“Ben, there you are.” It’s Tike with a hand on my shoulder, gripping a little too tight.
I turn around to face him. “Just the man I needed to see. We need to finish this up so I can leave you and your beautiful wife alone.”
He waves a hand. “Oh, no need to rush. We have time to talk. Come with me, let’s grab a drink.”
As we walk to the bar I have a fucked-up thought—what if he wants . . . Fuck, if the word “ménage” leaves his lips, I’m so fucking gone. We spend fifteen minutes talking about bullshit and the whole time I’m waiting for him to say something out of line, but thank you, Jesus, he doesn’t.
“Tike, Sloan is waiting for you in the hall. It’s time to officially introduce you as husband and wife. I’d like you both to enter the room together.” We turn in unison to the sweet voice commanding our attention, then I notice that while I’m looking at her he looks at me.
“Of course, darling,” he responds to her or maybe to me. I don’t know because all he does is wink and walk off.
My eyes slide to S’belle. “Can I buy you a drink?”
She looks around the crowded bar area and then at the empty bar stool. She slides into it and looks at me quizzically, scrunching her nose. “Why would you ask me that? It’s an open bar.”
Fuck, she’s adorable. She really is. “Let me rephrase. Would you like to have a drink with me?”
She bites her lips. “First, I don’t drink while I’m working and neither should you.”
“Right, Red, I’ll keep that in mind. And second?”
Her lips form a sexy pout again that I can’t resist. They’re so pink and full and my mind keeps wandering to. . . . “You said first, and that’s usually followed by a second.” I hold up my glass and drink the entire thing down. “There, now I won’t be drinking on the job.”
Her mouth forms a straight line that I think will be turning upside down at any second but she surprises me when instead she smiles at me. I think I might be in—she’s warming up to me, I can tell.
“Bell,” a stern voice calls from behind me.
In a huff she says, “I have to go.”
I turn to see the pinstriped asshole glaring at her as she hops off the stool. The hint of citrus she leaves in her wake tickles my nose as she spins around and walks away. I breathe it in before pulling out my notebook. Time to finish the checklist. Two things left.
Information needed to write the Rodale Wedding Piece
How did Tike propose to Sloan
Where are they going on their honeymoon
Details of the ceremony
Comments from the parents
Wedding venue details
I push through the crowd of people waiting to congratulate the new husband and wife and search for the second to last item on my list—comments from the parents of both the bride and groom. They’re easy to spot as they’re sitting together at a table in the center of the room. When I approach, cautiously, not sure how receptive they’ll be to being interviewed, they exuberantly plead with me to join them. They offer me a drink, not that I need any more right now, and eagerly discuss the marriage of their children.