CHAPTER 17: AN EXCUSE TO BE TOGETHER

Before I could repeat the same mistake from earlier in the day, I quickly brought up my hand to cover my lips as I pressed my eyes closed. I counted silently in my head for something to happen but whatever I had expected to happen never did.

"Why are you doing that?" his sudden question made me slowly open my eyes.

Raphael had the most amused look on his face, as if he was struggling to contain his laughter. I didn’t think that expression suited him at all, and I didn’t like the fact that he was having fun at my expense. On top of that, I couldn’t bring myself to tell him that I thought he was about to kiss me.

"What’s that look on your face? Are you disappointed that I didn’t kiss you?" he asked before smirking at me. I had no idea when I first met him that he would turn out to be such a tormenting tease.

"Give me the clothes and leave," I ordered as I stuck out my hand towards him.

Instead of placing the hangers in my hand, he grabbed my hand in his and guided it to his lips. I felt the soft warmth of his lips against the back of my hand as he kissed it, and then what felt like an electrical current ran up from the back of my hand along my arm. I immediately pulled my hand back to escape his reach, and my reaction drew an entertained laugh from Raphael, to my extreme embarrassment.

"Here you go. Why are you still up so late at night? I guess you can’t fall asleep. Should I give you a good night kiss to help you fall asleep?" he suggested as if it was the best idea in the world.

I slammed the door in his face and quickly locked it without wanting to hear any more of his twisted jokes. The sound of Raphael laughing could be heard through the door before he finally left. My chest heaved up and down as I tried to calm the troubling feelings that had started stirring in my chest. Now that he was gone, I was reminded of my resolve that I needed to talk things out with him. That mission completely slipped my mind when I came face-to-face with him just now. There’s always a chance tomorrow...

**The next day**

"Don’t you think this church is very beautiful?" my mother asked when we finally arrived at the wedding venue that she had chosen.

"It’s truly beautiful, and the atmosphere is also so serene and romantic," I replied honestly as I looked around at the garden and the white building of the church. Considering how wealthy Bennett is, I was quite surprised that they settled on such a simple and conservative venue for their wedding.

"Actually, we looked at a couple of options before deciding on this together. We think that it would make the wedding feel cozy, and we’re also not planning to invite that many guests to start with," my mother explained, as if she could read the question on my mind.

At that point, I couldn’t care less what anyone else wanted or thought as long as the two of them were happy. My mind felt slightly fuzzy from lack of sleep the night before because I failed to catch even a wink of sleep even after Raphael had left. Surprisingly, I found the outfit that he brought to be a perfect fit.

"Isn’t the planner supposed to meet us here?" Raphael asked enthusiastically. He was the exact image of the perfect and smiling son, and that made me feel slightly sick inside.

I doubted that his father or my mother could ever guess what he was really like, and that was for the best. I reminded myself that this dirty little secret between us had to stay between us no matter what.

"She should be here any moment now. Oh, there she is!" my mother said as she pointed in the direction where a lady was coming our way.

"Hello, sorry I’m a little late," the wedding planner said before introducing herself as Kim.

"So today let’s go over where we want the decorations to be and also the overall flow of the event. Since we still have time, there’s still room to change and swap things around to suit your preferences," Kim said before smiling sweetly at all of us.

"Okay, sure, thank you for coming to help us out," my mother said before showing Kim a very friendly smile.

Without further ado, we entered the church after Kim. I felt like I didn’t have much input regarding the wedding, but my mother kept on asking me questions about what I preferred.

"Should the flowers be over here, or do you think over there would be better?" she asked.

I took a few seconds to think about the options before making my choice. It didn’t take long for the whole affair to feel too long and too exhausting. Then on the other hand, it seemed like Bennett was having the time of his life as he walked hand in hand with my mother while they talked about what they wanted for their upcoming wedding. Since my mother never had a wedding ceremony with my father before he abandoned her, this was going to be her first wedding and I could understand her excitement. After all, not too long ago, I shared that excitement as I looked forward to Sam proposing to me and to our own wedding. I crushed that thought in my mind as I glanced over to look at Raphael, who was walking by my side instead after we had fallen behind the to-be bride and groom. Surprisingly, Raphael was very much in character and none of his aggressive and teasing behavior leaked out from his perfect façade . I desperately needed to find time to talk to him in private.

"Abigail, are you feeling all right?" Raphael asked me with a worried look in his grey as he reached for my arm as if to support me.

–To be continued...

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