Come Fly With Me (36 page)

Roman couldn’t resist poking at her a bit more. “Cupids in their eyes and all that shit.”

“Exactly!”

“Which was all I was really pointing out.” He kept his tone reasonable, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t hold back a grin.

“You were talking about sex and that’s something else entirely.”

“You’ve got a dirty mind.”

“And you weren’t talking about sex, Mr. Big Shot Hockey Player?”

“While I never turn down sex with a beautiful woman, no, that’s not what I was talking about.” He’d
turned down plenty of sex, but Roman decided he didn’t quite need to share that tidbit. Instead, he moved closer to Avery, intrigued when she held her ground. “I was actually talking about a little slow dancing. A few whispers in corners. Maybe even a well-placed kiss or two. You know, all the things people expect from the single members of the wedding party.”

“This dress is not a neon sign for sex, despite what conventional wisdom—and
Cosmo
magazine—suggests.”

“And there you go, right back into the gutter again.”

As if suddenly realizing how close they stood, she moved back, but he didn’t miss the light flush that suffused her chest and face.

“We’re going to behave like civilized adults. Just because we have a past the entire town knows about doesn’t mean we have a present. We can be nice and cordial to each other.”

“I agree.”

“You do?”

“Sure.” He shrugged, deliberately casual, even as a flash of something very much like a flaming sword to his guts ripped through him. “You’ve got a new boyfriend you’re all excited about. I’m big enough to wish you well and want what’s best for you.”

Whatever smart-ass remark was about to come out of her mouth—and he knew Avery Marks well enough to know there was going to be one—floated away on a light stammer. “You…do?”

“Of course.”

The urge to rip something apart—preferably the Irishman he pictured in his mind—gripped him, but
Roman refused to show it. He’d spent far too long in the spotlight, hiding what he really thought about things in favor of what was politically expedient. He’d be damned if he didn’t put the skill to good use now.

“Well, good, then.”

Her wide-eyed stare didn’t waver and Roman saw the effort she was making to shift gears, but he kept the stupid, fucking
understanding
smile pasted on his face.

A loud shout from the direction of the receiving line broke the moment between them, and Avery turned back toward the church. “I’d better go see if Sloan needs anything.”

“You do that.”

“I’ll see you at the reception.”

“Count on it.”

Roman watched her go, her long, lean frame filling out the dark red silk to perfection.

And only then did he let his smile drop.