Cocky Roommate

by Claire Kingsley

  Afterward, we all file to the reception. There’s an indoor area with two sets of wide French doors leading to an outdoor patio. The photographer takes more pictures while the guests mingle, sipping wine and champagne and snacking on hors d’oeuvres.

  My weekend started off leisurely—Mia loved hearing about Louis, who I haven’t seen again—but since yesterday afternoon, it’s been crazy. More people started arriving, so I helped people find their rooms and coordinated dinner for guests who wouldn’t be at the rehearsal. Then we had the rehearsal and dinner afterward. That extended into a late night in the hotel bar. It was fun, and a little wine and a lot of laughs took my mind off Weston for a while.

  Today started early, with manicures, hair and makeup, dresses, and making sure Mia ate and didn’t get dehydrated. Then so many photos, my face hurt from smiling. Next thing I knew, I was watching my brother marry the love of his life.

  Now I’m sitting at a table with a much-needed glass of champagne in my hand. I’m seated with Caleb and Charlotte, Shelby and her little family, as well as the bride and groom. Someone was kind enough to make sure there wasn’t an extra place setting at our table, but I’m still aware of the space where Weston should be sitting.

  Alex and Mia stand, and someone hands him a microphone. He signals for quiet and once the crowd has hushed, he says a few words, thanking everyone for coming.

  He passes the microphone to Shelby, the matron of honor. She gives a teary speech about watching her baby sister get married, and how happy she is that Mia and Alex found each other. It’s sweet and heartfelt, and earns a hearty round of applause from all the guests. Mia hugs her sister tight and has to take off her glasses to dab the tears from her eyes.

  Caleb is the best man, and Shelby hands him the microphone. Charlotte crawls into my lap while her daddy stands to give his speech.

  “Uh-oh,” Charlotte whispers in my ear as her dad starts to talk.

  “What’s wrong, Bug?”

  “My shoe fell off.” She lifts the tablecloth and looks beneath the table.

  “It’s okay, I’ll get it.” I lean down to grab her shoe, then help her slip it back on her foot.

  When I sit up, my breath catches in my throat. My eyes widen and my mouth drops open.

  Weston is walking toward Caleb, picking his way between the tables. He looks devastating in a dark suit and matching tie. His storm cloud eyes flick to me once, and his brow furrows, but he keeps heading toward Caleb, just on the other side of my table.

  Caleb finishes his speech to a hearty round of applause. I stare at Weston, my hands limp until Charlotte reminds me to clap.

  “And now, I think there’s one last speech tonight,” Caleb says. He looks at Mia and she gives him an emphatic nod, gesturing toward Weston. Caleb hands him the mic.

  “Is that Weston?” Charlotte whispers in my ear.

  “Yeah.”

  “Good evening,” Weston says, his deep voice amplified by the microphone. “First, I need to say thank you to Mia and Alex, for letting me crash their wedding tonight.”

  Mia smiles, scrunching up her nose, and gives Weston a double thumbs-up.

  “I’m usually a man of few words,” he says. “Someone I care about very much once told me that I don’t need to talk about every little thing, but I say what’s important, when it needs to be said. Tonight, I think I need more words than usual, because what I have to say is very important. And it absolutely needs to be said.”

  His eyes are on me as he continues. “Once in a while, a person is lucky enough to meet someone who sees them for who they are. Sees right through to their core. And not only do they see it,” he says, glancing at Alex and Mia, “they love what they see.”

  He turns back to me. “I don’t know if it means that person is your soulmate, or you’re meant to be together. None of that really matters, because we’re all human, which means we’re basically idiots and capable of screwing up anything, even fate.” He glances around at the tables of guests and his mouth turns up in a little smile. “Or maybe that’s just me.”

  Everyone laughs and Charlotte shifts in my lap.

  “The point is, we make mistakes. We say things we don’t mean.” He pauses, holding my gaze. “And sometimes those screw-ups have pretty shitty consequences.”

  Caleb nudges him.

  “Oh—sorry, Bug,” he says to Charlotte.

  She puts a hand to her mouth and giggles and a murmur of soft laughter rolls through the crowd.

  “Alex’s sister Kendra is one of those rare people who shows her real self to the world,” he says. “She is the most genuine, kind, caring person I’ve ever met. In fact, if you’d described Kendra to me before I had met her, I don’t think I would have believed she was real. No one is that selfless. No one is that good. So, I have no idea what she ever saw in a man like me.”

  I swallow hard, trying to get rid of the lump in my throat.

  “But she did see me,” he says. “She saw through everything—saw something even I couldn’t. And what she saw wasn’t some romanticized version of who I could be. She simply saw me, on the inside. She understood who I am in a way no one else ever has. And the really miraculous part is that she liked what she saw.”

  “Is he talking to you?” Charlotte whispers in my ear.

  I just nod.

  “Kendra is sadly without a date tonight because I’m an asshole,” he says and there’s another murmur through the crowd. “Sorry again, Bug. But it’s true. I’m one of those idiot humans who had something amazing—something really close to perfect—and I managed to screw it up.”

  Caleb quietly slips back into his seat next to me and takes Charlotte from my lap.

  “I’m here, in front of all these people, making a scene at your brother’s wedding, because I need to tell you that I’m sorry,” he says. “I said some things I didn’t mean, and I hurt you. And then I managed to make it worse. But you were right about me, Kendra. I did it because I was afraid.”

  He lowers the mic a few inches, his eyes still on me, and takes a deep breath.

  “You told me on our first date—or maybe we’re calling it our second date, we can argue about it later—that you were afraid to fall in love with me. You said it in French, so I didn’t know what it meant at the time. But Kendra, je n’ai pas peur de tomber amoureaux de toi. I’m not afraid to fall in love with you.”

  More murmurs, louder this time. I gasp and hold a trembling hand to my lips.

  “I’m so in love with you,” he says. “Kendra, you’re everything. You’re the most amazing person I know. You make me want to be a better man. Not only that, you make me believe I can be.”

  He starts walking around the table toward me.

  “I don’t know if what I have to give is enough,” he says. “You deserve a man who will make you happy—who will take care of you the way you take care of everyone around you. If you can find it in your heart to forgive me… and if you love me even half as much as I love you… I want to be that man.”

  He turns off the mic and sets it down on the table next to Caleb. My eyes are locked with his, and I stand up slowly as he comes the last few feet toward me.

  The rest of the room suddenly fades away, the hushed silence settling over us like falling snow. All I can see is Weston, standing in front of me with so much vulnerability in his eyes.

  He cups my face with one hand and places the other on my waist. His eyes are fierce, but his voice is quiet. “I’m sorry. For everything. I love you.”

  I stare at him in awe for a few seconds before I can reply. “You had me at I’m an asshole.”

  He breaks into soft laughter, his smile lighting up his expression. I try to keep a straight face, but I laugh along with him.

  “I love you too, Weston. I love you so much.”

  He leans in and presses his lips to mine. The silence is suddenly broken by a room full of cheers and applause. But neither of us care. He pulls me close, holding me tight, and I wrap my arms around his neck. His mouth
moves over mine, soft and tender. A tear trails down my cheek from the corner of my eye and it feels as if a million sparks are bursting inside me.

  Music starts to play and the hum of conversation returns around us. Weston pulls away and kisses my forehead, then pulls up a chair next to mine. We both sit.

  My heart feels lighter than air and I can’t stop smiling. Mia and Alex come back to the table for dinner, and Mia gives Weston a big hug. Obviously she knew he was coming, and I can’t believe she kept it from me. But I can’t be even a tiny bit mad at her. My brothers shake Weston’s hand and I hear Caleb tell him he’s impressed. Even my dad shakes his hand and pats him on the back.

  Weston holds my hand or touches me gently on my back or shoulder for the rest of the reception. He dances with me and feeds me bites of wedding cake. After we finish our cake, Charlotte climbs in his lap, surprising everyone—especially him. But he just smiles and holds her, rocking her back and forth to the slow beat of the music.

  Mia and Alex come back to the table after mingling with their guests. She grabs her bouquet from the center of the table and tosses it in my direction, knocking over an almost-empty glass of champagne in the process.

  “Oops,” she says.

  I catch it. “What’s this about?”

  “It’s yours, K-law,” she says with an exaggerated wink.

  I roll my eyes with a laugh and glance at Weston. I hope he doesn’t think this means I expect something. But he watches me with an enigmatic look in his eyes, his arm resting on the back of my chair. His mouth twitches in a hint of a smile and he takes another drink of his champagne.

  It’s late when the reception finally winds down. Charlotte is asleep with her head on Caleb’s shoulder. I offer to help him get her up to their room, but he says he’s fine. The rest of us send Mia and Alex off to their honeymoon suite in a swirl of bubbles at the door. She trips on the hem of her dress, so Alex picks her up and carries her to the elevator while she laughs and waves goodbye.

  Weston gets his bag from the concierge and we head upstairs to my room. Our room, now. My feet are killing me and I’m so exhausted I can barely keep my eyes open. He helps me out of my dress and hangs up his suit.

  We crawl in bed together. He pulls me in tight, my back to his front, and kisses my shoulder and neck. I want to tell him I’ll wake up if he wants me to—we haven’t been together in a week and his thick erection presses into me—but I’m already falling asleep.

  But Weston simply holds me. I snuggle into his warm body and drift off to sleep.

  32

  Kendra

  The feel of Weston’s lips on the back of my neck wakes me. I arch my back, pressing my ass into him, my body coming alive before I’m fully awake.

  His hands tighten on my hips and he rubs his erection against me. He groans into my neck, a low sound in his throat. “Baby, I need to be inside you. Right fucking now.”

  I roll onto my back while he puts on a condom. I’m hot and throbbing for him already. He settles between my legs and kisses me, his mouth hungry, while he slides in. The feel of his cock filling me makes me shudder with pleasure.

  He plunges all the way in and stops. “Oh my god, Kendra, I missed you so much.”

  “I missed you too.”

  Our bodies move together, slow at first. I cling to him, my hands running up and down the flexing muscle of his back. He kisses me deep, like he can’t get enough. Our pace increases, the intensity building. I need more of him. I wrap my legs around his waist and grind against him, trying to get him in deeper. He moves faster, thrusting his hips, driving into me. The steady rhythm brings me to the brink. My core muscles clench, releasing bursts of electricity that radiate through my whole body.

  He rests his forehead against mine. His cock pulses, so hard and thick. I’m breathing hard, teetering on the edge. He feels so good, I’m completely consumed.

  Two more thrusts and I shatter into a million pieces beneath him. He comes in me with fury, pushing me higher up the bed. I dig my fingers into his back, crying out with the waves of bliss.

  After we both finish, he holds me tight, still inside me. The feel of our bodies locked together, his hot skin pressed against mine, is overwhelming. I keep my arms wrapped around him while we catch our breath.

  He kisses me again, a slow, sensual caress. “Good morning.”

  “Good morning,” I say with a smile. “I like it when you wake me up like that.”

  “I tried to let you sleep, but that ass was driving me crazy,” he says.

  He gets up to deal with the condom while I pull the sheets up and rest my head in my hand. He lies down next to my legs and rests his head on my thigh.

  He’s silent for a long moment, but I can tell he’s thinking about something. I wait, knowing he’ll talk when he’s ready, and enjoy the warmth between my legs.

  “I brought you something,” he says.

  “What?”

  Still lying on his stomach, he leans over the edge of the bed and grabs something out of his bag. Whatever it is, he keeps it covered so I can’t see. Looking down at his hands, he slowly moves them, revealing a small box.

  My tummy feels like I just went over the drop on a roller coaster. “Wait a second. Is that what it looks like, or is it something else? You better tell me because I need to know if I should be freaking out or not.”

  His beautiful mouth parts in a huge smile. “This is exactly what it looks like.”

  “But… it’s… that’s a…” I sputter, suddenly unable to find any words.

  “I know,” he says, still smiling, and he laughs. “This is all wrong. It’s way too soon. I guess normal people date for months, or even years, before they do this. But Kendra, I don’t want to date you. Don’t get me wrong, I want to take you out. Give you beautiful things. Spoil you rotten. And if you need time, I can put this away for a while. Maybe this isn’t the right way to do it; I should probably be in a suit in a fancy restaurant. Maybe I should have learned how to ask in French. But at the very least, I want you to know I have this, and I plan to give it to you.”

  “Are you being serious right now?”

  “Completely serious.”

  I stare at him, my heart racing. “Why? What made you decide to do this?”

  “You deserve someone who is going to fight for you and never let you go,” he says. “And I mean never. I knew if I came down here, I had to be all in. This isn’t something I want to try for a while and see how it goes. That’s not what you need, and that’s not what I want. I have to be in, or out, and baby, I’m in. No matter what.”

  “Really?”

  “Absolutely. I’m going to marry you, Kendra Lawson. The when is up to you, but that’s what’s going to happen.” He pauses, biting his bottom lip. “Do you want to see it?”

  My eyes dart back to the box. I’m tingly all over, my tummy doing little flip-flops. I meet his eyes and give him a quick nod.

  He smiles again and slowly opens it.

  Inside is a gold ring with a pale blue opal surrounded by small, sparkling diamonds in a halo around the pearlescent stone.

  “This was…” He hesitates and looks down at it, then meets my eyes. “It was my mother’s.”

  My hand flies to my mouth and my eyes sting with tears. “Oh, Weston,” I breathe.

  “I know that when she wore it, it wasn’t the symbol of a happy marriage,” he says. “But it was hers and that means something to me.”

  A tear leaks out the corner of my eye. “You kept her wedding ring?”

  “Yeah,” he says. “I don’t have much that was hers, but I ended up with a small box of her things. Never could bring myself to get rid of it.”

  “And you want to give it to me?” I ask, my voice barely a whisper.

  “It’s already yours,” he says.

  “Yes, Weston,” I say. “Ask me now.”

  He raises his eyebrows. “Are you sure?”

  I nod and sit up, holding the sheet over my chest. “Right here. In English. I
don’t want fancy or a suit or any of that. Now is perfect.”

  He takes the ring out of the box and sits, moving so he’s right in front of me. Our eyes meet and his voice is soft. “Kendra, will you marry me?”

  “Yes, Weston,” I say. “I would love to marry you.”

  He smiles and a few tears fall unchecked down my cheeks. He takes my trembling hand and slips the ring onto my finger.

  “Oh my god,” I say.

  He rubs his thumb in a slow circle around the ring. “It looks beautiful on you.”

  “Thank you,” I say. “I love it so much.”

  “I love you so much.” He leans in for a kiss, his mouth soft against mine.

  When he pulls away, I look down at the ring again. I almost can’t believe this is happening. Is it too soon? Maybe. But I know he’s right, deep in my soul. He is going to marry me. It doesn’t matter that this is fast, or that we’ve already had some ups and downs. We’ll have more. That’s the way love—and life—works.

  “Weston,” I say, wiping the tears away, “we’re going to get married.”

  “Yeah. And we can do whatever you want. I’m clueless about wedding stuff, so you just tell me where to be and when to show up. You can have anything you want.”

  “Anything?” I ask.

  He shrugs. “Sure. Anything.”

  “What if I said I just want to go to the courthouse,” I say. “No big wedding.”

  “Is that really what you want, or are you looking for my reaction?”

  I laugh. “No, that’s really what I want. I don’t want a wedding. I guess we could do something to celebrate with my family. Weddings are nice, but, I don’t know, I’ve been in nine and only four of those couples are still together—including Alex and Mia who’ve been married less than twenty-four hours. I’d rather get married, and then go on an amazing honeymoon.”

  “I swear to god, you’re a fucking unicorn.” He pushes me to my back and kisses me hard. “In that case, when do you want to do this? Is Friday good?”