We didn’t run into each other all day. The boys had planned a golf day and the girls a spa day. Luc slept through breakfast even though the front desk had given him four wake-up calls. Eventually, they let Jordan in and he’d had to shake him awake. We’d already gone to the spa by the time he made it out of his hotel room. He’d texted me that we needed to talk and I’d texted back “later” and then made sure I didn’t run into him. But tonight was a joint celebration so there was no avoiding him.
Cole and Leah picked an Italian restaurant for dinner. It was amazingly good. We ordered bottle after bottle of red wine, which I needed to calm my nerves. The realization that Luc and I would have to talk about what had happened was giving me a panic attack. I just didn’t want him to tell me it was a mistake. I wasn’t ready to hear that.
Luckily our group had grown. Theo French and Avery Westwood had flown in this morning to join the party. Both had gone to college with Cole. Theo had been his roommate and teammate and Avery was the captain of their college hockey team. Both had gone on to make the NHL, Theo with the San Francisco Thunder and Avery played with Jordan in Seattle. They were a boisterous addition to the group and a great distraction.
At dinner, Luc and I ended up at opposite ends of the table. Luc was between Ashleigh and Leah, and I was between Callie and Theo, which was like being sandwiched between two people having phone sex—without the phones. Theo would go on and on about how gorgeous Callie looked, how sexily she ate her spaghetti. Callie told Theo he didn’t look like the douchebag she’d heard he was and his eyes were “kind of sexy”—as close to a compliment as Callie ever gave.
“Careful with the red wine,” Theo warns my sister. “It’ll stain your lips purple.”
“It’s fine,” she responds without blinking. “I intend to let some lucky bastard suck the purple right off me.”
Oh, dear God, my sister was insane. Around nine we had all finished with the fabulous food and the bottles of wine and we decide to go to yet another nightclub. The idea of being near a dance floor and music makes me warm because it makes me think of Luc. I glance over at him and he catches my gaze and winks. He looks nothing short of delicious tonight in a pair of dark, worn jeans and a thin, plain white button-down shirt, tailored but untucked. His skin is tan and smooth, his long hair is tousled, his dark eyes are smoldering and his lips are tinged red from wine. I wonder if they taste even better than they did last night. Oh man, no more drinks for me. I need to control my thoughts.
We begin wandering down the boardwalk toward the nightclubs and bars. Everyone kind of couples up. Cole and Leah are holding hands. Jessie is walking slightly in front of Jordan, who has his big mitts on her shoulders. Devin and Ashleigh walk behind everyone, not quite touching but whispering together in a private conversation. Theo is walking so close to Callie I’m surprised he isn’t knocking her over. I’m even more shocked when Cole’s other college friend, Avery Westwood, falls into step with me.
Avery is one of the biggest stars in the National Hockey League. He was drafted first overall but opted to go to college rather than straight into professional hockey. I don’t know much about him other than he is one of the youngest players in the league to be named captain of a team, he is a leading goal scorer and the highest paid player and he has a million-dollar deal with Nike for which he does TV commercials with his shirt off. And he looks great with his shirt off.
“So you’re Jordan’s fiancée’s youngest sister?” he asks in a soft, inquisitive voice, a friendly smile playing on his wide mouth.
“That’s me.”
“How young is younger?” he asks casually, but I knew he was trying to figure out if it was legal to hit on me. I bite back a smile at that.
“I’ll be twenty-two in about seven hours.”
“Really?” He looks a little shocked. “Nobody mentioned it.”
I smile. “This weekend’s about Leah and Cole. I’m just happy I got to tag along on this trip.”
“Well, I think birthdays are important,” Avery explains to me with a warm glow in his amber-colored eyes. “Especially when it’s a pretty girl’s birthday.”
I blush at that and glance at Luc as he falls in step next to Avery. I knew he was behind us eavesdropping, but I guess he got tired of being subtle about it.
“I’ll buy your drinks tonight. As a birthday gift,” Avery tells me.
“That’s very sweet,” I say with a smile as my eyes slip to Luc, who looks like he wants to say something, but doesn’t. Avery smiles and steps close enough that our arms brush for a second.
We stop at a club called Mur Mur. The bouncer lights up as he sees Avery and Jordan, explaining he’s from Seattle and a huge Winterhawks fan. The only person he cards for ID is Devin, even though he knows who he is and that he’s over twenty-one. He scrutinizes the driver’s license, telling us, “I’m not a Barons fan.”
The club is huge and dark and the music reverberates off the walls. We grab a long, low booth in the corner of the VIP area. The waitress comes by and dumps a bottle of Grey Goose and bunch of shot glasses on the table and says it’s courtesy of management.
Uh-oh.
Luc reaches for it first, pouring his own shot and downing it before pouring a round for everyone, which has me raise an eyebrow because he’s not a big drinker. He’ll have beer or a couple glasses of wine, but I haven’t seen him drunk since he was a teenager, and that was by mistake. We were new to alcohol and didn’t realize how it would hit us. He’s careful about it because of his mom’s history. I know it’s the reason even though he’s never come out and said it. And I’ve always admired his discipline because hockey players tend to party as hard as they play.
Luc passes out the shots and we all toast Leah and Cole.
“I want to dance,” I tell Callie.
She nods enthusiastically. “I’m in.”
“I’ll join you,” Theo says eagerly.
“What the hell, me too.” Avery gets out of the booth as well.
My eyes find Luc. He doesn’t move. Okay then… I let Avery take my hand as he weaves us through the crowd to the dance floor.