“He passed. He can be your friend.”
The group burst into laughter.
Pierce smiled and placed a hand over his heart. “I appreciate the approval.”
Sienna pointed at Pierce. “But if you make Aunt Charley sad, I won’t like you.”
Pierce laughed. “I promise you that I only want to make your Aunt Charley happy.”
Sienna leaned back toward Charley and whispered loudly, “He’s tall. He looks strong.”
Charley smirked. “I noticed.”
Charley could tell that Pierce was trying not to laugh.
Bailey shook her head. “Sienna…”
Sienna’s head snapped toward her mom. “What?” she asked, acting all innocent.
Charley pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh. She lowered Sienna back to the ground, who then launched herself into her dad’s arms and started talking about a new rabbit that she wanted. Charley made a mental note to Bailey about that later.
“Well, it looks like it is time,” Alex announced.
Charley scanned the growing crowd as they settled in. She closed her eyes for a quick second, took a deep breath, then exhaled. When she opened her eyes, she met Pierce’s brown eyes staring down at her.
“You got this,” he told her, giving her that dazzling smile.
She smiled back at him. “Thank you.”
Following Alex’s lead, she lifted her chin, squared her shoulders, and turned toward the stage. She had people behind her, beside her, and one very tall “special friend” steady at her back as they stepped forward to kick off the ceremony.
???
Two hours later, Charley stood just outside the foundation’s entrance, watching as the crowd from the celebration mingled across the lawn.
Behind her, the glass doors were like a revolving door, with people stepping inside to tour the building, and some even making appointments.
She couldn’t help but smile. The day had been nearly perfect. Great weather, a great turnout from the community, and hell, she had delivered her speech without reenacting the infamous kindergarten show-and-tell incident that Pierce was never going to forget about. She should never have opened her mouth about that. She had even overheard him asking Irish if he knew what a Zhu Zhu Hamster was.
She shook her head, her smile growing wider. But the best part was getting to share it all with her friends and family. And she couldn’t wait to celebrate with them right after this event was over. They had all planned to meet up at a restaurant that the guys wanted to go to. Apparently, it was “the” place to hang out at when they were all going through BUD/s back in the day. It didn’t matter to her as long as she got time to spend with them.
Her eyes scanned the crowd until they landed on the person she was searching for. Pierce stood near the food tent, talking with Ray. Whatever they were discussing seemed to be pretty important, judging from the intense expression on Pierce’s face.
As if sensing her looking at him, he turned his head in her direction. When his gaze met hers, and his mouth curved into that slow, knowing smile, it made her stomach do that ridiculous little flip.
“Charley?” A voice called out from beside her.
Charley blinked, pulling herself back into the moment, and when she turned, she saw her aunt and uncle standing there with proud smiles on their faces.
“Oh, honey, this was just wonderful,” Aunt Bea said, pulling Charley into a big hug. “Everything was beautiful, and you were amazing up there. We’re so proud of you.”
Uncle Glen nodded beside her. “Your aunt’s right. You did really well, kiddo. This place is going to mean a lot to a whole lot of people.”
Charley smiled as her aunt released her. She was trying to keep her emotions in check. “Thank you so much for being here. I’m so glad I got to share this with you.”
“We wouldn’t miss it for the world,” her uncle said, giving her a side hug.
The three of them continued chatting for a little while longer. Charley had promised her aunt that, now that her nights were free again, she would go over to their place for dinner.
