My mouth went dry when Elijah held his hand out to Seth. “Nice to meet you, Stan.”
I almost rolled my eyes. I knew Elijah had heard his name. He was just being a butthead.
“Actually, it’s Seth. Nice to meet you, Elijah.”
Their handshake was short, but I didn’t miss how white both their knuckles were. Good grief, why was Elijah participating in this ridiculous dick measuring contest? He didn’t want anything more than a casual relationship with me. He’d admitted as much last week. There was no reason he should be trying to crush Seth’s hand with his.
They broke apart just before I intended to open my mouth to ask him what in the hell he was doing.
“Grier.”
I glanced up at Elijah and licked my dry lips. “Hi, Elijah.”
His burning blue eyes were trying to communicate something to me, but I had no idea what that might be. I sighed as I lifted my wineglass to my mouth. Hopefully, things wouldn’t remain this awkward for long. Otherwise, our mutual friends would definitely notice how stilted we were being with each other.
I was saved from the tense silence that fell between us by the noise of Lucy and Chelsea entering the party, already laughing as they came through the door. It was the excuse I needed to escape the awkward interaction.
“C’mon. I want to introduce you to Lucy and Chelsea,” I said to Seth, lowering my free hand to lace my fingers with his.
“Nice to meet you both,” Seth said to Marcus and Elijah.
I gave them both a flat smile that I knew didn’t reach my eyes and tugged Seth behind me as I approached Lucy and Chelsea. That prickle was back on the nape of my neck, a warning that Elijah was watching me. I tried to shake it off. He’d made his feelings clear. There was no reason for him to be angry, but the weight of his gaze was nearly tangible.
I needed to get away from him right now and figure out how to avoid him the rest of the night. I wasn’t going to miss out on Yancy and Charles’ rehearsal dinner just because he was fuming that I had a date.
I didn’t bother to glance back as I led Seth away from Marcus and Elijah. I wasn’t going to let him ruin the night. This was a celebration for my friend and the man she was marrying—not an opportunity for me to wallow in regret. I would have plenty of time to do that later.
Chapter Eleven
Despite the awkward beginning to my evening, I was eventually able to relax and have fun. Mostly because Elijah left a half hour into the rehearsal dinner.
Seth fit in extremely well with my friends. And with me. He managed to draw me out of myself a little more than usual and had me in fits of laughter off and on all night.
When I hugged Yancy good-bye, she kissed my cheek and whispered in my ear, “Seth is fun. I like that he makes you smile.”
I swallowed hard at her words, unsure why they made me want to cry. “He is fun, but tonight is about you and the man who makes you smile.”
She pulled back, her expression dreamy. “He really does. He makes me so happy. I never thought…”
I saw the sheen of tears in her eyes when she stopped talking and immediately felt my own threaten to return. “No crying,” I whispered, blinking rapidly. “If you cry, I’m going to cry. And…and…Charles will be mad at me because he’ll think I’m the one who made you cry.”
A watery giggle escaped her. “Okay, okay. No crying.” She sniffled a little. “I can’t believe I’m getting married tomorrow. I didn’t think I ever would again. And the way he loves Carolena and she loves him, it’s incredible,” she sighed.
“Well, I can’t wait.”
Yancy and Charles wanted a small ceremony, just their family and closest friends. They were having a casual afternoon wedding in their backyard followed by a simple catered reception that would include barbeque and cake. There would be a DJ if anyone wanted to dance under the trees and tables with board or card games for those who didn’t. There would even be games for kids to play since Yancy’s daughter, Carolena, was going to be part of the ceremony.
I’d helped with the set up last night and I couldn’t wait. It was going to be gorgeous but also simple and sweet. I loved that it wasn’t going to be a formal event. All she said was for us to wear our favorite fall dress. It wouldn’t be the polished elegance of Lucy’s wedding, but it was very much fitting with Yancy’s personality to have what was essentially a big party to celebrate her new marriage.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Yancy said.
“I’ll come over early to help with any last-minute stuff.”
She shook her head. “You don’t have to?—”
I huffed. “I’m coming over early. If nothing else, I can pour you a glass of wine and tell you how pretty you look while you’re getting ready.”
Yancy laughed again. “Okay, okay.” She gave me another hug. “I can’t believe I’m getting married again!”
