The universe really had it in for me.
I wasn't up for surprises that weekend when Jenna dragged me to her cousin's engagement party. I'd told her I wasn't a "party person" anymore, that I was happily married to my Netflix queue and my couch. But she'd bribed me with promises of free grub and an open bar, and honestly, I was too worn down to make a fuss.
So there I was, precariously balancing a glass of cheap champagne and a mini quiche, when Jenna whispered in my ear with a grin.
"You're going to die."
"That's comforting," I grumbled. "Thanks."
"No, I mean it. My cousin's fiancé's best man is" She trailed off in the middle of a sentence, eyes going wide behind my shoulder.
I didn't have to turn around. I knew.
"Of course," I whispered softly.
Ethan. In a suit. Blowing smoke with the groom like he owned the joint.
Jenna gazed at me like she'd just witnessed a miracle. "That's him. The motorcycle guy. He's family-adjacent."
"Family-adjacent?" I breathed. "That's a death wish. There's no escape from family-adjacent."
I didn't have time to make a break for it before the groom spotted me and waved me over. "Tessa! Meet my best man!"
I considered hurling myself into the nearest punch bowl.
Ethan turned, and as his eyes settled on me, something passed over his face recognition, amusement, and maybe a little more.
"Well, well," he said, moving closer. "Destiny's doubling down, it seems."
"Don't," I cautioned. "Don't you even think the D-word again."
Jenna, shapeshifter that she was, was almost trembling with anticipation beside me.
"So," Ethan drawled, "who are the happy couple you're here with?"
"I'm here against my will," I growled.
He smiled, inching closer, and I inhaled something hot and fresh, like the smell of cedarwood and jeopardy. "Good. Means we're on the same side. I don't particularly enjoy weddings either."
I blinked. "You're the best man."
"Yeah," he said, unfazed. "Doesn't mean I enjoy them."
And with that, the universe had officially tied us up in a tidy bow.
Client. Grocery aisle distraction. Motorcycle menace. And now. the best man in Jenna's social circle.
The wrong guy was suddenly everywhere.
And for the first time, I wasn't sure I wanted to hide from him.
The thing about engagement parties is, there's nowhere to hide.
I did try to do it, though. I worked my feet to the bone at the buffet table, piling teeny sandwiches on top of one another onto a plate as if I were hoarding food for a famine. But wherever I turned, there was Ethan. Talking to the groom. Laughing with the bride. Smiling at me as if we knew some private joke.
It was maddening.
"You're glaring at the hummus," Jenna whispered, falling in beside me.
"I'm not glaring. I'm… focusing."
"Sure. On him."
I jabbed a carrot stick into the dip a little too roughly. "He's best man. Naturally he's here. He's under obligation."
"Under obligation to flirt with you, too?" she inquired sweetly.
I nearly choked. "He's not flirting."
"Oh, honey," Jenna said, placing her hand on my arm. "If that isn't flirting, then I need to redefine all of my past relationships."
Before I could object, the bride raised her glass in a toast. "Speech time!"
The guests all moved to the room's center, and in the shoving, somebody gave me a push. I staggered, caught myself
Right into Ethan's side.
"Careful," he murmured, his hand on my elbow steadying me. His fingers were warm. Firm. And infuriatingly steady in contrast to the way my insides were whirling.
"Don't," I whispered.
"Don't what?
"Don't make this into something it's not."
He leaned closer, voice low enough for only me to hear. "Then why does it feel like something?"
I opened my mouth to snap back, but the groom's voice boomed, saving me. "Let's hear from my best man!"
Ethan released me, pushed to the front as if he'd been waiting his entire life to receive this cue, and started to talk in a style that had the entire room laughing in seconds. He was magnetic, natural, charming. And I hated the way his gaze fell on me with each few words, like he couldn't help but look at me.
The clapping finally died down, but by then my heart was racing in spite of all the rules I'd ever written.
And then the coup de grâce.
"Tessa!" my cousin Jenna shouted out, grinning. "You're Jenna's friend, Ethan's here alone why don't you give him a tour of town tomorrow?"
The room turned to look at me, expecting something.
Ethan's smirk was back in my face.
"Destiny," he breathed.
And my rulebook went out the window.
The disadvantage of being a people pleaser is, you can't say no when the entire room is watching you.
So I did the first thing that occurred to me: I smiled tightly and raised my glass. "Sure. I'd love to."
In my head, I was screaming.
Jenna was smiling like the winner of a small fortune. Ethan, of course, was smiling like Christmas was actually coming early.
The party swirled on from there music, laughter, champagne but I couldn't relax. The moment I locked eyes with Ethan across the room, my stomach dropped like I was on a rollercoaster I hadn't even voluntarily joined.
Later, I ran to the patio, sinking into a chair and another drink. The night air was cool, a relief from the crowded living room.
"Know," a voice drawled, "running away only makes me run harder."
I flinched. "Do you ever learn?"
Ethan leaned against the railing, hands in pockets, looking infuriatingly handsome in the suit. "Yeah. When I want to. But with you?" He shook his head. "No way."
"Why?" I snapped more harshly than I meant.
He did not answer for a moment. Then he cocked his head to one side, studying me like a puzzle he particularly wanted to solve. "Because you look at me differently than other people do."
I blinked. "What are you talking about?"
He shrugged once more, but this time without the smirk. "Most people see what they want to see in me money, attention, the thrill of the bike. You don't. You don't see me like…" He paused, lips twisting up. "Like I'm trouble. And you might be right."
That is when I should have stood up and walked out and drowned myself in spinach and oat milk for all eternity.
Rather, I asked, softer than I intended, "And you like that?"
He flashed that smile again smaller this time, but somehow worse. "I like a challenge."
Before I could think of something to say back, the bride reappeared, calling us back inside to eat the cake. Ethan leaned against the railing, shot me one last lingering look, and went inside.
I was left stranded on the patio, glass suspended in my hand, pulse pounding in outright betrayal.
Rulebook, I was thinking desperately. Think of the rulebook.
But actually, my rules had never appeared more tenuous.