Chapter 1♥Introverts Unite
Short girls do not catch bridal bouquets. Well, not without a lot of effort, and Emma was already hindered by her stiff, lavender bridesmaid dress and her reluctance to participate at all. However, she dutifully stood with the group of giggling single women and waited. The use of the word ‘single’ being loosely applied here. Some of these girls hadn’t left middle school.
This was the worst part of a wedding reception. Okay, this, and when the bride and groom shoved cake into each other’s faces like cage fighters. Thankfully, Taylor and West were way too practical for that.
“Ready, girls?” Taylor shouted as she stood with her back to them.
So ready. Emma glanced around and caught George Knightley laughing at her. She shook her head at him and mouthed ‘you’re next.’ The garter toss would have him up here looking like an idiot in a minute. Emma turned back to the gaggle of girls just in time to see the bouquet sail into the hands of one of Taylor’s tall cousins. She’d knocked the girls in front of her out of the way to get to it. Classy.
Emma passed George on her way to her seat and gave him a friendly nudge. “Go represent, old man.”
He often liked to point out how much older and wiser he was, so it was Emma’s duty to remind him he was about to turn thirty. Not that it mattered. The guy got better looking with every passing year. He had that golden-haired, golden-tanned, beach-boy look that turned many a girl’s head.
She hurried to Granddad, hoping to distract him from the striptease music for the garter toss blaring out of the speakers. It wasn’t so much that Granddad was a prude, but he hadn’t yet accepted that his Nurse Taylor was leaving him to go make a life with someone else.
“How is the chocolate pie?” Emma asked, maneuvering her chair to block the dance floor.
Granddad poked at his slice. “Good. I think I’ll just have one more bite or it will give me indigestion.”
Emma kept him talking, only glancing back once or twice to catch George’s red face during the garter toss. He had his hands in his pockets, glancing around as if he’d somehow stumbled on the scene by mistake. Not a lot flustered the guy, so it was fun to see.
As soon as the dancing started up, Emma coaxed Granddad out to the ballroom floor for a spin. “The Way You Look Tonight” was a song just his speed. He shuffled back and forth in his carefully shined shoes, his hand warm and papery against hers.
“The wedding turned out nice. Don’t you think?” she asked.
Granddad nodded, humming along to Frank Sinatra. He was so short she could look over his head and see her sister and brother-in-law dancing, her sister’s pregnant belly adorably sandwiched between them. They waved, and she waved back.
Frank Sinatra finished his crooning, and a Beatles song came on next. Granddad continued their dance, but he was beginning to slow. He’d been a good sport. An all-day wedding took a lot out of a person, especially someone about to turn ninety.
“Had about all the fun you can stand?” Emma asked.
“I’m afraid if it gets any darker out, you won’t be able to see the roads to drive home.”
Emma led them to a less crowded spot on the dance floor where they could hear each other better.
“It’s all right, Granddad. That’s what I have headlights for. Do you remember all the safety features we looked at when we picked out the car?”
“I know, and that’s good, but there could be drunk drivers or hijackers. At this time of night, all sorts of delinquents come out looking for trouble.”
Emma turned her wrist enough to see the hands on her silver watch. “Nope. It’s just past eight-thirty. I think the murderers wait until at least ten.”
He missed her sarcasm. “Murderers! I didn’t even consider them.”
“If you’re ready to go, Granddad, we’ll at least have to find Taylor and West and give our congratulations.”
“Oh, yes. And please check on the card I put on the gift table. I’m so afraid it will get lost surrounded by all those big boxes.”
“Of course. I’ll make sure it’s still there.”
The song ended, and Emma took Granddad’s arm, leading him to their table and putting his ice water glass in front of him. “Let me see if I can bring Taylor to you. I’m sure she’ll want to say goodbye before they leave for Jamaica.”
“So far away.”
“It’s only a honeymoon. We’ll see her as much as we ever did when they get back.” Emma’s heart gave a painful squeeze, wishing she believed the words herself. Taylor and West had bought a house two hours away, near his new job.
The beautiful blushing bride was chatting with two of her aunts, but she came right over when Emma explained that Granddad was ready to leave. Taylor and Granddad had a special bond, and not just because she’d been his live-in nurse all these years. Even after he recovered from his stroke, Taylor stayed on. Granddad liked her company. She made his dinner just the way he liked it. She ironed and starched his shirts to perfection. Who would do that now? Certainly not Emma. It was easier to think those kinds of tasks were beneath her than admit she’d be terrible at them. It was too stressful to think about at the moment.
Taylor linked arms with Emma as they slowly made their way through the packed ballroom, often having to stop for people wanting to congratulate the bride or gush about her gorgeous A-line lace gown.
