“Or lack thereof.”
Oh, God. Could he tell by looking? He must have felt her tense because he chuckled. “Calm down. I only know because I saw your clothes laid out. Nobody else knows.”
Still swaying, he ran his hand from her shoulder blades to her waist and back up again and she relaxed against him.
“I like knowing things about you nobody else does. The color of your underwear, the location of that freckle on your spine, the way you bite the tip of your tongue when you think hard.”
“I do not.”
“You do.”
She laid her head against his shoulder. “Okay, maybe I do.”
“The way you smell like fresh cut flowers and oil paint.”
She pulled back to look at him. “Michael. Are you trying to be romantic?”
“Is it working?”
“Yes.”
“Then, yes.”
She laughed and relaxed against him again, enjoying the feel of his arms and the smell of starch and cologne. Across the dance floor, Mark and Sue swayed in each other’s arms, and beyond them, Jason and Kelli sat at the bar in what appeared to be an unhappy discussion.
How could she ever have mourned the loss of that relationship? It was hard to tell how unhealthy someone was for you from the inside, she decided. The trick was that once the lesson was learned, to never repeat it. Jason had brought her down for a year, and she’d allowed it. Never again would she let a man make her feel like she was unworthy or that she was an embarrassment.
The song ended and a high-energy pop song started.
“Not my thing,” Michael murmured in her ear.
“Me neither.” She much preferred being wrapped in his arms with his fingers skimming over her spine. She’d actually really like to be doing that with a lot less clothes on, but it was still too early to leave.
When they reached the bar, Kelli joined them. She put on a good face, but Mia knew she was upset. “Would you like a drink, Kelli?” Michael offered.
“No, thanks. Jason has had enough for both of us.”
Mia gave what she hoped was a sympathetic look.
“He can be a real jerk, you know?” Kelli tucked her hair behind her ear like she did when she was uncomfortable. “Of course you know, Mia. You dumped him, and rightfully so. You’re nothing like he described, by the way.”
The room seemed to get too loud and small all of a sudden. “Wait.” Mia shook her head and replayed Kelli’s words. “He told you I dumped him?”
“Yeah. And how you’d gotten him fired and cleaned out his bank accounts before you took off to live in some other man’s home.”
Mouth open, she stared at Michael, who, as expected, appeared completely collected.
“He was fired for lying on his resume,” Mia said. “He was dead broke because he spent faster than he earned, and I moved on to my next housesitting job, not into another man’s home. And he dumped me, not the other way around. He dumped me the same day he… started dating you.”
“I’ve changed my mind, Michael,” Kelli said. “I’ll take you up on that drink. A chardonnay would be great.”
While Michael ordered, Kelli continued. “He was totally freaked out when we met for the first time in a coffee shop. Said he didn’t know what he would do now that you’d left him with nothing. I felt really sorry for him so I had my dad get him a job on the exchange floor.”
“Did he know who your dad was when you met?”
“No, I don’t think so…” She took the glass of wine from Michael, and her jaw snapped shut and she took a deep breath through her nose. “Oh, my God. Yes.”
Michael leaned against the bar, face placid, but his eyes glued on Jason.
Kelli took a deep sip of wine, then shook her head. “He must have guessed because I’d stopped off straight from work with my Keller, Hills, and McAndrews tag still around my neck. He knew I was in trading somehow.” Her attention flew to Jason, who was sitting on a stool alone. “That opportunistic asshole.”
“No wonder he tried to talk me out of being in the wedding.”
“He did?” Sue’s voice directly behind her made Mia jump in surprise.
“He did,” Michael answered. “I was there. He tried very hard to dissuade her. None of it made sense until now. He didn’t want Kelli to find out he was using her for a job.”
“He told me you had decided not to come, Mia, and I was so hurt. I thought you would at least call me if you had changed your mind.”
Mark, who had been behind Sue the whole time, shook his head. “No. He was using Mia’s reputation for being unreliable to cover his running her off. He was burning bridges for her. I should have known.”
“Well, he’s not doing it again. Not to me, anyway,” Sue said. “I know he’s been your friend a long time, honey, but…”
“Nah. He’s changed since college, and he crossed the line this time.” Mark shrugged. “I can only make excuses for him so many times. I’ll handle it.”