“Yeah. The muse wants a happy ending.” He says it while looking at me, his meaning clear.
“Josh, I…” I trail off, unsure what to say.
“Let’s look at the rest of the house. Then I’ll walk you home.” His eyes sparkle. “I may even try to steal a kiss.”
I kind of hope he does.
TEN
MOLLY
Bess invites me to Sunday brunch. I should decline, but I haven’t seen her since the wedding dress debacle (don’t even get me started on what happened at Vera Wang), and despite her constant invitations to lunch, I’ve been flat-out at work planning a new fundraiser for the community center.
“Babe!” she calls, waving from across the restaurant. “Hurry! We have news!”
Bess is someone who speaks in exclamation marks. Everything she says sounds exciting, new, and urgent. Even asking for a tampon sounds like a life-or-death situation, as though her uterus might fall out if she doesn’t get one immediately.
I settle at the table and realize her definition of a “quiet brunch” includes the entire wedding party—all eighteen of us. Josh has saved me a seat. I squeeze in between him and Candy, shooting her a polite smile.
“Thanks,” I whisper, sliding into place. Josh’s thigh presses against mine.
“No problem, Pahe. But they already ordered. I got you waffles and bacon, and a coffee.” His hand brushes my thigh, sending a pleasant wave of heat straight to my core. I shiver,shooting him a secret smile. He grins back, his whiskey-colored eyes heating.
“You’re just in time for the announcement,” Candy says, interrupting our silent exchange.
I turn to her, noticing her strained expression. “Are you okay?”
“Peachy,” she says flatly, nodding toward Bess at the far end of the table. “But she’s about to drop a bombshell.”
“How do you know?” Josh asks, leaning across me.
“Call it intuition based on years of data collection.”
Bess and Pete stand, Bess tapping her mimosa glass with a spoon to grab everyone’s attention.
“Thank you all for coming today,” Pete begins, wrapping an arm around his fiancée. “We just wanted to thank you for agreeing to be in our wedding party. You’re our nearest and dearest, and we can’t wait to share our special day with you.”
“So far, so good,” Josh mutters from the side of his mouth. I hide a giggle behind my coffee cup.
“We’ve finally decided on the venue and date, and we wanted you all to be the first to know,” Bess announces, practically sparkling with excitement.
They exchange a look, then shout together, “May eighteenth!”
Everyone claps, and I quickly calculate if that date clashes with any events. Hopefully, by then, the new community center will be breaking ground, but otherwise, I think I’m in the clear.
“That’s good,” I whisper to Josh. “It’ll give us enough time to figure out what to get them for?—”
“Wait, this year?” Candy interrupts, her face paling.
“Of course not,” I reply, laughing. “That’s less than two months away. They’d be?—”
“Oh, not next year.Thisyear,” Bess calls, her voice carrying over the table.
The chatter dies, and we all stare at her and Pete in collective horror.
She shrugs, still beaming. “The venue had two options: May this year or December three years from now. And the dress just won’t work for a December wedding.”
“And we don’t want to wait that long,” Pete adds, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “I’ve kept her waiting long enough.”
