Summer of Love

by Sophie Pembroke

  God, he loved it when a plan came together so easily.

  Sitting on his other side, Cora elbowed him in the ribs and whispered, ‘Way you’re going, that’ll be you next. If you don’t screw it up.’

  ‘Don’t know what you’re talking about,’ he lied. ‘Besides, I think you might just beat me. How many weeks now until your big day?’

  Cora rolled her eyes at him. ‘Two. As you know full well.’ Alex got the impression she wasn’t entirely pleased with the way things had worked out with him and Lily. Mostly because she kept telling him so.

  Well, that was just tough. He and Lily knew what they were doing. Well, he did, anyway. And he’d let Lily in on the secret soon enough. Cora would just have to accept that.

  ‘And you’re going to have to relinquish your grip on my best friend tomorrow, you know.’ Cora stood as the bride and groom began to process back down the aisle. Alex hurried to follow suit.

  ‘Why, exactly?’

  ‘Final dress fittings.’ Cora’s smile was smug with victory.

  Alex thought about spending hours waiting while Lily and Cora tried on dresses. Then he thought about how much it would annoy Cora if he was there.

  A finely balanced choice. Until he thought about what Lily might be wearing underneath her bridesmaid’s dress and realized he couldn’t miss the possibility of seeing that for anything.

  ‘I’ll come with,’ he said, and smiled as Cora glared at him. ‘I’ll bring champagne,’ he added, because he did love his cousin, really.

  And Lily was much more likely to show him her lingerie if she had a glass of bubbly or two to persuade her.

  * * * *

  It was odd, observing Lily and Alex together. Cora sipped at her champagne and watched Alex tuck Lily’s hair behind her ear, again. It was, as she fully intended to tell Lily, utterly sickening. But also unprecedented.

  Edward had never been this way with Lily – at least, not that Cora could remember. Maybe he’d been different in private, but she doubted it. He was more the polite kiss on the cheek or pat on the back sort. Not good with affection, or showing it.

  Of course, neither was Alex, traditionally. Yes, he’d put a hand at the small of a woman’s back to guide her, or lend her his jacket if she was cold, but Cora had always suspected that was more because those were the things he thought he should do – things he’d seen his father and his brother do. Alex had always taken his idea of what he should be from the other men in his family. It was why he’d gone into finance in the first place, studying at his dad’s old university, following in the family tradition.

  In fact, the whole photography thing was a bit of an aberration. She wondered if he’d told his brother yet.

  Or perhaps he’d just moved his attention from one area of their lives to another. Now, instead of trying to emulate their careers, he was trying to copy their relationships. Which seemed a bit stupid to her. Love was love, you couldn’t copy someone else’s, or force it where it didn’t exist. She supposed Alex would learn that soon enough. She just didn’t want him to get hurt in the lesson.

  Of course, Lily was no better, deciding she’d never get married, that love wasn’t for her. Part of Cora was delighted to see Lily embracing her old self again, but not at the expense of falling in love. Not at the risk of doing something really stupid. Something she couldn’t come back from.

  Across the table, Lily smiled softly at Alex, and Cora realized she’d never smiled at Edward that way. But the smile was familiar, all the same. It was the way Rhys smiled at her.

  If Lily threw that kind of smile away because she was too stubborn to admit there might be a middle ground, something more than all or nothing, then she was an idiot. And it was Cora’s duty, as her best friend, to point that out to her.

  Maybe she’d get to plan another wedding next year after all…

  * * * *

  ‘You two are sickening,’ Cora announced as she reapplied her lipstick in the hotel bathroom. ‘Utterly, utterly sickening.’

  Lily, pulling a brush through her hair, snorted. ‘Us? You and Rhys are the original soppy couple, and you’re calling me and Alex sickening?’

  ‘You are! Look, you’re in here brushing your hair because Alex hasn’t been able to resist playing with it all afternoon.’ Cora’s accusing finger was wobbling a bit, and Lily suspected that her friend had been taking more liberal advantage of the free bar laid on by Kerry’s parents than she’d noticed.

  ‘Cora, you’re putting on more lipstick because Rhys’s been snogging you senseless for twenty minutes. Trust me, you’re worse.’

  ‘Ah, but that’s different,’ Cora said, with a superior air that rankled just a bit.

  ‘How, exactly?’ Lily asked, handing Cora a tissue to wipe the lipstick off her teeth.

  ‘Because Rhys and I are in love. We’re getting married. We’re supposed to act like that.’ Cora flapped her tissue around in Lily’s direction. ‘You two… God only knows what the two of you are doing.’

  ‘Having really great sex,’ Lily said, then cringed when she realized it was out loud. Maybe she’d enjoyed the free bar more than she’d realized, too.

  ‘And that’s enough for you?’ Cora sounded astonished. Lily started to worry that maybe her friend wasn’t getting the kind of sex she should be.

  Lily blinked at her friend. ‘Why wouldn’t it be?’

  ‘Because… we’re supposed to be settling down now. We’re grown ups. That’s what we’re supposed to want.’ Cora sounded so certain that for a moment, Lily believed her. But then common sense reinstated itself.

  ‘Says who?’

  ‘The world! Our biological clocks. Everything,’ Cora said, waving her arms around.

  ‘Well, it’s not what I want.’ Maybe she’d thought she had, until Alex helped her see sense. Really, he’d done so much for her, it was only fair to reward him with the aforementioned great sex.

  Cora put down her makeup bag and looked Lily in the eye. ‘But it is what Alex wants,’ she said, voice soft, almost apologetic.

  And there was the sticking point. ‘And that’s why this can only be a fling,’ Lily said, wondering why that was such a depressing thought, all of a sudden. She didn’t want anything more, so why should it bother her that Alex did? Except, of course, that eventually he’d find what he was looking for, and she’d have to give him up. See him with another woman. See him marry someone else. Be happy for him when he did.

  ‘A fling. Right.’ Cora gave her a disbelieving look. ‘A fling that involves being together twenty-four-seven, taking him to friends’ weddings, working together, laughing and kissing all the time…’

  ‘And having great sex,’ Lily finished for her, suddenly uncomfortable. They had been spending a lot of time together, she supposed. But that’s what you did at the beginning, right? Those first few weeks when you barely got out of bed. ‘That’s what this is about. A physical, enjoyable, fun summer fling.’

  ‘Are you sure he knows that?’ Cora asked, and Lily wondered what Alex had been saying to her. What if he’d got the wrong idea? But how could he have, when they’d been so very clear at the beginning, setting out what they both wanted? Cora was just being over sensitive.

  ‘Of course he does. That’s what we agreed when we started this. That was the whole point. It’s like you said – he’s just going back to his old ways. You know Alex, can’t resist a little no-strings fling, while he’s waiting for his happy ever after to show up.’

  ‘I never said that,’ Cora argued. ‘And even if I thought it once or twice… I was wrong.’

  Lily shook her head, as if the movement could bat Cora’s words aside. ‘No, you weren’t. You said it, right back at the beginning, before Alex and I were ever anything. I’m not the girl he wants to marry.’ She swallowed because, damn it, that still stung, even if it shouldn’t. Pasting on a brighter smile, she added, ‘And I don’t want to get married at all. It’s perfect.’ For now, anyway. And yes, maybe it would be hard to give Alex up when the time ca
me. But it would still be the right thing to do.

  ‘It’s crazy.’ Cora shook her head. ‘You know, I told him that one of you was going to get hurt doing this, but I always thought it would be you rather than Alex. Now I’m not so sure.’

  A chill crept into Lily’s chest. ‘I don’t… I don’t know what you mean.’

  ‘Watch him today. Pay attention. He’s crazy over you. I don’t think this will be as easy to end as you seem to believe.’

  Lily shoved her hairbrush back in her bag. ‘You’re wrong,’ she said, turning to leave. Time to get back to the celebrations before Cora convinced her that Alex was falling in love or something equally stupid.

  Besides, she was hoping that that terrible music the DJ was playing would drown out the thought echoing in her head. The one that said, What if I don’t want to end it?

  * * * *

  ‘I’m not sure it’s actually a tradition for the cousin of the bride to attend the final dress fitting.’ Lily smiled wryly at Alex as he sprawled in a chair at the dress shop.

  ‘It is if he brings champagne,’ Cora argued, grabbing one of the glass flutes Alex held out to them.

  ‘This doesn’t mean I’m convinced,’ Lily said, but she took the other glass, anyway. It was the height of bad manners to turn down champagne. At least, that was what Evelyn had always told her.

  Alex’s response was a wide, knowing smile. The sort that suggested he knew exactly what champagne did to Lily’s body. Which, of course, he did. He’d witnessed the way she became loose and tingly and wanting after a couple of glasses. And he’d taken full advantage of it at the last two weddings they’d attended together.

  Not that she’d complained in the slightest, of course.

  ‘Isn’t it bad luck to see the dress before the day?’ Lily asked, turning to Cora.

  ‘Yours or mine?’ Cora waved at Alex and headed through the curtain to the fitting rooms. ‘Because I think that’s just the bride and groom. So unless there’s something you’re not telling me…’

  ‘God no!’ Lily laughed as she followed Cora. ‘I told you, this is nothing more than a fling.’

  ‘In that case, I imagine Alex is just here to try and get a glimpse of you in your fancy knickers.’

  ‘I am,’ Alex called through the curtain, and Lily rolled her eyes.

  Sticking her head back through the curtain she said, ‘Haven’t you seen enough of my knickers lately?’

  ‘Never,’ Alex replied. Which, in light of her conversation the day before, sounded just a little bit too much like commitment to Lily.

  She yanked the curtain closed again and turned to Cora, who stared at her with her eyebrows raised. ‘Told you,’ she whispered.

  ‘You’re hallucinating,’ Lily whispered back. ‘He’s talking about underwear. All men want to see underwear. It doesn’t mean marriage and babies and scary things.’

  Cora’s eyebrows lifted just a little higher, which Lily had thought was impossible. ‘You thought it too, though. Obviously.’

  ‘Only because you have infected my mind.’ She shook her head, trying to get her own thoughts back, and yanked her T-shirt over her head. ‘Now where’s this bloody dress?’

  ‘Hang on,’ Cora said, and fished around in her pile of belongings to pull out a sheeny, silver shopping bag. ‘Fancy knickers first.’

  Lily stared at the bag. ‘I really have posh lingerie for this?’

  ‘It’s my wedding,’ Cora said, looking insulted. ‘You think I’d let you walk down the aisle with me, in your white cotton from M&S?’

  ‘But this is just the fitting.’ Lily held the bag at arm’s length. It was no less intimidating close up.

  ‘And we need to see how the dress sits over it. Obviously.’ Sometimes, Cora made Lily feel like she was missing some fundamental female parts. Luckily Alex made her feel perfectly womanly, which balanced out nicely.

  For now, anyway.

  ‘Miss Harper?’ The perfectly groomed brunette shop assistant, dressed in a pencil skirt and heels, appeared at the edge of the fitting area, eyebrows perfectly arched. ‘We have your dress prepared for you when you’re ready.’ She glanced over at Lily, as briefly as physically possible. ‘If your bridesmaid is able to try her dress on without assistance?’

  ‘I think I can manage,’ Lily said, her voice dry. Making shooing motions with the scary silver bag she said, ‘Go on, go put on the fairy-tale frock. I’ll be here in my beautiful raspberry confection when you get back.’

  She waited until Cora and the shop assistant were both well out of the way before opening the silver bag, which at least meant Cora wasn’t within throttling distance when she spotted the basque. Evelyn would almost certainly say that attempting to strangle the bride at her final dress fitting, just days before the wedding, was the ultimate in bad form.

  Holding it up before her, she eyed the laces and hooks with mistrust. How was she even supposed to get into the thing? Did you undo it all, then put it around? How did you get it done back up again? Loosening the laces as far as she dared, she tried to slip it over her head, only to find it stuck around her shoulders.

  ‘This is never going to work,’ she muttered, trying to wriggle back out again.

  ‘Everything okay in there?’ Alex asked from the other side of the curtain, and Lily wondered if he’d talked Cora into buying the damn thing.

  She wouldn’t put it past him.

  ‘Fine,’ she said, but it came out muffled by the fabric, and her arms, stuck against the side of her head.

  ‘Are you sure?’ Alex said, his voice sounding nearer. Then there was the sound of the curtain being pulled open, and uncontrollable laughter.

  ‘Yeah, yeah, it’s hilarious. Are you going to help, or what?’

  ‘Depends, are we getting you in or out of this thing?’

  ‘Out,’ Lily said, firmly. Then she sighed, remembering Cora’s insistence about trying the dress on with the correct undergarments. ‘No, in.’

  Alex’s hands were already working at the laces, pulling them out through the eyelets running up the back of the torturous item. ‘Normally, you know I’m all for getting you out of your underwear. But in this case, I’m willing to make an exception.’

  ‘Imagine my total lack of surprise.’ She wriggled her shoulders a little, and felt the basque setting around her middle. Adjusting it around her breasts, and praying Alex was too concerned with the laces to notice, she glanced up in the mirror.

  If nothing else, Cora had fantastic taste in lingerie.

  ‘Okay, now for the fiddly part.’ Alex began lacing her back up again, fastening hooks and eyes, and pulling tight on the ribbons.

  ‘I would like to be able to eat at this wedding, you know,’ Lily told him. ‘And possibly even breathe.’

  Alex chuckled, but he let the laces slacken a little. His fingers brushed against the top of her back, a light touch, almost soft enough for her to confuse it with the ribbons against her skin. She shivered a little at his touch. Shouldn’t she be past that by now? After weeks of constant touches and looks and feeling his body against hers… Surely she shouldn’t still get turned on by the touch of his fingers against her back. But apparently her body hadn’t got the memo, because she did.

  He stepped away, and the loss of his heat left her chilly. ‘There, all done.’

  Lily looked up and met his gaze in the mirror, watching her own eyes widen at the heat in his. ‘You like?’

  ‘Very much.’

  Encouraged by the want in his voice, Lily studied her reflection. The ivory lace pulled her in and accentuated her curves and slim waist. Her skin, flushed pink above the sweetheart neck, positively glowed beside the lace. And her breasts… Well, they’d never looked as impressive as that before.

  Cora had it spot on, as usual. This, this woman in the mirror, this was who Lily was now. Not the awkward teenager, not the stupid girl who fell for the wrong guy, and definitely not the wife Edward had expected her to be. She smiled at the thought. Edward would have had a he
art attack if he’d seen her in this.

  No, this was who she was now. Free, single, herself. The woman in the mirror looked like she could do anything, go anywhere, see everything.

  At least, once she put some clothes on.

  ‘Pass me the dress?’ she asked, and Alex stared at her blankly for a moment. ‘It’s hanging behind you,’ she said, turning to face him.

  ‘It just seems a crime to cover it up,’ he said, and Lily couldn’t help but laugh. He was such a man, sometimes.

  She held out a hand, and Alex reached behind him, shaking his head, but gave her the dress. Lily slipped the dark pink silk over her head and wriggled her hips to let it settle. Fiddling with the zip on the side, she finally got it fastened and looked up to see the desire in Alex’s face replaced by something else.

  ‘What? Don’t you like it? Is it awful?’ Lily spun round to check the mirror again, but the dress looked just as it always had, from the first fitting – slim cut, elegant, pinker than she’d like, but less pink than Cora had initially argued for. Maybe it wasn’t the most flattering dress ever, but with Cora’s magic lingerie, her waist looked tiny, and it fell prettily over her hips.

  She glanced up to meet Alex’s gaze in the mirror again, but he still had that stunned look on his face. Then he shook his head, a rueful smile playing around his lips.

  ‘Sorry,’ he said, running a hand down over her waist to rest on the curve of her hip. ‘Guess I was just amazed by how beautiful you look.’

  Lily leant back, and felt the warmth of his chest against her back. His hand snuck farther round to rest against her belly, holding her close. ‘So I scrub up okay, then?’

  ‘God yes.’ He chuckled. ‘I’m just not used to you looking this good with clothes on.’

  It was the right response, the right amount of jokiness, with some sexiness thrown in. Perfect for their not-a-relationship. Exactly right for a fling.

  Except…

  Somehow, it still felt all wrong. His eyes weren’t laughing, they were wanting, and not the way they had earlier when he’d seen her in the lingerie. This want was deeper, more possessive. Far, far, scarier.

  ‘Alex, what is it? What are you thinking?’