“How are you?”
“I’m great. Meg and Will are happy, that’s all that matters.” I grin up at him as he takes my hand in his, kisses my knuckles, and walks with me into the tent.
He and I hang back, taking in the scene before us. The tables have been set up for Saturday, and five of the round tables have been covered and dressed prettily for tonight’s dinner. The flowers Meg chose as her wedding flowers, tiger lilies, roses and calla lilies, serve as centerpieces. The lights hanging above are pretty and cast a glow about the room.
The parents are seated at one table together, laughing and talking, some holding babies. Steven has his arm wrapped loosely around his wife’s shoulders, and he’s watching her with loving eyes as she tells the table at large a story.
The others are scattered about the other tables. Meg and Will invited their entire family, including Meredith’s best friend Jax and his fiancé, Logan.
It’s a smaller party, but full of love and fun.
Will is already seated with a heaping plate in front of him, eating and joking with his brother Caleb at the next table.
“Dude, you totally slipped Bryn the tongue when you got married!” he says.
“Hell yes I did, and I’d do it again.”
“You’re all disgusting,” Jules grumbles, but smiles at the server who delivers her a drink, almost making him stumble over himself. “Oh, thank you. You’re my newest friend.”
“Don’t flirt with the waiter, baby,” Nate says with a chuckle. “You’ll make him trip.”
“He’s fine,” she says and waves Nate off. “Alecia! Come sit by me.”
“Oh, I have to work.”
“No.” Meg shakes her head and points to the empty chair next to Jules. “You worked already. It’s beautiful. Now I want you to be my guest.”
I frown, but Emily speaks into my earpiece, “I got this, boss. Easy peasy. Enjoy yourself.”
“Excellent idea,” Dom agrees, and plants his hand on the small of my back, guiding me to the table with Jules, Nate, Luke, and Natalie. He pulls the chair out for me, and when I sit, he leans in and whispers in my ear, “I’ll go get you something to eat.”
I frown up at him, but he’s already marching away toward the buffet.
“This is weird,” I announce, and gaze around the table. “I’m supposed to be working.”
“You’re our friend,” Natalie says with a smile and kisses her infant son’s cheek. “We want you to celebrate with us. You’ll be busy enough at the wedding.”
I nod and gaze around the room, taking in the way Matt’s hand rests on his girlfriend, Nic’s neck. It’s a gentle touch, yet almost…commanding. The beautiful woman is smiling at Stacy, Isaac’s wife, as Stacy and Brynna discuss which of Nic’s cupcakes they enjoy the most. Isaac, Caleb, and Matt are watching their girls with contented smiles.
It sounds like the tiramisu is winning the cupcake contest.
“I’ll take one of those lemon drops martinis, Linus,” I say to my young server, who is still blushing from Jules’ attention.
“Daddy!” Olivia calls from Gail’s arms across the room, holding her hands out and grinning at Luke. “Kiss you, Daddy!”
“I think that means she wants you,” Nat says, as Luke stands and crosses to his daughter, lifting her easily into his arms and burying his face in her neck, blowing raspberries.
Seriously, that might make my ovaries explode.
That might make any woman’s ovaries explode.
Luke Williams, former movie star, is maybe the hottest thing on this planet.
Not that I’ll ever admit that out loud.
“We need to discuss Stella’s first birthday party,” Jules says to me.
“She’s not even six months old,” Nate says, as he brushes his hand down his wife’s hair. “Let her be little, Julianne.”
“She’ll need a great party,” Jules insists, but leans into her man’s touch.
“She’ll have one,” I assure her. “But he’s right. Let her be little for a while.” I gaze at the pretty baby with the pink bow on her head, her little pink dress and big blue eyes staring back at me.
“Would you like to hold her?” Nate asks, as Luke returns with Livie.
“Oh, I don’t think—”
“Here.” Jules passes the baby to me, and suddenly I’m sitting here, at this party that I planned, that I’m supposed to be working at, with a gorgeous baby in my arms and my man setting a heaping plate of food before me.
“Who do you have here?” Dominic asks as he sits next to me. He kisses Stella on the cheek, then pays the same attention to me. “Hello, bella,” he croons to the baby, “il mio dolce bambino.”
“I love it when you call her your sweet baby,” Jules says with a smile. “It sounds pretty.”
“She’s pretty,” I murmur and instinctively cradle Stella against my chest, kiss her head and bury my nose in her wispy blonde curls, inhaling her baby smell. “Babies always smell so good.”
“Not always,” Jules says with a laugh.
“Well, I don’t have to change their diapers,” I reply with a smile.
“You look good with her,” Natalie says, and sips her drink.
“Let me take her, tesoro, so you can eat,” Dom says, and smoothly takes the baby from my arms.
“What did that mean?” Nat asks.
“What did what mean?” Dominic asks and smiles at Stella. “Goodness, you’re getting big, bella.”
“You called Alecia tesoro,” Jules says. “We’ve never heard that one. You always call us bella or cara.”
Dom rubs his nose against Stella’s and then laughs with the baby, barely paying attention to his sisters. “Tesoro means my treasure,” he says, and glances over at me with warm eyes. “I’m calling her my treasure.”
I feel my eyes go round as I swallow the bite of food I’d just taken and gape at him.
His treasure?
His treasure.
Well, if that doesn’t spark butterflies, I don’t know what does.
And then it occurs to me, he’s been calling me his treasure since the first time we made love.