Chapter Five

Sebastian

Cocktail hour—or as the itinerary called it, "Mingle till you Tingle"—is in full swing by the time Alessia and I arrive at The Malted Moose, the restaurant that takes up much of the first floor of the main resort tower.

The restaurant has its own designated bar and lounge space where the families have gathered. I don't think the management, who staffed one bartender and one cocktail waitress this evening, was prepared for the onslaught of drink orders that would result from these two families getting tanked in the name of hello .I'm inching toward Medicare age by the time Alessia and I get our drinks. Gin and tonic never tasted so good.

Alessia leans her back against the edge of the wooden bar, crossing one ankle over the other, and I follow her lead.

I take a long sip. "The pour is strong. I may even be tingling."

She lifts her glass to mine. "Tingling is fine. It's the mingling you gotta watch out for."

We pre-gamed in "our" (my) room for the night's festivities, so this is already my third drink of the evening. I'm pleasantly warm and loose as I take in the lounge. There's a divide down the middle, an empty sliver of floor space that no one seems inclined to cross unless they are going to and from the bar. Alessia's family is clustered on the far side of the room near a huge stone fireplace, keeping their drinks close to their chests. The bride's side—Benji's side—is hobnobbing around the high tables.Dirty looks are thrown from both directions.

"We'll make the rounds as soon as Nonna Gloria arrives. No need to rush it." Alessia decides aloud.

My focus stutters as Nora and Benji enter the lounge. I lean back against the bar and count my ice cubes as I try not to stare.

But it's hard not to.

Nora looks damn good tonight. Her dark hair is piled high on her head with a few pieces loose, showing off the slope of her neck. She's back in those clear-rimmed glasses, and her dress hugs her body tight, hitting just above her knee. It's an alluring red that draws the eye like dancing flames. Her strappy high heels are the same color as her legs, making them appear even longer. Overall, though, she can't be more than five three, maybe five four.

Dynamite comes in small packages.

Alessia snorts. "You're even more obvious when you're drunk."

My spine stiffens. "What are you talking about?"

She nods toward the lounge's entry. "Oh, just that you want to bend our new friend over there into a pretzel and take a bite."

That very specific image twists at my gut until it's uncomfortably tight. I take a swig before replying. "That's a vivid metaphor. Also, you're wrong."

Her laugh, a raspy and unrestrained thing, cuts loose. I much prefer it when it's aimed at, say, an episode of Family Guy instead of me. "Please, Sebastian. You kept looking at each other back in the lobby."

"I wasn't doing that. At all."

"Then why were you so intent on blowing their cover? To figure out if she's single, that's why." She quirks a brow. "You really want to pretend you're not attracted to her? She's a nice brunette with a killer body and a pretty face."

"A lot of people are into hot brunettes," I grouse. "Including you. Doesn't mean I'm paying her any attention."

"Sure you aren't."

Alessia studies Nora from across the room. The urge to look—simply because Alessia is—pesters me until I give in. Nora's whole body shakes as she laughs at something one of the older Italian ladies swarming her must've said.

Another lock of hair slips out of her updo. She tucks it behind her ear. My gaze dips down her neck. That dress was made for her. The neckline dips lower at her cleavage like the top of a heart—

That's enough looking.

My elbow bumps the edge of the bar hard as I try to match Alessia's casual posture. "She's cute, I guess."

Alessia's eyes dance with amusement as Nora and Benji get corralled into a different conversation about twenty feet away. Nora grabs his hand and lifts it high, like she's declaring him the winner of a boxing match. "Whatever the opposite of physical chemistry is, that's what they have. I bet you a hundred bucks they don't kiss once this week."

I pivot away from the mental image of those two kissing as my foot taps impatiently."I'm starving. Drinking really makes me—"

"She's a big fan of all this, by the way." Alessia gestures at my chest and arms. "She kept checking you out back in the lobby."

A slow exhale leaks out of my mouth. "So, you're saying I should ask her out?"

"Yeah. But not here . When we get home." She chews her bottom lip. "It'd be embarrassing for me if my boyfriend was caught…you know. With someone else."

I sigh and nudge her with my shoulder. "Relax, Mazzelli. I didn't come to this wedding to seduce another woman while my fake girlfriend stands idly by."

I tied up that particular loose end for a reason.

She flashes me a sneaky smile. "But after the wedding and our very tragic breakup—"

"I'll be enjoying my last weeks in Great River before I move, getting drunk with you and my grandmother," I finish.

Her voice is almost a whisper as the room fills up. "But you said Nora is cute. She's bubbly. You ate that shit up in college, and I just want you to give yourself permission to have fun once in a while like you used to before that menace Kelcey crushed you into a sad little man pulp."

"Wow," I grumble. "Tell me how you really feel."

"I feel like she used you, and therefore I'd like to hurt her. I still cannot fathom how she went crawling back to that shitty ex of hers when you were willing to give her everything."

"Everything" isn't all that much. Yes, I wanted to marry her, but what do I have to offer? I move across the country for a living. It's not all that shocking that she left me for another man who could give her the lifestyle she wanted. Though it would've been nice if she'd told me before moving out her stuff while I was at work.

In my periphery, Nora and Benji break away from a middle-aged couple across the room.Nora does a double take our way, and her face lights up.

Alessia lifts her hand to beckon them over."Might as well invite them over for a drink, right? I've got to tell them their handholding looks unnatural. She's holding his wrist, really. They need to interlace fingers or at least clasp hands."

"Aw, you're like the opinionated sister they never asked for."

"Hello, fellow minglers!" Nora exclaims, guiding Benji toward us.

Alessia flicks her wrist, gesturing at the two of them. "Love the clothes. How are we feeling?"

"There are a lot of people here." Nora releases Benji's hand and scans the space. "Ro and Enzo are so popular. Meanwhile, I think my entire wedding roster would fit inside a stretch limo."

Benji's eyes are glazed, and he's more visibly relaxed than he was a few hours ago. Seems we aren't the only ones who pre-gamed.

"You saw my side of the family tree," he reminds Nora as he tugs at the lapels of his sport coat. "Almost a hundred people, and that's just our side. Far too many people."

"It looks like an Olive Garden commercial in here," she replies with a giggle.

Benji sucks in a scandalized breath. "Don't let anyone hear you say that. Especially my grandfather. Santino's Place is Olive Garden's biggest competitor in Long Island."

"Sorry." Nora taps her lips with her finger, shushing herself.

Yep, she's had plenty to drink this evening.

I'm mulling over what her drink of choice might be when Alessia links her arm with mine. Tension radiates from her body as she scans the crowd.

"Relax." I angle her toward me like we're sharing a private lovebird moment. "I'm sure no one is paying attention to us."

Benji fixes his studious gaze on Alessia and me. His drunken cogs appear to be turning. "Should we stand like them, Nora? Do you want my face near your hair?"

Nora pats him on the shoulder. "They're competing in the Olympics. We're just trying to survive in the game."

Alessia's eyes widen, and her gaze snaps from the crowd to me. "You know what? Forget cocktail hour. We've got perfectly good liquor in the room, and we're still an hour out from dinner. Let's take an intermission."

I do a double take. "Huh? You want to bail?"

"The bartender is swamped, and I want drinks." She casts a nervous look over her shoulder, and then gestures at Benji and Nora. "Do you two want to come?"

Nora looks to Benji. "What do you think?"

Benji's sights are already set on the door. "I think I'd rather be anywhere than here."

Alessia grabs my hand. "Jailbreak it is."

Benji and Nora stick close to our side as we move toward a set of double doors. As we exit, we're greeted by a quiet stretch of lobby and a large trickling fountain with a stone fox in the center of a round basin.

Alessia eagerly shoots toward the elevators, dragging me along.

I use our handholding to my advantage and force her to slow down. "Not that I'm complaining, but why the sudden urgency—"

A familiar scratchy voice chases us out the door. "Rossi, what the hell?"