Page 6 of The Damaged Billionaire's Obsession
Sabrina chortles. “Wow, I would have loved to see your face when—wait a minute. Did you wear the garter?” She sees the expression on my face. “Oh, my God, so Ethan took it off you? Shit, how could I have missed that!”
“Hey, wait a minute, how did you know it was Ethan? You said you weren’t there.”
“All the boys—well, the single ones—had a game of poker this morning, and the loser was to take the garter off the woman who caught the bouquet. Jordan told me that Ethan lost the game.”
“Wow, how nice for you to have insider information. If only you shared that once in a while with your buddies so they don’tget blindsided.” If I’d known Ethan was going to be taking off garters, I would never have agreed to participate.
“I did not for a second think it’d be you, Bonnie. I mean, couldn’t you have thrown yourself on the floor to avoid it or pushed someone else into the way or something?”
“Right, put your two cents in, why don’t you, coach?” I roll my eyes.
“Okay, sorry.” She doesn’t look sorry. “Anyway, how did it go? I know you two didn’t get on too well yesterday. Maybe the icebreaker you guys need is something funny and ridiculous like this?”
“Uh, no. I think not. If anything, the Arctic has completely frozen over on us. Sabrina, that was one of the most awkward moments of my life!”
“Really? How so?”
I don’t think she gets it.
“With all those guys gathered around us! And you won’t believe how the jerk actually gave a victory speech afterward.”
Sabrina again tries to look horrified, but I can see she’s amused. The man can do no wrong in her eyes. “I’m sorry. The boys sometimes go overboard with their games. They work so hard in their careers but play like kids. Just be grateful it wasn’t Ryan, though.”
Ryan is the big, loud, blond guy who suggested Ethan use his teeth. Yeah, he seemed to be having the most fun out there, and from what I’ve seen since yesterday, he doesn’t hold himself back from a good time.
“They might act like that because many of them were raised as heirs of huge legacies, and they didn’t always get the chance to be kids.” Sabrina glances back across the room at Jordan, who has joined the other groomsmen, now arranging themselves like a choir.
Led by the best man, a big tattooed guy with a man-bun, they start to sing offkey to the couple, and the bride goes beet-red, giggling.
I don’t even want to know the lyrics of the song.
“Anyway,” Sabrina continues, “what I’m saying is that once you get to know them, they’re not so bad. They’re great, actually.”
I’m unsure how, or if, to mention my surprising physical reaction to Ethan, something even I am ashamed to admit to myself. Given the circumstances, I want reassurance that my reaction was normal or expected, but I also don’t want her to think that there’s more to it than a knee-jerk response. Besides, I can’t risk it getting back to Ethan because Sabrina will tell Jordan, who might then tell Ethan, his friend.
“I think I may have overreacted,” I begin.
“How so?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t find the whole thing funny, which is strange. You know I don’t mind a bit of attention now and again. But this time, it felt um… really intimate. I didn’t want to do it,” I finally admit.
“Did you tell Ethan that? Because he would have never done it unless he was sure that you were good.”
I don’t say anything, remembering how he’d asked if I was okay and the way I scoffed at him.
“Are you alright, Bonnie?” Sabrina asks.
“Yes, I… it just caught me off-guard, that’s all. Two days ago, I didn’t even know I’d be here, yet here I am, taking center stage. It’s a little weird, especially after standing out like a sore thumb yesterday. I felt like a zoo animal with the way people were staring at the rehearsal.”
The way Ethan Hawthorne was staring.
“I did tell you to wear a dress.”
“And I wore one!”
“Of course you did, and it was sexy, but leather will make you stand out in a formal gathering,” Sabrina points out in amusement. “Although, your standing out yesterday wasn’t all down to the dress.”
I wait for her to say more.