Chapter Seventeen

Nora

Sweaty and giggling, I climb on top of Sebastian's hard body the same way I'd mounted the bull.

—and roll off my cot in real life, landing face-first on the cold floor next to Tairn's empty travel crate.

"Morning," Benji intones. He's sitting with Tairn snoozing on his shoulder like someone slipped a yardstick down the back of his shirt. All traces of last night's drunk levity are gone as he sips from the paper cup that comes with the tiny coffeemaker in our room. "There are no more pods left. We'll have to outsource for yours. It's for the best, because this tastes like tar."

There's the Benji I know and love.

I shove up from the floor and force myself to stand. I'm still in last night's clothes after crawling into this dark room late last night with my tail between my legs. I didn't want to wake Benji by turning on the lights or rustling through my suitcase.

So I slept in a tank that smells like champagne, a bra that digs into my rib cage, and shorts that feel one size too small in the light of day.

And now I feel like I'm walk-of-shaming around this hotel room.

Guilt roils in my stomach. I smooth my hair, which probably looks like it's been electrocuted. "What are you doing?"

"I'm grading essays about the sociopolitical ramifications of transitioning to geothermal energy."

I blink twice. "Uh…neat!" I clap my hands together, summoning energy I do not possess from the great beyond. "Okay, so why don't I have a quick rinse"— scalding shower to wash off the smell of Sebastian —"and then we can go on a walk before breakfast or something? Hit the gym? Or we can invite your family to lunch and do the boyfriend-girlfriend thing. Whatever you want."

It's his turn to blink twice. "You know you don't have to be in girlfriend mode every second we're here, right?"

Nor have I been. Not even close. I was so distracted by Sebastian I forgot my priorities last night. Being a good friend is the top one, because when the wedding ends and Sebastian is gone, Benji will still be there.

"I know I don't. I just want to do a good job for you."

"Nora. I appreciate what you've done for me. I'm having a fine time." He closes his computer. His almost black eyes nearly glow in the bright light streaming in from the window. "I know I'm not always the most…effusive person."

I snort-laugh.

"Okay, point taken. I'm never effusive. But I want you to know that I appreciate you. Not just for this week, but always. I don't feel like I have to pretend to be anyone other than me when we're together. Ironic, I know, since the point of this trip is to pretend. I guess what I'm saying is I'm grateful I've found a friend who just lets me be me."

"Back atcha, brother." I cross my arms. "That's what you are to me, you know. Like a brother."

"Good. I'm glad to be." He stares at me long and hard, wearing a smile in his eyes. "You fit right in with my family. I can tell my sister likes you."

Throat tight, I nod. "You think they'll hate me when this is all over?"

"I won't let that happen. I'm going to tell them I was in the wrong in the breakup. They would've assumed as much, anyway, since nothing I do is right in their eyes."

My heart hurts that he'd feel that way. "Benji, no. The whole point of this was so they'd go easy on you for once. Tell them I'm an evil wench."

His lips twitch. "No one would believe that, Nora. Not even for a second."

Fondness wells in my chest. "You must be hungover or getting soft in your old age. We can worry about the breakup later. We'll keep this up as long as you want. Maybe until you do change your mind about dating and meet someone right for you. Do you think you'll finally come around on setting up a dating profile when we get home?"

"I'd rather take a joyride inside a centrifuge than go on a date with a stranger from an app. I can't endure the small talk required for that. It erodes my soul. And if I liked a woman, I wouldn't force her to make small talk with me, because it would be an outrageous waste of her valuable time. Therein lies the dilemma. The right woman for me, if she exists, won't be found on an app."

"And where do you think you'll find her, Benji? Under the couch with your lost socks?"

His lips pull into a line. "You're worrying about me. Cut that out. I'm happy on my own."

"I will always worry about you," I admit.

"You're no better than my sister and mother," he grouses, but his lips lift up as he turns back to his computer screen.

"I'm different because you can fire me or ignore my calls without me getting mad at you. Okay, new plan: why don't you do whatever you want this morning, but we take a brief break for breakfast after my shower?"

He nods appreciatively. "Now we're talking."

…

That shower was the reset I needed to face the day.

Goodbye, Cowboy Pillows, Daisy Dukes, and smoky eyes. Hello clean jeans, clean white peasant top, and a bare face.

With my hair styled in two French braids, Benji and I head to the elevator.

I press the down button. "I'm getting excited about August at the store. I already have some idea for fall displays."

"I bet they're needlessly elaborate."

"They are."

The door opens and the smile falls off my face.

Sebastian stands alone inside, his head tipped down as he reads a book called Grand Strategy . His hair is wet and he's in glasses.

Reading glasses and actual books? Really? As if I needed to find one more thing sexy about this man.

"Are you going to walk?" Benji asks.

Sebastian's gaze snaps up at the sound of Benji's voice. He removes the glasses from his face and tucks the earpiece into his collar. "Morning."

I force my legs to move. "Hi."

Moving as far away from Sebastian as possible in the tiny space, I cross my arms and hug the wall. He seems to have the same impulse, shifting to the opposite side.

Benji stands between us, hands clasped in front of him in a loose fist.

Sebastian clears his throat. "How are you feeling this morning? Any regrets?"

My gaze cuts to his as my pulse trips over itself.

"All those Long Island Iced Teas," Sebastian continues, gaze firmly fixed on Benji. "Figured you'd be hungover."

Right .

"I'm fine. Nora bought me vitamins last month, so I took a few of those. Hoping for the best as the morning progresses."

"Vitamins, eh?" Sebastian rubs his neck with the same fingers that were inside my bra last night. I remember exactly how they felt. "That was thoughtful."

I spend the rest of our descent analyzing the tops of our heads in the mirrored ceiling.

Maybe the spa has deep tissue massage appointments available, because this much tension in my body can't be healthy.

We're not even over the threshold of The Dawdling Deer lounge when the fighting hits my ear. It spills into the hallway, a tangled mess of voices.

"Please tell me that's not my dad yelling," Benji mutters.

I go first and the men slowly follow, as if unsure whether breakfast is worth it.

Ro and Enzo are squared off with their dads, Giuseppe and Vinny. Pointer fingers are flying. The dads are pointing at each other, Ro is pointing at Enzo, and Enzo is pointing at himself.

This clarifies nothing.

And at least forty people are enjoying their continental breakfasts, watching the fight like a show.

I just wanted a nice, quiet breakfast with Benji, dang it.

Alessia swoops in out of nowhere, face pale. She nearly bowls us over, guiding us out of earshot. "Oh good, you're all here. We have a problem."

Sebastian's brows knit together. "We do?"

She gestures at the Ferraro-Mazzelli Fight Square, and then at Eloise, who is standing off to the side with something like remorse etched in her features.

"The florists came late last night and left the delivery out back of the event hall. They texted the wedding planner, who of course doesn't live at this resort. Since she knew El had a key to the service kitchen and fridge, the planner texted El at midnight to put the flowers in the fridge"—she lowers her voice, which has been steadily getting louder—"and she didn't get the text until we woke up. And by the time we got to the flowers, it had poured in the night and drowned them."

Sebastian curses. "Were you able to salvage any of them?"

"Nope. And it doesn't matter because they weren't even supposed to drop the flowers off until Saturday at the earliest . Today is Thursday. They had the wrong wedding date."

"It seems like the resort should have set delivery hours," Benji says, ever practical. "Why did they drop them off in the middle of the night?"

"The Adirondacks are a lawless frontier." Alessia's eyes flash concern as she looks toward her girlfriend. "Now El is trying to apologize but Ro and Enzo are fighting about what to do about the flowers, while their dads fight about money."

"El, short for Eloise, correct?" Benji asks.

I turn on him. "Wait, how do you know about Eloise?"

He nods at Alessia. "We hung out and enjoyed ourselves last night while you people went wild."

Benji doesn't enjoy "hanging out" with anyone. But he hung out with Sebastian's best friend who he is about to be related to (sort of)? This is the six-degrees-of-Kevin-Bacon stuff I need to think about before I find myself alone with Sebastian ever again.

A muscle in Sebastian's jaw jumps. "It's not her fault the florist left a ton of flowers outside. They should be held accountable."

"Oh, agreed. But try telling her that." Alessia wipes her forehead as she sighs. "She feels that if she'd woken up from a dead sleep to her phone when they texted none of this would've happened."

"Come on," Sebastian nods sideways. "Let's talk to Ro and Enzo and we can be their sounding board of reason. Or at least we can be buffers. It's just flowers, and there's always a fix."

Alessia and I wince in unison.

"Maybe don't say ‘just' flowers to them when we're over there," Alessia offers, plucking the words right out of my head. "Ro has probably had her mind set on specific wedding flowers since she was a pageant tween. Flowers are massively important to an aesthetic."

A loud clattering rings through the lounge as a plastic bowl strikes the ground. Cereal scatters everywhere.

"Vinny," Mamma V gasps, scrambling to her knees. "That was my breakfast!"

"Oh Christ," Benji groans. "Here we go."

Benji and Sebastian rush forward just as Benji's dad, Giuseppe, squares up on Vinny. "Did you just strike my wife ?"

Vinny, despite his height advantage, seems to shrink. "I was gesturing! She walked past my elbow!"

"I was walking my food back to my table and wanted to check on my daughter," Mamma V whimpers, plucking Frosted Flakes off the floor one at a time.

"Dad, relax. It was an honest mistake." Ro rubs her temples, paler than I've seen her. After last night, it's a miracle she made it to breakfast at all. "Mom's fine."

"That's right. An honest mistake." Vinny squares up right back, as if emboldened by Ro's attempt to settle them down. "You should listen to your daughter, because I'm getting tired of always being your bad guy, Giuseppe."

"What am I supposed to think, when my wife falls to the ground at your elbow—"

"You give me the benefit of the doubt. You can't solve all your problems with violence, like you did back in high school. You do understand that your daughter will soon be my daughter, too, right?"

" In law, " Giuseppe hisses. "She will be your daughter-in-law only. But I will always be her father first and foremost, you manipulative—"

"Please!" Ro cries. "Give it a rest!"

The chattering in the room goes quiet at once, all eyes on her.

"I am facing a real crisis here and you aren't helping in the slightest. I have dreamed about my flowers since I was a little girl. They are ruined . Which means my photos are now ruined. And you two are bickering like you're two kids on a playground."

"Rosalina, don't speak to your father like that." Pushing up from the ground, Mamma V looks to Giuseppe as though she barely recognizes him, the respect oozing right off her. "He was defending my honor. And don't you think I'm upset? I paid good money not only for your photographer, but to have your photos featured in The Knot. I wrote the most compelling story about love persevering despite all odds! The odds of course being the groom's unwelcoming family standing in the way—"

Ro's mouth falls open in shock. "Are you kidding me right now?"

"Watch your tone, young lady!" Giuseppe insists. "Wedding or not, you will respect your mother."

I think Ro's head may roll right off her shoulders. "Oh, now you two are on the same side? Now you respect each other? Where was this energy the last thirty years?"

"Trouble in paradise?" Vinny asks coolly.

Enzo lifts a silencing hand. His face is pale, and he's holding Ro's shoulder as if she's the only thing keeping him upright.

He may or may not puke at any moment. "Dad, stop."

Vinny whirls on his son. "I'll say what I want. I don't care about a frivolous magazine spread, but those flowers cost me thousands of dollars. And negligence has ruined them. I want to know exactly who is at fault for this, and I want it in writing."

Eloise has backed so far away she's almost flush with a far wall.

Alessia cracks her neck and strides closer as though prepared for battle. "The florist is at fault for dropping off on the wrong date at an unreasonable hour, Dad. And they will be held accountable. The contract should have had a drop-off window indicated, and the wedding planner should've verified that."

"You did sign a contract, right?" Vinny asks his son.

Enzo swivels to Ro. "We did, right?"

Black mascara streams down Ro's cheeks. She shakes her head as if too overcome to speak.Veronica descends on her with arms outstretched, knocking Enzo out of the way in her haste to hug her.

For a long moment, Ro's crying trumps the fighting.

Alessia claps her hands, all business. "We can and will fix this. We'll raid every florist within driving distance. I'll talk to the caterer and help them make room for proper storage in the Hickory Hall walk-in fridge so they can stay safe."

"Okay, but Rosalina and I are supposed to meet with the officiant at one, which was the only time he was able to drive out here prior to the ceremony," Enzo says. "Sergio, can you take care of this?"

Sergio—who is sitting at a table next to Gia and wearing a pair of heart-shaped sunglasses no doubt to obscure his hangover—sucks air through his teeth. "Sorry. I've got virtual clients to train all afternoon."

"Benji and I will do it!" I blurt. This is a great opportunity to make ourselves useful. "We'll hit all the stores and bring back as much as we can."

"Nope, sorry. Not happening." Benji points at his face. "I can't even be outside without risking an allergy attack. Those flower stores are murderous."

"Right, your aching sinuses. Of course." I want to glare at him—not for his very real concern, but for ruining my plan. "I'll handle it on my own. No problem."

"Sebastian, ride with Nora." Enzo's no-nonsense look yells not up for debate . "She might need muscle."

I glance around the room. Surely someone else in this room wants to track down flowers with me. Heck, I'll even take one of the non-English speaking great aunties if it means not facing Sebastian in the light of day.

Mamma V's eyes linger on me. "I wonder if it's too late to rearrange my spa appointments—"

"It's no problem," Sebastian cuts in. He peers my way and gives a curt nod. "Right? We can take care of it?"

Rock, meet hard place.

I force myself to perk up. "Yup. We've got this. No need to reschedule any appointments, Mamma V."

Ro swipes tears off her cheeks. "Thanks guys. This could work. At the very least I'll get a bouquet out of this. Right?"

"Yes," I assure her. "As many bouquets as you want."

The rubbernecking breakfast guests quickly lose interest when there's no further fight to watch. No one is paying attention to us anymore. Alessia rushes off, no doubt to meet Eloise. Benji excuses himself to make a plate.

Sebastian and I follow Ro to her table. She drops into a chair next to Gia, who is sitting corpse still.

I take out my phone and open the Notes app. "Any preference on flowers, Ro?"

"Just no red roses. I don't want my wedding to feel like The Bachelor ."

"You got it. And your absolute favorite?"

"I like whites and pinks. And any greenery for filler. Gia, you got my wedding credit card?"

Gia flinches as if Ro's voice is way too loud before reaching into her cleavage.

"Maybe we crowdfund a purse for Gia?" Sebastian offers.

Ignoring this, Gia tosses the card my way.

"Don't spend more than three thousand, please," Ro requests.

Three thousand? My broke inner child just dropped dead from sticker shock. That would've been six months' rent for our Oklahoma studio apartment.

Sighing, I turn to face the man I did not intend to spend more quality time with. Sebastian's gaze is cryptic as he stares back at me.

How my morning plan of "doing whatever Benji wants" morphed into "holding my breath every time Sebastian so much as looks at me" is the eighth great wonder of my world. Emphasis on the wonder.

"Come on," I say, resigned. "We need to get that girl some flowers."

He nods. "I'll take control of the GPS."

Awkward or not, here we come.