Page 55 of I’d Be Honored

Maddie felt a quick tug, the only warning she had before her bikini top fell to the floor.

Grinning, Maddie pulled the ties, releasing Hayley’s top in return. “Lead the way.”

Outside, they gave each other a sly look before slipping out of their bottoms and allowing the steam to envelop them.

Hayley pulled Maddie closer in the water, only satisfied once she was sitting on her lap, facing her.

Maddie curled her arms around Hayley’s neck.

“Hayley?” she asked, feeling a bead of sweat prick her forehead as the heat built around them.

“Yes?” Hayley dipped her head and wrapped her lips around Maddie’s nipple.

Maddie’s breath hitched, but she fought to stay focused. She was undeniably falling for Hayley, and they needed to talk about it.

“You feel this, right?” she spoke softly, delicately, knowing one wrong word could shatter their fragile balance. “This between us, it’s…” Maddie took a breath to steel herself. “This isn’t casual anymore.”

Hayley’s hand snaked between them, down Maddie’s toned abs, until her fingers began to gently circle Maddie’s clit. “Can we talk about this later?”

Maddie gasped as Hayley pushed two fingers inside her. She sank down, spreading her center wider across Hayley’s thighs, and fisted the back of her hair before biting down into the curve of her shoulder.

Maddie rolled her hips and ground against Hayley’s hand. They moved as one, faster and faster, water splashing around them until Maddie’s cries of release drowned out the sound of the waves crashing against the shore.

BACK IN THE CITY, THE NEXT few days passed in a blur of appointments. The wedding was exactly eight weeks away as of that night, and Maddie was throwing herself into the easy distraction.

Most of the big decisions had been made and locked into place. She had watched Caitlin choose her wedding dress, and she knew that Gemma had bought her suit. The four of them had sampled countless appetizers, dinners, and desserts until they found the perfect menu. The live band, the caterers, the bartenders, and the florist had all confirmed. Even she and Hayley had their outfits ready. Everything was falling perfectly into place.

With hair and makeup trials successfully checked off that morning, only three things stood between Gemma and Caitlin and the altar—the seating chart, the marriage license, and one final dress fitting.

Tonight, Maddie was gathered around the kitchen island with the two brides to tackle the seating chart. She had assumed it would be one of the easier tasks, especially with only thirty-eight guests and one long table out on the terrace. She could not have been more wrong.

Gemma poured three heavy-handed glasses of chardonnay as they circled around the thick poster board spread across the countertop. It contained a mockup of the wedding table, and beside it sat a neat stack of printed name tags for each confirmed guest.

Maddie looked at Caitlin warily. “You did this?”

“Yes! Kind of… Well, no,” she admitted sheepishly. “Lara did.”

“You could have, though, babe, if you’d wanted to.”

Maddie held back a smile at the way Gemma always tried to lift Caitlin up.

“Drinking without me, then?”

Maddie nearly choked on her sip of wine as Hayley strode into the room.

“Hay!” Gemma rushed over to give her friend a peck on the cheek. “I figured you’d be working, so I didn’t want to bother you.”

“Nonsense. You could never be a bother, Gem.” Hayley met Maddie’s eyes across the marble island. “You’re my favorite person.”

Maddie’s heart thumped against her chest.

Caitlin poured a fourth glass of wine and held it out. “Always happy to have you here, Hay.”

Maddie’s back ached by the time they had configured the little pins and name tags around the board in a way that satisfied the brides. There’d been far more complications than she could have ever guessed—who knew whom, who hated whom, who had slept with whom. It was one of the hardest puzzles she had ever encountered.

The result left Maddie two seats away from Hayley, and she tried to hide her disappointment. It made complete sense in hindsight. Caitlin and Gemma both wanted their maids of honor at their side.

“Should I open another bottle of wine, and we can move this into the living room?” Gemma asked, looking mainly at Hayley. “There was a new Summer House this week,” she said in a singsong voice, knowing Hayley’s weakness.