She glanced at Hayden as he watched Riley approach, saw the tears in his eyes, then had to force herself not to cry. The Bosom Buddies were doing enough crying for the whole church.
The ceremony was just as beautiful as everything else, and she did shed a few tears when she heard Riley and Hayden exchange their vows. When Jared said, “You may kiss the bride,” Hayden didn’t hesitate, giving Riley a long, deep kiss right in front of everyone.
“Get a room!” Erma shouted from the front row in a teasing voice.
“Already booked!” Hayden replied, putting his arm around Riley’s waist. Her cheeks were fire-engine red, but she was also beaming as she and Hayden exited the sanctuary.
The ceremony over, Anita steeled herself for the difficult part: being close to Tanner. She tightened her hold on her bouquet as Melody and Harrison walked down the aisle, then Harper and Henry. Now she was face-to-face with Tanner. Or face to his offered arm since she couldn’t bring herself to look at him. She slipped her arm through his and felt his bicep under her hand. His extremelyfirmbicep.
Darn it.
“Anita.”
Without thinking she looked up at him, and he met her gaze. And there it was. The intense flame in his eyes that caused her pulse to fly off the rails, only more powerful than she’d ever seen—or imagined—it before.
“Tanner,” Spencer whispered behind him. “Go.”
They fell into step together, and Anita couldn’t help but hang on to him. She caught Erma’s wink, and her face turnedhot. Tanner’s strong bicep under her fingers and Erma’s sassy expression were not what she needed right now.
When they exited the sanctuary, she removed her hand from his arm, and they went to stand in the reception line next to Olivia and Spencer, who had followed them out and were talking nonstop about some book Anita had never heard of. She wasn’t surprised at their intellectual exchange. Spencer was a doctoral student at UCLA and working toward his PhD in anthropology.
Tanner leaned over and whispered in her ear. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
She glanced at him, not having to look up as much as she usually did because of her high heels. They weren’t as comfortable as the black ones Harper had given her, and her feet were already aching. “No,” she admitted, although being so close to him in this romantic atmosphere wasn’t that easy either. Neither had it been last night during the rehearsal dinner. Her anger with him had subsided for the most part, but her attraction to him hadn’t. That would take time, she kept reminding herself. But they could never go back to the friendship they’d had before. They would go back to living parallel lives, like they had before he started working at Sunshine.
His eyes were back to their usual sage-green color. “Nice ceremony,” he said to her as Pearl came out of the sanctuary.
“Yes.” She smiled, relaxing a little bit, remembering that she had vowed not to let her personal feelings affect Riley and Hayden’s special day. “A beautiful one.” She turned to him again. “How’s your mom?”
“Doing well. Lonzo is with her at home.”
“That’s good.” When he didn’t say anything else, she touched one of the lavender roses in her bouquet. They smelled nice.
Tanner smells better.She winced at her own cheesy thought.
“Where are Riley and Hayden?” Pearl said as she scurried up. “We can’t dismiss everyone without the bride and groom in the receiving line.” She wrung her plump hands together.
“Off sneaking kisses,” Harper teased.
Anita heard Tanner laugh, and she glanced at him again, catching his smile. Her heart leapt, but only a little this time.
Finally Hayden and Riley appeared from the other side of the church. From the blush on Riley’s face, Anita wondered if they had been doing exactly what Harper joked about. They took their place in line next to Melody and Harrison, and the guests started pouring out of the sanctuary.
“When are you coming back to the diner, Anita?” Jasper said as he appeared in front of her and Tanner.
“I have my own business now, Mr.Mathis. Remember?”
“Oh, that dad-burned coffee shop or whatever. The coffee’s just fine at Sunshine.” He looked at Tanner. “Could use a little more salt on my pot roast Monday evening, boy.”
“Yes, sir.”
Anita took Jasper’s hand and cradled it in both of hers. “I miss seeing you, Mr.Mathis.”
The old man smiled, his deep wrinkles sinking farther around his thin lips. “I miss you too, MissBedford.” He gave Tanner a sharp look, ignored his outstretched hand, and moved down the line.
“What was that about?” Anita said to him in a low voice.
“He blames me for you quitting.”
