“Get over here.”
“We’ve been looking for you!”
A laugh slipped out of me before I could stop it, easier than anything I had managed all day.
Beside me, Dane bumped his shoulder lightly against mine. “Go on. I’ll be right here.”
I looked toward them, then at the lawn, the house, the people calling my name from across it. For the first time since arriving, I wasn’t in any hurry to leave.
By the time we reached the restaurant, I could already feel it.
That slow drain at the base of my skull from too many conversations stacked too closely together, too many familiar faces in one afternoon, too many versions of myself I hadn’t had to be in a long time.
The rehearsal dinner was held at a waterfront restaurant. From where we stood outside, I could already see the warm spill of light through the glass doors and the movement of people inside.
I stopped just short of the entrance. Dane stood beside me, hands loose at his sides, waiting.
After a beat, he glanced at me. “You don’t have to go in.”
“I know,” I said automatically, then hesitated, a faint frown pulling at me. “It’s not that I don’t want to. It’s just… I don’t know if it’s rude not to. Gabby made it sound like I should, but then she didn’t really… I’m not sure if I was actually meant to be here or just invited on a whim.”
Dane’s mouth twitched. “That was a very long sentence for someone who’s tired.”
I let out a breath that almost turned into a laugh. “Yeah, well. You’re doing the good boyfriend thing, so I have to keep up.”
“I’m doing great then.” He looked like he was enjoying himself a little too much for someone just standing there.
Then I saw Gabby crossing the parking lot. Her expression shifted as she got closer, like she could already read the situation from a distance.
“Seth,” she called as she reached us. “Are you not coming in?”
Nothing came out when I opened my mouth. Dane answered first.
“Seth’s a bit exhausted,” he said, voice a little too controlled. “Bit of travel fatigue. We were just debating whether he should rest.”
His acting was terrible. But Gabby didn’t call him out.
“Sweetheart,” she said gently, “you don’t have to come if you’re tired. Really.”
“I, um, might sit this one out,” I admitted.
“That’s fine,” she said immediately. “Eat something later. Or don’t. Just rest.”
Then, just before she turned away, she gave my arm a warm squeeze. “I’m glad you came today.”
I stood there for a moment, watching her go. Only when the door closed did I realize I’d been holding my breath.
Dane shifted beside me, already angling toward the path behind the restaurant. “Do you want to walk back to the hotel?”
I exhaled, the tension loosening. “Yeah… a walk sounds good.”
The path led toward the beach, and the noise of the reception faded almost immediately, replaced by the softer sound of water and wind.
For a while, neither of us spoke.
Then Dane said, “Can I ask you something?”
I nodded. We walked a little further before he continued.
