"Ah," Tyler says. "That explains the confidence."
"Confidence?" Annabelle says. "You should see us at brunch."
We all laugh.
The next forty-five minutes blur together in pieces.
More dancing.
More drinks.
Lila and Jake attempting a ridiculous coordinated move that ends with both of them laughing too hard to stand straight.
Tyler stays mostly near me. Not pushy. Just… attentive.
"So Natalie," he says at one point during a break in the music. "You always this fun or is this a special occasion?"
"Special occasion," Mia says from behind me. "She escaped her responsible life for the night."
"That sounds mysterious," Tyler says.
"It’s really not," I say.
"You’re holding out," he says.
"She does that," Annabelle says.
Another song starts and the whole group heads back onto the floor again.
Suddenly a hand lands on my waist.
Warm. Solid. Familiar.
"Evening," Gabriel says behind me, calm and smooth. "Mind if I steal my wife for a minute?"
The guy turns.
Freezes.
Gabriel Shelly is standing there looking calm in the way confident men look calm when they know they already own the room.
The guy raises both hands.
"All yours," he says.
Dex appears beside him with Gregory and Bobby like they just teleported.
"Yep," Dex says cheerfully. "That’s the husband."
The guy nods once and disappears into the crowd at record speed.
I turn slowly toward Gabriel.
"What are you doing here?"
"Dex said you were here," he says.
"You weren’t invited," I say.
