‘Have you recovered from the speeches?’ I asked Joss as she came over to our table. The speeches were over and dinner was done. Adam had cracked us all up with his best man’s speech, keeping it funny and real and not sentimental. Clark was just as down-to-earth when he gave a speech on Joss’s dad’s behalf, but it was sentimental, and very kind and compassionate, and when Joss ducked her head to fight back tears and Braden squeezed the back of her neck in reassurance, I don’t think I was the only woman blotting her eyes.
Finally Braden stood up and gave his speech and, well, if every woman in the room didn’t end up a little bit in love with him, then my name wasn’t Olivia Holloway.
Joss looked radiant, and laid-back. ‘Almost,’ she said in answer to my question about the speeches. ‘I have a feeling that Braden’s speech is a get-out-of-jail-free card for at least the first year of our marriage.’
‘It was a good speech.’
‘Tell me about it.’ She smirked, her gaze turning introspective in a way that made me suspect she was thinking naughty thoughts about her husband.
‘So how does it feel?’ Jo asked, her eyes lighting up as she unconsciously rubbed her engagement ring. ‘To call someone husband?’
‘Weird,’ Joss answered abruptly.
Nate snorted and Cam laughed. ‘Is that it?’
She shrugged. ‘It’s the first word that comes to mind.’
I laughed too now. ‘Not “great,” not “wonderful,” not “right”? Just “weird.” ’
‘ “Weird” definitely wins out.’
‘Marriage to me is weird already. Good to know.’ Braden came to a stop behind his wife, a sardonic tilt to the corners of his mouth.
‘Well, I wouldn’t want normal,’ Joss replied.
I gave a sharp nod of my head. ‘Agreed. Normal’s boring.’
‘You would say that.’ Nate smiled at me. ‘You wouldn’t know normal if it bit you in the arse.’
‘Oh, like you would?’
‘I didn’t say I wasn’t weird. I’m just better at hiding it than you are.’
‘Why would I hide it?’ I asked the entire group, my expression deadpan. ‘I’m awesome.’
‘No one would dispute that.’ Nate’s eyes glittered with amusement.
Joss chuckled. ‘If you’ll excuse us, we have more rounds to make.’
We waved Joss and Braden off, and settled into random conversation.
‘Hey, kiddos.’ Dad approached, looking dapper in his dark gray suit. His arm was wrapped tightly around Dee’s curvy waist. She looked stunning in a flowing light blue maxi dress, her long blond hair falling in waves around her shoulders. ‘Dee and I are going up to dance. Care to join us?’
‘Perhaps in a bit,’ Jo answered, her eyes soft as she looked at the older couple. Her expression said she was happy my dad had found Dee, and as I took in how relaxed he was, I knew for sure I was too.
‘Have fun,’ I said, and grinned at them.
Dee smiled down at me. ‘You look beautiful, Olivia.’ Her eyes swept the table. ‘You all do.’
‘Well, so do you,’ I replied, and immediately beamed happily under my dad’s approving smile.
I watched them walk onto the dance floor, feeling something shift inside me.
Not long after, Cole decided to reduce his boredom by seeking Hannah and Dec’s company, and Jo and Cam wandered off to find Ellie and Adam.
‘Want another drink?’ Nate gestured to my empty champagne glass.
‘Yes. Beer.’
‘You got it.’
I watched him walk through the wedding reception crowd, so at ease with himself. He’d shrugged off his jacket, leaving him in his shirt and waistcoat. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up and he’d loosened his tie. I could see most women following him with their eyes, so it wasn’t a surprise when a gorgeous young woman in a light blue, short, fitted dress pressed into his side at the bar and introduced herself.
I had to wait twenty minutes for my beer.
If I’d had Nate’s confidence I wouldn’t have had to wait twenty minutes for a beer. I could have just strolled up to a nice-looking guy, started flirting, and he’d have bought me one. If I could believe in myself like I knew I should, I could get up off my butt and do just that.
In fact, I was going to.
I searched the room for nice-looking men and pretended I couldn’t find any.
Slumping back against my seat, I mentally kicked myself in the shin, once again frustrated with myself.
After Nate was done flirting his ass off, he came back to the table and shuffled his seat closer to mine as he handed me my beer.
‘She was hot,’ I observed.
The left side of Nate’s mouth curled up, his dimple flashing me. ‘Sorry I took so long.’
‘Did you get her number at least? Or just a promise to hook up at the end of the night?’
His look said What do you think?
We sat in companionable silence for a moment, looking around the room at all the guests. I barely knew any of them.
‘What would you prefer?’ Nate suddenly turned to me conversationally. ‘Being perpetually stuck at someone else’s wedding reception or at the wake of someone you don’t know that well?’
I mused over this. ‘Do I know the person whose wedding it is well?’
‘No.’
‘Are both reception and wake inside or out?’
Nate took a swig of beer. ‘Is this a weather issue?’
‘Yes.’