“Really?” he asked, looking hopeful.
I shrugged. “Sure. I can make you promises all night long, just like I can tell you all my deepest thoughts. Because we’ll never see each other again after this, right?”
He blinked at me a couple of times, a flicker of disappointment crossing his features. “I guess I thought this was going better than it is?”
I stepped around the table and took his hand. “This is going great. But you already said you live in Phoenix.”
“Right.” He turned to face me, stepping close enough that I could feel his breath on my face. “Since we’re on the subject of parents who screwed us up, my father makes Boston one of the last places I want to be most days. I fly back to Phoenix tomorrow morning.”
“Then let’s keep enjoying tonight. No fake promises about tomorrow.”
He nodded softly. “But you’ve already made the one, so you have to stick to it. Tomorrow, you quit that job. Find someone you want to work for who will let you bartend without making you uncomfortable.”
“Deal,” I said, offering my hand in a handshake.
He shook it and laced our fingers together as he steered us to the dining room. We took our seats at a table in the back of the ballroom and pulled our chairs close together against the wall. We talked quietly as others settled in at the table until a petite redhead came over and looked curiously at the lack of seats.
“I think we’re missing a chair,” she said.
Kayden stood up. “Let me get one for you.” I smiled into my water glass as he disappeared and returned a moment later with a chair. The people on the other side of the table spread apart to make room and he set it down for her.
“Thanks,” she smiled at him. He seemed oblivious to the glimmer in her eye.This guy has no idea how hot he is, does he?
He picked up the champagne glass in front of his plate and offered it to her. “Here, I wasn’t going to drink mine anyway.”
She smiled at him again as she took the glass. When he settled back in his seat, I rested my head on his shoulder and whispered in his ear. “You are very smooth, Kayden. We might just get away with this.”
We talked quietly together, insulated from the people at the table with us who all seemed to be engaged in the obligatory small talk. Kayden and I skipped right over the small talk. He told me about his job as an architect, and his plan to start his own firm in a few years. He wanted a few more years of learning under his belt before he did that and I toldhim that I suspected he was already perfectly capable. He blushed and I fought the urge to kiss him.
He listened patiently as I talked about my miserable dating life and how frustrating it was to watch my friends from college—orhisfriends in tonight’s case—start their lives together when I couldn’t even find someone who I wanted to spend more than a few hours with most of the time.
Eventually, the staff cleared away our plates and people filled the dance floor as everyone around us became more and more liquored up. I’d drank my champagne for the toast and opted to stick with water the rest of the night. Kayden may have said he was fine with me drinking, but I wanted to remember this night at least half as well as he would with his fancy memory.
I looked at all the people dancing and smiled at him. “That’s my favorite part of weddings.”
He raised an eyebrow. “People looking ridiculous on the dance floor?”
I chuckled. “Yeah. I love the way everyone at weddings just decides to dance like no one is watching. If it turns out your Aunt Hilda dances like a total buffoon, it doesn’t matter. It’s like a universal truth that what happens at the wedding stays at the wedding.”
“Are you sure that isn’t just Vegas weddings?”
“Pretty sure, yeah,” I said.
He held his hand out to me and scooched his chair back. “Olivia, will you dance with me like no one’s watching and promise never to speak of my lack of dancing skills again?”
“Oh, wow. I did not peg you for a dance-at-the-wedding type, Kayden.” I slid my hand in his and we stood up together.
“I’m not. Can’t you tell by the sweaty palm?”
I pulled him against my chest, feeling bold. “Just keep your eyes on me and you’ll forget anyone else is even out there.”
He lowered his mouth to my ear. “I haven’t been able to take my eyes off you all night, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”
A twinge of arousal shot down my spine at his proximity. I turned around and slowly walked us to the dance floor just as a slow song started playing.
I spun around to face him, and he pulled me into his arms with ease. For someone who was nervous about dancing in a crowded room, he sure didn’t feel it as his arms settled around my waist. I clasped my hands together behind his neck and swayed to the music as he slowly led us in a circle.
“I’m glad you came to the wrong wedding, Olivia. This is not at all how I expected this evening to go.”
