Smirking, I say, “I wore it because you wore it.”
“That’s hotter than you realize it is.” She goes back to rummaging in her bag. “Did you happen to grab my charger?”
I take a power bank from my laptop case and hand it to her. “It’s plugged in next to the bed, but you can use this and not worry about an outlet.”
She wraps her arms around my neck. “Thanks, I forgot mine.”
My hands drop to grip her hips and I press my mouth to hers. I know we don’t have time for much, but I can’t help but deepen the kiss when Amelia moans. A knock at the door makes her jump and pull back slightly.
“Fucking scared the shit out of me,” she mumbles, holding her hand to her chest.
With a chuckle, I open the door to find Lizzie on the other side.
“You two ready for lunch?” she asks.
Amelia comes up behind me. “When are we not ready for lunch?”
Lizzie smiles at her. “Well, generally speaking, we do usually need to let breakfast settle for at least twenty minutes.”
“Fair point. Let’s go eat. The next few hours are going to be busy.”
I walk slightly behind them on the way to the elevator, but when we get to the doors, Lizzie stops and turns to me.
“You don’t have to pretend like you aren’t together, you know.”
“I guess I just figured we’d wait until after the ceremony, kiddo. Didn’t want to take attention off you.”
“That’s sweet, and if you aren’t ready to go public, that’s fine. I mean, obviously, I know, and Minnie’s parents know. And Haven knows. So other than Grandma and Grandpa, I don’t think anyone else really matters, right? Although Mom literally got claws today, so I’m a little worried about her scratching Minnie’s eyes out.”
My brow pinches with anger.
“What’s with the face, Dad?”
“Your mother is definitely a concern. She ambushed me in the elevator and we had…words. I’m surprised she didn’t hunt you down to try and get you to commiserate with her about my tattoo.”
“She saw it?” Amelia asks. At the same time, Lizzie exclaims, “You got a tattoo?”
Looking at Amelia, I tell her, “Only the first bit, she doesn’t know exactly what it says. I was coming back from the gym and sauna, and honestly didn’t even think about it, my shirt was around my shoulders instead of on.” I then turn to Lizzie. “Yes, I got a tattoo a couple of weeks ago.”
“Show me, show me, show me!” Lizzie hops up and down. I roll my eyes and pull up my shirt. “Holy shit, I’d recognize that scribble anywhere! It’s almost as bad as when she signs ‘Minnie’. Just a bunch of bumps and no dots to be found anywhere. If I had seen that when you first got here, I would have figured this whole thing out so much sooner!”
“Ididn’t even know about it until last night.” Amelia putsher hands on her hips and glares at me. “And maybe keep your shirt on around exes who aren’t over you, huh?”
“Jeez, Dad. You’ve been trying to get Minnie to talk to you for a week, and you didn’t think to lead with ‘I got your name tattooed over my heart in your own handwriting?’ I thought you were smart!”
“I wanted her to actually want to talk to me. But I was going to use it as a last resort if nothing else worked,” I admit.
“Alright, you two can stand around and chit-chat, but I’m going to go find some food. Helping the other girls bring all their stuff down to the dressing room, half of which they won’t need, made me hungry.” Amelia presses the button for the elevator.
The dining room is full of people. More and more guests have been arriving all day. Gloria and Matt are sitting with my parents, all four of them laughing. Amelia’s family is split between two tables, with Lizzie’s brothers at one and Dax at the other. Raelynn and Henry are holding hands across the walkway between their tables.
Calvin and his buddies are talking loudly along one side of the room, while Stephanie and Rachel are at another table near them, trying to catch their attention without being too obvious about it while talking with Tiffany.
“Damn. It’s high school up in here,” Lizzie observes. “It’s so fucking cliquey. But look at Haven and Dax both pretending like they aren’t looking at each other.”
“They’re kind of adorable. Are we joining a table or finding our own?” Amelia asks.
“Joining.” Lizzie starts toward my parents. I place my hand on Amelia’s lower back as we follow. My mom’s smile is big and bright when we get to the table, and I wonder if she’s been talking to Amelia’s mother.
