The Christmas Pact by Vi Keeland

Riley

“You might want to slow down.”

Kennedy lifted what had to be his fourth drink in the hour since we’d arrived at the rehearsal dinner, and downed every last drop before tilting the glass toward me. “You might want to mind your own business.”

I sighed. Ever since the boutique this afternoon, Kennedy had changed. He’d morphed back into the pompous ass I’d first met in our email exchanges, rather than the sweet man I’d been getting to know little by little. When I’d tried to talk to him about Felicity, opening the door to let him tell me what had gone down with her and his brother, he’d shut me down. So now there was a giant elephant in the room, at least for me—I didn’t let on that I knew, but he also didn’t volunteer anything.

Someone tapped a fork to their glass, and the entire room joined in until there was a symphony of tinkling crystal. Apparently that meant the soon-to-be bride and groom had to kiss—a tradition I’d never heard of before tonight. But it had happened at least a half-dozen times already, with Bradley making each kiss last longer than the one before. I watched Kennedy’s face as he took in the sight of his smiling brother and glowing ex-fiancée kiss. Bradley was basically a shorter, less handsome version of Kennedy. He was also a showboat. He bent Felicity back in a dramatic dip, and the room erupted in applause.

Kennedy stopped our waitress as she attempted to walk by. His words were starting to slur. “Another gin and tonic. Make it a double.”

I frowned and looked at her. “Please. He meant to say please.”

After she walked away, Kennedy leaned toward me. He reeked like the crap he’d been guzzling all night as he attempted to whisper in my ear. “I’d like to hear you say that underneath me.”

My brows furrowed. “What?”

“Please. Come on. Say it again for me. Use that breathy, sexy voice you had while I was rubbing your neck the other night. I’ve been dreaming about you begging me to put my hands on you again all week.”

I put my hand on his chest and nudged him to back up. “First of all, if you think you’re whispering…you aren’t.” I waved to his aunt seated on the other side of him who was eyeing us curiously. “Second of all…” I leaned in close and actually whispered, “…while it’s nice to know you’ve been dreaming about me all week, you won’t be hearing me beg for anything. I don’t beg. And not because I’m above it, but because I don’t have to. If I were beneath you like in your dreams, you’d be the one begging. And lastly, I don’t do drunk and sloppy.”

Kennedy started to laugh. Not a quiet, polite laugh, but a full-blown, loud, drunken belly laugh. His brother, finished with his public display of affection, walked over and put his hand on Kennedy’s shoulder. Bradley smiled, oblivious to the condition of the man seated next to me. “I’m so glad you decided to come, little bro.”

Kennedy snickered and mumbled, “You know where else I used to come? Inside your….”

Oh no. My eyes widened. He’d said it pretty low, so I wasn’t sure if Bradley heard it or not, but I wasn’t waiting for a punch to land to find out. I stood abruptly. “Can you excuse us? I need to go to the ladies’ room. Kennedy was just about to show me where it is.”

Kennedy looked up at me with a frown and swayed back and forth in his seat. He pointed to the other side of the room. “It’s right over there.”

I tugged at his elbow and dragged him to his feet. “Yes. But I might get lost. So why don’t you show me.”

He turned to face his brother. “She probably wants to suck face some more. She does this thing where she—”

I gave him a hard tug. Bradley laughed. Luckily he mustn’t have caught the part about coming inside his fiancée. He slapped his brother on his shoulder. “You two lovebirds go have fun.”

I hooked my arm with Kennedy’s and guided him through the restaurant toward the restrooms. Once we got there, I turned to face him.

“Look, we don’t know each other very well. But in the short time I’ve known you, I’ve learned that you have a lot of pride, and I don’t think you’ll be very happy with yourself tomorrow if you make a scene here tonight. So I think we should call it an evening and head back to your mother’s house.”

Kennedy seemed to struggle to focus, blinking several times as he looked back and forth between my eyes. Then his shoulders slumped. “Okay.” He sounded a little lost.

“Thank you. Why don’t you go into the men’s room and splash some water on your face, and I’ll go say our goodbyes.”

He shoved his hands into his pockets. “Okay.”

I waited until Kennedy went into the men’s room and then went in search of his mother. She didn’t seem at all surprised to learn that we were leaving.

“Kennedy isn’t feeling that great, Suzanne, so we’re going to head out.”

She smiled sadly and took my hand. “I understand. This has to be tough on him. Though I think it’s good that he came. Sometimes we walk away, but don’t fully pull the door shut behind us and that keeps us from moving on.” Suzanne rubbed my arm. “I have a good feeling about you two, though. I’ve worked with couples my entire life, and sometimes you just know.”

I thought her love-connection radar was pretty off, but I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, so I simply smiled. “Thank you for a lovely dinner.”

Kennedy was still sulking as we climbed into the back of the Uber. “You okay?” I asked.

He stared out the window for a long time, and then surprised me by reaching over and taking my hand from my lap. He weaved his fingers with mine. “Thank you,” he said.

“You’re welcome. That’s what friends are for.”

He brought our joined hands to his lips and kissed the top of mine. “Friends, huh? Is that what we are?”

Well, considering every hair on my arms and neck raised the minute any part of his body touched mine, I was thinking perhaps there was a little something more between us. But it was stupid to entertain a conversation with a drunken man. I nodded. “Yes, we’re friends.”

Kennedy leaned in toward me and lowered his voice. “That’s too bad. Because I really do love that thing you do with your tongue.”

It was time to open the blinds. I’d been up since 5AM, was already dressed in my plum dress, and had managed to put on my makeup without the proper lighting. Meanwhile, Kennedy was snoring away.

I’d snuck down the hall and showered really quickly before anyone woke up. I didn’t want to have to face his mother or any other houseguests after last night; at least, not until I had Kennedy as a buffer.

Nudging his shoulder, I said, “Rise and shine.”

He blinked his eyes open. “What time is it?” he groaned.

“It’s almost noon. The ceremony starts at two, so I figured it was time to get you up.”

His eyes opened wider. “Why didn’t you wake me sooner?”

“Well, you needed your sleep.”

Kennedy’s hair was a wild mess. He sat up and rubbed his temples. “About last night…I’m not sure what I might have said or done…I—”

“Kennedy, it’s okay. We all have those kinds of nights.”

“I don’t remember much after getting into the car with you.”

“That’s because you passed out in the Uber. I had to drag you inside the house.”

He frowned, seeming a bit ashamed, then asked, “Wait. If I’m in the bed, where did you sleep?”

I told him the truth. “Right next to you.”

“You were next to me all night, and I didn’t even know?”

“Yup. Naked and everything,” I lied. “See all the things you miss when you don’t drink responsibly?”

“Don’t even play like that, Riley. If you were naked next to me all night and I missed the whole thing, I swear I’ll never drink again.”

I winked. “Okay, I was wearing my PJs. But I did sleep next to you. I figured it was harmless. You were basically like a pile of rocks. Nothing was going to be moving last night, if you know what I mean.”

He seemed genuinely perplexed. “Why are you being so understanding when I acted like an ass on your first night here?”

It made sense that he was confused as to why I was being so nice. He didn’t know Felicity had told me the real reason he hadn’t come home in so long. He still assumed I was in the dark about why he was dreading this day so much. So my answer wasn’t exactly the full truth.

“Are you forgetting what brought us together for Christmas in the first place? If anyone totally understands letting your family stress you out, it’s me.”

Kennedy pushed the comforter off and sat on the edge of the bed. I’d taken off his shirt last night but kept his pants on, so he’d slept in them.

“Well, after my behavior at the rehearsal dinner, not to mention throwing you into the fire with my mother at the boutique before that, I’m not sure why you’re pardoning me so easily. But thank you.”

I half-smiled. “Let’s just try to get through this day, huh?”

“I’m not going to drink tonight. I won’t do that to you again.”

“I appreciate that. But I’ve got you, Kennedy. It’s fine if you want to drink. It’s a wedding.”

“No way. I brought you with me for support, but that shouldn’t include you having to drag my ass to the door because I couldn’t lay off the sauce. I’ll stick to water.” He turned to me and opened his mouth to speak, then stilled. “God, Riley, you look beautiful. Seriously, I thought they said you’re not supposed to upstage the bride.”

“Aw shucks, you’re so sweet when you’re hungover.”

“Surprisingly, I don’t feel as crappy as I thought I would. I’m actually starving,” he said as his eyes lingered on my cleavage.

I smacked his leg. “C’mon. Get moving. Hurry up and get dressed. Maybe we can hit that IHOP down the road before the ceremony. If I don’t have coffee soon, I think my head’s going to explode.”

“Why didn’t you go down to the kitchen and get some? My mother always has a pot going early.”

The honest answer wasn’t going to bode well for me. “I…didn’t feel like talking to your family.”

“So you stayed in here waiting for me to wake up?”

“Yes. I’m that antisocial. Got up and showered before anyone was awake and have been imprisoned in here with your sorry ass ever since.”

“Well, you deserve a cup of coffee the size of your head for putting up with me last night. Let’s go get you fed and caffeinated.”

“I have to pee really bad, too.”

“Why haven’t you peed?”

“I would’ve had to pass someone in the hall and, I don’t know,chat first to get to the bathroom.”

“So now you’re gonna piss yourself, all because you let me sleep.”

“Pretty much. Just waiting for you to go out there and talk to your family to distract them, then I’ll sneak down the hall.”

Kennedy was laughing at me. It was good to see him smiling because I knew he was probably really anxious about today.

My eyes wandered over to a teddy bear on the corner of his dresser. “Nice Teddy,” I teased.

“You may not believe this, but there are no sex toys hiding inside of him.”

I held my stomach. “Oh my God. Don’t make me laugh, I really will pee myself.”

He forced himself to his feet. “C’mon, sweetheart. Let’s go find you a pot to piss in.”

By some miracle, the house was now quiet. I’d heard people talking earlier, but they must have all left the house. I was able to use the bathroom down the hall in peace while Kennedy poured us two mugs of coffee.

We took them back to his room, and after he showered, I watched as Kennedy changed into his tuxedo pants and white shirt. Standing behind him as he looked at himself in the full-length mirror attached to his closet door, I discreetly admired his masculine beauty and the way his muscles looked in that shirt. Not to mention the way those pants hugged his ass.

He turned toward me and I helped him adjust his tie before smoothing the fabric of his shirt. I could feel how fast his heart beat through the material. Our eyes locked for a moment. He swallowed hard. My lips parted in response to the raw heat I saw in his eyes. My growing attraction to him was only adding to this complicated mess.

God. What was Felicity thinking? What could have possessed her to give this man up?

I wondered whether he’d let this whole day pass without admitting the truth to me.