“THIS whole wedding prep is stressing me out,” Nicole said, pressing her head against the side of the hot tub. A splash from the swimming pool followed, accompanied by a few shouts. Enzo, along with Leo, the groomsmen, and other bridesmaids, were having fun in the pool. The hot tub was just beside the pool.
Karma couldn’t help but glance at Leo. He was wearing trunks with no shirt, showing off his lean muscles and rock-hard abs. She could also clearly see the phoenix tattoo on his left pectoral—one she had never noticed before. Before Leo could catch her staring, she returned her attention to her friends.
“Why are you stressed? You have a wedding organizer, right?” Brenna asked. Only two days were left before their friend’s wedding.
The bride-to-be sighed. “It’s not that I don’t trust my organizer. I just want everything to be perfect.”
“Don’t worry, Nik. Your wedding will be perfect,” Brenna said, and Nicole nodded. Since they’d arrived at the beach house, they hadn’t noticed any mistakes from the wedding organizer. Even small details had been flawless. But Karma understood the bride-to-be’s stress—who wouldn’t be nervous when the wedding was so close?
“Just don’t be a bridezilla, please,” Karma joked, and the three of them laughed. She brought her wine glass to her lips, savoring the sweetness. Once again, laughter from the pool drew her attention. She saw Leo lifting a bridesmaid in his arms before tossing her into the water. Karma tightened her grip on her glass. Jealousy began bubbling inside her. But wait—why was she getting jealous? Her relationship with Leo had ended a long time ago. He could flirt with anyone; she shouldn’t care. Right?
“Oh, it’s empty.” Brenna’s voice pulled her back. She looked at her friend, who was holding an expensive bottle of wine. “I’ll get another one,” she said with a grin.
“No, Brenn, I’ll do it,” Karma said. Before her friend could react, she was already heading out, bottle in hand. She went straight to the mini-bar inside the house, letting out a deep sigh. She needed to get Leo out of her head. If only it were that easy. Why does he have to be Nicole’s fiancé’s brother?, she whispered to herself while reaching for another bottle. She was annoyed at herself for feeling jealousy earlier. If Brenna hadn’t spoken, she might have glared at Leo out of irritation. She wanted to bang her head against the cement. She had no right to be jealous—they’d been over for a long time.
She closed her eyes, trying to calm herself. One, two, three… she counted in her head. When she opened them, she almost dropped the bottle. A few steps away, Leo was there. She swallowed hard. She hadn’t heard or noticed him approaching. Could he have heard her whispering? Embarrassed, she looked away. She didn’t know whether to stay put or slip past him to get outside.
Biting her lower lip, she decided to leave her spot. She would move faster as she passed by him. But he quickly blocked her path. She couldn’t help but glance up at his face.
“Karma,” he said, and her mind went blank. She secretly pinched herself.
“Why, Leo?” she asked, a hint of irritation in her voice. “Cleo’s waiting outside. I’m sure she wants to get thrown in the pool again.” She was referring to the girl he had tossed into the water earlier. She froze. The way she said it made it sound like she was jealous. She wanted to hit herself.
“Please, Karm, don’t avoid me,” he said, and she was shocked by the pleading in his voice. Her heart skipped a beat, and she scolded herself again.
“What do you need, Leo? Didn’t I say we should just pretend we don’t know each other?”
“I can’t do that, Karm. I can’t pretend I don’t know you,” he said, stepping closer. Her body went fully alert. She stepped back, all her attention on him.
“That’s not my problem. Force yourself, then,” she said, and before he could answer, she hurried past him. She heard him following, so she quickened her pace. If he tried to touch her, she wouldn’t hesitate to smash the bottle over his head.
She managed to pass through the door without interference. For now, the bottle was safe. But when two groomsmen picked her up, she realized she herself wasn’t safe. It all went so fast. Before she knew it, the bottle had been taken from her hands, and she was being carried toward the pool. She knew what they were planning. She let out a scream before being thrown in. Since she couldn’t swim, she swallowed a lot of water. She thought she was going to die—until someone suddenly pulled her up. She didn’t know who saved her, but she grabbed onto their shoulder, digging in her nails, though it didn’t hurt the rescuer. Instead, an arm wrapped around her waist.
“We’re so sorry, Karma. We didn’t know you couldn’t swim,” one of the men who had thrown her apologized. She didn’t respond, instead looking at the person who saved her. She gasped when she saw it was Leo. His face was full of concern. She wanted to leave his arms, but she remembered they were still in the pool.
“Oh my gosh, Leo! Karma’s bikini top—”
A loud gasp escaped her when she realized her bikini top was gone. Instead of creating space between herself and Leo, she pressed her body against him to cover herself. Instinctively, Leo wrapped both arms around her. She glanced at her bikini top, letting out a soft groan when she saw it floating in the middle of the pool.
“Bro, kindly throw my shirt,” she heard Leo call to Enzo. When it was caught, he turned to her. “Wear my t-shirt, Karm,” he said, and she had no choice but to obey. Beggars can’t be choosers. She couldn’t very well leave herself topless. Leo helped her put on his t-shirt, then guided her to the edge of the pool. Brenna automatically wrapped a towel around her.
“Are you okay, Karm?” Nicole asked, and she just nodded. She couldn’t respond further because the two groomsmen were rushing to apologize. Nicole and the other bridesmaids guided her inside. Before entering, she glanced back at Leo over her shoulder. She caught him staring at her, their eyes meeting. Even after the door closed, he didn’t break eye contact.