Page 12 of Slap Shot Surprise
“Is that why you put on the sunglasses?” She started to laugh. “I think you made yourselfmoreconspicuous, not less. It’s not even sunny outside today, let alone in the chapel.” Then she gasped again. “He’s looking over here.”
My heart rapped hard against my ribs. “I can’t face him, Ari. I’ll die.”
Still looking over my shoulder, her eyes lit up. “Well, brace yourself, because he’s walking this way.”
Eyeballing the parking lot, I considered making a run for it, but given the platform heels I was wearing, that plan didn’t seem wise. Face-planting on the asphalt would only make things worse. Taking a breath, I turned around.
My knees almost buckled as he closed the distance between us. If my life was a movie, I’d have grabbed the remote and pressed pause just to swoon over the way he looked as he came toward me, or maybe even played his approach in slow motion. He’d been hot in jeans and a button-down, but he was downright scorching in a suit andtie. He was also a lot taller than I’d realized. Even in my thick-soled heels, the top of my head didn’t clear his shoulder.
“Mabel Jane Buckley,” he said, his mouth curving into a boyishly sexy grin. “We meet again.”
“So we do.” I laughed nervously and lifted my shoulders. “What are the chances?”
“Hi.” Ari held out her hand. “I’m Ari. Lisa is my cousin.”
He shook her hand. “I’m Joe Lupo. Old friend of Footsie—I mean Dan.”
“Nice to meet you,” Ari said. “I’ve actually met your brother Gianni before. He and my husband Dash are friends.”
“Dashiel Buckley, the actor?”
Ari smiled. “Yes.”
Joe looked at me, putting it together. “And is that your... brother?”
“Yes,” I said. “He was supposed to be here, but his film shoot ran longer than expected, so Ari asked me to be her date tonight.”
He smiled. “I’m glad.”
“You are?”
He laughed at the surprise in my expression. “Yes. It’s nice to see you again, now that we’re safely on the ground.”
“Um, if you’ll excuse me a moment, I’m just going to run over and say a quick hello to my aunt and uncle,” Ari said, giving my upper arm a hard pinch. “Back in a few.”
After she walked away—giving me two very enthusiastic thumbs-up from behind his back—Joe took a step closer to me. “So...this is a coincidence.”
“Yes.” I stared at the tiny scar on his lip and imagined running my tongue over it in a highly inappropriate manner.
“You look beautiful.”
“Thanks. So do you.” Oh, shit. “I mean, not beautiful.” Dammit, I made it worse! “Good,” I managed to get out, although it was an understatement. “You look good.”
“Thank you.” He smiled, tucking his hands in his pockets. “You know, I was thinking about you last night.”
“You were?”
“Yes. The wedding party went to a place called Buckley’s Pub.”
“Oh!” Now it made sense. “That’s my brother Xander’s bar.”
“Cool place.”
“I thought maybe you were wondering if the weirdo in seat 3A got back to her home planet okay,” I joked.
“I didn’t think you were weird. Just scared.”
“Again, I’mreallysorry about unloading all that personal stuff on you. I honestly thought I wasn’t going to make it.”
