“Can someone get a chair for Miah?” Henry bent down, speaking directly to her belly, “I’m warning you that we have a strict policy against wedding crashers.”
A wry laugh rattled in my throat.
She wrenched the microphone away from him. “Henry’s right, nothing lasts forever, but it’s enough to be here tonight, seeing the love shared by my little sister and her precious new husband, to make me believe in eternity. I’m so happy we get to shower you in all our love and affection and hope for your future.” She slapped Henry’s arm for him to raise his glass. “Congrats, you two. We can’t wait to see the forever you create together and I know that you’ll build the most amazing life for all your years to come. To all your bells and whistles.”
“Oh, she’s smooth,” I said, shifting toward Meri. “But that has to be one of the top five worst best man speeches I’ve ever heard.”
Meri’s seat was empty. The nerdy guy’s too.
A small hum shook out of me.Good for her.I wanted her to have fun tonight, even if the “let’s talk about lake corpses” guy wasn’t who I would’ve bet on from the start.
I’d hear all about it tomorrow.
I always did.
There were a few more speeches before the father-daughter dance, which was another one of my favorite wedding rituals. There was something beautiful and foreign about it to me. Like watching a film in another language. I could appreciate it and admire it, but I’d never understand.
Once the groom and his mother started their turn around the dance floor, I excused myself to the dessert buffet. I didn’t even think about dancing until after I’d assessed the entire dessert situation and sampled enough of everything to make me deeply regret shoehorning myself into shapewear.
Fortunately for me, the buffet was as excessive as everything else at this wedding. I’d nearly filled a plate when I heard a familiar voice ask, “What do you recommend?”
I glanced up to find the best man on the other side of the table, his bow tie loose and his hands in his pockets.
I allowed myself a moment to take in all the great and wonderful burliness of him. The guy definitely worked with wood. Lumberjack, forest service, artisanal furniture. Something like that. He was probably pine-scented too. It would just figure.
I licked a bit of frosting from my thumb. “What do you like?”
His gaze stayed on my face, but I could feel him taking in all of me, swallowing me up whole. “Everything.”
“Oh, really?” I selected a mini cupcake from a three-tiered tray and ate it while I studied the table. Cookie dough in the middle. Fantastic. “Affogato? Tres leches? Fruit flan?” I motioned to the shot glasses and espresso cups containing each confection. “Or am I right in thinking you’re a little more simple? Basic, perhaps? Eclairs, cheesecake, lemon meringue?”
He laughed. “I’m gonna pretend you didn’t just call me basic.” Tipping his chin toward my plate, he asked, “What do you have?”
If Meri was here, she’d fake an emergency and yank me away from him. She took the rulesthatseriously. She was going to murder me tomorrow. I’d let her.
And yet I couldn’t stop myself from saying, “Everything.”
His face broke into the most glorious smile, like that was the exact response he’d secretly wanted and now he could die happy. “Then you’ve chosen well.”
“That toast was a train wreck,” I said, grabbing another cupcake. This one had chocolate ganache. Never made it to my plate. I ate it in two bites.
He ran a finger along the inside of his collar. It was open at the throat. The muscles there were a whole damn delight. I was overcome with an absurd desire to lick him. With a quick shake of his head, he said, “Yeah. It was. Clearly, it’s been a tough night for me. Am I going to have to fight you for a cupcake on top of everything else I’ve been through?”
I reached for a red velvet. “Probably not.”
“Are you sure? You seem a little protective of them.”
“If I’m going to protect anything, it’s going to be the mini cupcakes.”
“And why is that?” He didn’t so much say the words as he smiled them and I couldn’t help smiling back.
“First of all, variety. No need to limit yourself when one regular cupcake is roughly equivalent to thirty-five mini cupcakes.”
“Is that the conversion? Really?” The laugh that boomed out of him was so rich, so warm. There was no resisting. Meri would be on the floor, faking anaphylaxis by now. “I’m gonna need a minute to sit with that math.”
I chose another cupcake. Spice cake, maybe chai, with cream cheese frosting. Lovely, even if spice wasn’t my first choice for cake.
Henry cocked his head, that smile still lighting up his face. “Do you want to dance?”
