I wasn't expecting chaos—not tonight. I was supposed to be calm, collected, the Best Woman to my oldest friend. The tux fit, the speech was memorized, and for once, I didn’t smell like a crime scene. A win, right?

I was halfway through nursing a whiskey and pretending to look disinterested in the awkward pre-dinner mingling when it happened. A blur of motion. A crash. Something—someone—collided with me out of nowhere.

We both went down hard. My back hit the polished floor with a solid thud, knocking the air right out of me.

And then… her.

She landed right on top of me, a tangle of satin, perfume, and warm skin. For a moment, everything else—clinking glasses, soft music, murmuring voices—melted away.

I opened my eyes and there she was: delicate collarbone, wide eyes blinking down at me, lips parted in surprise. God, she was beautiful. Soft curls framed her face like she was lit from within, and her breath hitched just slightly—maybe from the fall, maybe from landing chest-to-chest with me.

“Wow,” I breathed before I could stop myself.

A second passed. Maybe two.

“Uh—hi?” I added dumbly, completely forgetting how to stand up. My hands were still on her waist, and suddenly, I wasn’t in such a hurry to move.

“Are you okay?” I asked, half-concerned, half-awestruck. "Because I think you just knocked the wind and the thoughts out of me.”

I gave a crooked smile, trying to play it cool despite my heart thudding like I’d just chased a perp down five city blocks.