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I nodded. “I think that sounds like a good plan.”
After I touched up my makeup, we went back to the reception hand in hand. At my table, our friends had saved two seats next to one another. Mark not only made a show of pulling out my chair, but he also settled his hand on mine in plain sight of everyone.
I hadn’t realized how much I’d needed the validation in front of others until now. This public display was also a huge step for Mark showing he’d overcome his guilt to the point he could allow our friends to see him happy again.
Later, when he pulled me out onto the dance floor, I felt myself truly relaxing for the first time in weeks.
“You’re awfully quiet,” he whispered.
“Weird, huh?”
“I tend to think of it as a compliment. Like maybe the pinball machine is on pause?”
Huh. He was right. I only tended to talk constantly when I was anxious. At the moment, I was feeling peace. Peace in us, peace in me, peace be with you. Yep, a whole lot of clucking peace. “I find it funny you picked up on that before I did, but yes, the game is quiet right now with all the balls where they belong.”
He chuckled. “Good. You look beautiful tonight in this dress and your sexy shoes.”
The pinching of my feet was worth the small amount of pain they caused as they elevated my height. And the shoes weren’t the only thing I’d purchased.
“Wait until I show you what I have on underneath. Here’s a hint. The color is the same as this dress.” I couldn’t quite believe I’d spent that much money on a scrap of lacy underwear and matching bra, but now was glad I had as I was anxious for Mark to see it.
A low growl reverberated through him. “Would it be rude to drag you off this dance floor and back to our hotel room right now?”
“Our hotel room? Didn’t you get one, too?”
His face scrunched in confusion. “No. I assumed we were sharing, and since you made your reservation before I did, I didn’t bother to get one. Because why would we get two rooms?”
Why, indeed? “I think we still have some work to do on the communication front. I should’ve asked instead of assuming.”
“I think it’s safe to assume we’ll be sharing rooms from now on. So, was that a yes, I can drag you back to the room?”
I checked my watch. “In thirty more minutes. I’m in charge of sparklers for the happy couple’s send-off.” Brian had thought of little details that I was happy to help carry out.
“You know, for not being in this wedding, this is a lot of work.”
He was joking I could tell. “It’s what friends do. Now, back to you wanting to drag me off to the hotel room. Maybe you could tell me in detail what you have planned.”
Because I did love his filthy mouth.
“If I do that, then we won’t make it to say goodnight to the couple. Plus, we have some more things to talk about before we get to the good stuff.”
I felt like a kid who’d been told to do my math homework before I could go outside to play. Then again, since I already knew the ending to whatever he intended to tell me, I felt less anxious about what he had to say.
“Did you call your mom to check up on Tristan, by the way?”
Because the wedding was in Sasha’s hometown, we were five hours away from Charlotte. My mother was babysitting there overnight. “Yep. He’s down for the count after having watched the movie Cars. And nice try with the distraction.”
“It’s for both of us. Never tell Brian or Sasha this, but I can’t wait for this reception to be over.”
I grinned. “I won’t, especially since I feel the same. And I’m sure they’d understand.”
After staying until the end of the party and then, outside the club, sending off the happily married couple with a gauntlet of sparklers, Mark and I headed back to our hotel room a few miles away.
Once there, I slipped off my shoes before zipping down the side of my dress. Let’s hear it for side zippers as I didn’t need assistance.
“Wait. Leave the dress on. I do need to talk to you about this last week.”
Thanks to the wonders of champagne, I’d pretty much forgotten that he’d wanted to talk first. “Is everything okay?”
