She stopped at the table of the woman who’d lent them the phone, plastering what he recognized as a fake smile on her face. “Do you want to take that photo now?
The woman hopped out of her chair and raced around to stand next to Libby, pausing only to hand the proffered phone to her husband. “Get close up, Bill. No full body shot. I don’t want my fat rolls showing.” She turned to Libby. “I’m posting this on social media. No one will believe this, so I need proof.”
Libby’s smile widened as she faced the camera. After several clicks, Libby turned to face the woman. “Thank you so much for letting me use your phone. If you get a call from a woman named Megan, please tell her I said to go to hell,” she said in a sweet voice.
Noah’s blood pressure began to rise. So she’d called his sister-in-law, and apparently Megan had been a bitch about the whole runaway bride thing.
The woman’s head jutted back in surprise, and then she laughed. “Will do. I’m sure there’s a story there.” She cast a wicked glance at Noah and winked before leaning close to Libby and whispering something in her ear.
Libby’s eyes widened and she shook her head, mouthing the word no, but the woman ignored her and sat down with her family.
By the time Libby returned to the booth, the fake smile had slipped from her face.
“Lib? Did you get ahold of Mitch?”
“What?” She glanced up at Noah. “Yeah.”
“And?”
She released a heavy breath. “He’s actually pretty okay. He said he was having doubts too. Turns out his old college girlfriend contacted him this week . . .” Her voice trailed off, but he thought he heard her mumble something about a curse working for Mitch.
“So he’s not mad?”
“What?” She looked startled. “No. He’s not mad in the least.”
“But Megan is.”
She shivered. “Yes. I don’t know. I hung up on her.”
Her shaking drew his attention to the goosebumps on her arms, and he remembered she’d been standing outside in forty-degree weather in her sleeveless dress. He scooted around to her and pulled her close, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “You’re freezing.”
She stiffened at the contact, which caught him off guard. He’d hugged her plenty of times before and she’d never reacted like that. But she instantly relaxed and leaned the back of her neck against his arm.
“What did Megan say?”
“You’re warm.” She snuggled into him and closed her eyes.
He’d sat close to her more times than was probably appropriate given the fact she’d had a boyfriend. Somehow this was different. Libby was a stunningly beautiful woman, but tonight, in her wedding dress, she was beyond gorgeous. He’d spent so much time sneaking glances at her while she was asleep in the car, it was a wonder he hadn’t run off the road. But now her face was tilted toward him, and her cheeks seemed to glow in the warm light of the restaurant. Strands of her thick, dark hair had worked loose from her non-fussy up-do. As she snuggled closer to him, her lips softened and the worry wrinkles on her forehead faded. He was staring at her long, dark eyelashes when her eyes opened, and he found himself lost in her gaze.
He expected her to pull away, but she remained still, her rich dark eyes staring back at him. She looked so serene, so beautiful, he found himself drawn to her—the force so powerful it was almost magnetic. He started to lean over to kiss her, the instinct so strong it overrode all reason.
“Here’s two steaks for the happy couple,” the waitress singsonged in a happy voice.
Startled, Noah jerked upright and Libby scooted out from under his arm. Had she realized what he was about to do? God, he hoped not. He wanted more with her, but now wasn’t the time. A month ago, she’d made it perfectly clear how she felt about them moving past friendship, and he had to confess, she had valid points even if he hoped to persuade her she was wrong. But he’d rather have her in his life as his friend than not at all, and he’d never forgive himself if he screwed it up with her. Let him fuck up everything else in his life, but not this. Not her. As the waitress slid their plates onto the table, he was already working on excuses if Libby decided to call him out.
“Can I get you anything else?” the waitress asked. “Steak sauce? Ketchup?”
Libby looked around the table. “Where are Noah’s fried pickles?”
The waitress cringed. “Sorry about that. I have to admit, you’ve got the kitchen staff fit to be tied. They keep poking their heads out the door to get a look at you instead of doing their jobs. They’ll be right out.”
Noah didn’t care about the pickles. He only wanted the waitress to leave so he could assess the fallout from his near mistake. When Libby picked up her fork and knife without saying anything, he decided to ignore that it had ever happened. “So you and Mitch are okay?”
“Yeah.” She kept her gaze on her plate as she sawed on her steak. “He wished me well, but then that’s Mitch. He’s awesome like that.”
“Having second thoughts?”
“What?” Her gaze jerked up to his. “No. I didn’t really love him.” A tiny grin twisted her lips. “And if I had to listen to one more Razorback call, I think I may have killed him before our first anniversary. Did I tell you the wedding was Razorback themed?”
“What?” he laughed, relieved she’d let their awkward moment pass. “You’re kidding.”