I put my hand over hers. “According to my aunt’s stories, myparents got married in the same exact way and they were incredibly happy.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely.”
She glanced at Amir, her gaze softening as she murmured, “He wasn’t exactly who I envisioned as my forever.”
“Maybe that’s exactly the reason he’s your forever,” I said, my eyes on Kian while my thoughts drifted to Jonathan and the younger me who was convinced there’d be nobody else. Even as years passed and life moved on, I still thought that. It was probably why when life threw him on my path again, I caved so easily. Jonathan and I were never meant to be.
“And you?”
I blinked, turning my attention back to Dina to find her looking at me. “Hmm? What do you mean?”
“Do you know your forever man?”
I let out an uncomfortable laugh. “I’m going more for… compatibility.”
Dua Lipa blasted through the speakers, and the crowd let out an approving cheer.
Dina tugged on my hand as she shot to her feet. “Let’s go dance.”
Kian and Amir looked at us, amused.
“Make sure my bride is unharmed, Sophie,” Amir warned, though there was no heat behind it.
Kian chuckled. “I think it’s the other way around, and it should be me warning Dina.”
We rolled our eyes, grinning wildly, and made our way to the dance floor. Amir’s young cousins—he had so many of them—yelled at each other in Albanian and danced like it was a competitive sport.
Dina and I, on the other hand, moved with fearless confidence, both of us laughing as we watched their moves.
“They think they’re so cool,” Dina shouted over the music.
“They’ll learn one day,” I yelled back, laughing.
Or maybe we would, because in the next breath, they spun us around and we were copying their moves. Dina seemed to know thesteps while every so often, I messed up and the cousins would clap hands and shout things I didn’t understand.
My hair was everywhere, my face hurt from smiling, and I didn’t care in the slightest. It was ridiculous. Loud. And perfect.
I didn’t know how long we’d been dancing when the music stopped.
A collective groan rose up, but before anyone could complain, the lights dimmed and a slower song slid in, low and smooth. At first, I thought it was an Albanian song, but then the lyrics came on.
It was Austin Giorgio’s “Angel Like You,” and a big smile spread over my lips.
“Let’s dance,” Amir’s cousin said, smiling eagerly. There was only one man I wanted to dance to this song with, but I didn’t want to be rude and reject him. He extended his hand and I hesitantly accepted just as another hand cut in sharply.
“Don’t. Touch. Her.”
I turned to find Kian’s eyes focused on me. Forgetting about the cousin, I stood in front of him. The energy shifted and my chest was glowing with emotions. Happiness. Appreciation. And something else.
He held out this hand. “How about a dance?”
“How did you… Nobody else will like the song.” But I was already taking it, stepping closer to him.
“I cleared it with the groom. We get this one song.” His other palm settled around my waist, pulling me even closer. “Although, fair warning, I won’t be having you melt for the singer, only for me.”
Surprised he remembered that off-handed comment, I rested my head against his chest and smiled, pleased. He didn’t know how much that little gesture meant to me. Jonathan had been an amazing man, but he’d been so wrapped up in the fallout with Jacqueline and it left him little time for me—or even his son.
