” implied the opposite. I forcibly move my gaze away from his mouth and pointedly stare out the window. He’s rattling me. But I have to confess, having him by my side is a nice, comforting barrier between me and the rest of the world. We’re seated in geeky-land at the back of the bus, surrounded by a group of Logan’s colleagues, who all appear very scholarly, except maybe for the tall guy with the Italian accent. But up front, I recognized a bunch of other people besides Susan and Daria. And today I’ll have to face them all. No bathroom stalls to hide in. Getting on the bus first and stowing away among the professors only delayed the inevitable.

Unfortunately, the journey to the winery is short, no more than twenty minutes, and when the bus stops I can’t suppress a worried sigh from escaping my lips.

Archie doesn’t miss a thing. “Nervous?” he asks.

“Mm-hm.”

“Don’t worry, I’m here. And if it all gets too much we can always grab a cab back to the hotel and finish our conversation from last night.”

I surprise myself by saying, “Can’t we do it right now?”

His eyes darken at the suggestion, but he shakes his head. “Sorry, that’d look a teensy bit suspicious, and I’m on strict instructions to keep undercover.” He casually drops a hand on my forearm. “But if push comes to shove, we can feign a headache halfway through the visit.”

“Both of us? Wouldn’t it be even more suspicious?”

“Nah.” Archie shrugs and gets up. We’re the last ones left on the bus. “By that point, everybody will have been properly wined and they won’t care anymore. Come on.” He offers me a hand. “Let’s do this.”

He pulls me up and precedes me out.

When we get off the bus, everyone else is already assembled outside the winery. We’re waiting in a paved open space with a circular fountain in the middle. The reception is to the left, and in front of us, a sloped-ceiling, squat building with a round arch in its center leads to the vineyards. A tall, square tower on the left makes the entrance asymmetrical. Beyond the arch, green grass and endless rows of vines extend past the horizon.

We’re a big group, thirty people, maybe more, mostly on the younger side. Winter has arranged for the parents and other middle-aged relatives to take part in the same visit, but later in the day. Small mercy, meaning at least I can avoid Lana’s mother a little longer. My best friend might’ve forgiven me, but her mom is a different story.

And even Lana… We’re still not one hundred percent comfortable around each other—mostly because I’m still too ashamed of what I did. She’s hanging out at the front with the rest of my old group of friends, while I’m loitering way at the back, hiding behind all the professors who form a pretty smart human barrier. With this many people, maybe I can keep a buffer between me and Susan, Daria, and Martha and Hector, a couple who were another regular in our gang. But what if I can’t?

The initial signs of a panic attack—sweaty palms and accelerated heartbeat—threaten to make me hyperventilate, when Tucker comes out of the welcome center and gives me the best news of the day.

“All right, everyone,” he calls. “Please gather around. There’s too many of us to go in at once; we have to split into two smaller groups. Blue bracelets go first, while the orange bracelets have to wait fifteen minutes. Please come up front to receive a bracelet.”

Archie turns toward