Kaci and Lance were on the dance floor, happy and blissful. She hoped they stayed that way for many, many years.
She herself would’ve been satisfied with just being happy. But Neil was following her, so she went the one place he wouldn’t follow.
Not in uniform, anyway.
Five minutes later, Cheri joined her in the bathroom. “From Jackson.” She handed Anna a margarita. “And I introduced your friend to three of the bridesmaids, so he’s currently occupied if you want to come out.”
“I’m not hiding,” she said. “I’m avoiding making a scene.”
Cheri laughed. “Too bad. C’mon. I’ve got lots of practice being a wingman. You’ve earned a nice time tonight.”
She and Cheri returned to the ballroom. On one corner of the dance floor, Neil had his own fan club. He was slow-dancing with two women while three more giggled and watched. He looked as happy as if he were being pecked to death by a couple of loons. “You’re good,” Anna said.
“Have to be.” Cheri flashed a cheeky grin. “Nowlet’s have a party.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
She had no fears of becoming too comfortable. Not when life was all too willing to smack her upside the head.
—The Temptress of Pecan Lane, by Mae Daniels
If Jackson hadn’t been in uniform, he would’ve handled this ex-husband business differently. Good-old-boy style. But hewasin uniform, and he’d been raised to have better manners than wedding crashers.
Besides, he didn’t reckon he’d get any pie if he got in Anna Grace’s way.
How hiding out in the bathroom was winning, he couldn’t quite figure, but he’d never claimed to understand a woman’swhy. Just herwhat. And Anna’swhatwas akin to Craig’s baby girl’sI do it myself.
One of the bridesmaids eyed him. She had enough looks going for her underneath all that poofed fabric and big old hair bow that he was willing to bet her biscuits suffered for it. She gave him a coy smile. Miss Flo and Miss Ophelia would’ve liked this one. The girl put the right amount of swing in her hip when she took that tentative step toward him.
But he had better plans for tonight, so he pulled Anna Grace’s cake plate closer to him. The girl’s eyes shifted to theplate, then back up at him. Her nose got a crease up top, and she swung her hips right around the other way.
Jackson coughed back a chuckle.
“You are my hero,” Anna Grace suddenly said next to him. She set the margarita down and flopped into her seat. All that soft material in her dress rippled around her legs as he hoped his sheets would before the end of the night. She snatched the cake plate—sans cake—and went to work sorting the mints he’d piled up as high as he could.
He leaned in close to her. She hadn’t saidthank youexactly, so he didn’t offer up that it was his pleasure. Instead, he took a sniff of her hair. “Still hoping for some pie.”
“Your odds are definitely improving.” She flashed some tooth with her smile.
Cheri sat on his other side, moving sedately in her mess dress. He had a good feeling she would’ve rather spun the chair around and straddled it as she would’ve in a flight suit, but that ornery spark told him she was having fun in her own right. “She won’t let me take care of him.”
“I didn’t say anything about after the reception,” Anna said. She had five piles of mints going, lightest to darkest. She flicked a glance at Jackson. “What? Nothat ain’t right fit talk for ladies?”
Funny girl, his Anna Grace. “No, ma’am. I trust she’ll do what needs doing.”
“That’s right forward thinking of you.”
“Forward thinking, my ass.” Cheri leaned around him. “He got on my bad side once.”
Anna mirrored her, talking around Jackson like he was a decoration.
Not that he didn’t think he could be. Mamie liked to tell him he was handsomer than a June bug in uniform, and she swore on her collard greens she wasn’t just saying that.
“What happened?” Anna asked.
“He tried to hold a door for me.”
“Now don’t go getting any ideas that I was playing favoritesor think anybody’s weaker,” Jackson told Anna. “I held the door for all of ’em.”
