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She smiled, looking down at her feet in that demure way she had whenever she got a little embarrassed.
I handed it over, and she took it into the master bathroom to get changed. While I waited, I put on a nice blue velvet suit so that I would match her, especially in case no one else got the memo and we were the only ones dressed to the nines.
Then Bernadette emerged and my breath was absolutely stolen.
She looked like a heavenly vision in the dress, definitely like she had just stepped out of a fairy tale where she was the princess, or at least where she had a fairy godmother to enchant dresses to make her look even more stunning than she already was.
“We should head down,” I said. “Our guests will be arriving soon.”
She looked at me with a smile and took the arm that I offered her. Kissing my cheek, she leaned over to whisper in my ear. “Thank you for this. I really appreciate all of it. You make me so happy.”
“Of course. I really should be saying that to you. Being able to be with you for these past few days, and then having you stay here has made my world so much brighter.”
The two of us headed downstairs to where everything was set up and waited for guests to arrive. Within about fifteen minutes we had greeted most of the guests that were coming, and the party was in full swing.
I knew that Bernadette definitely would not have been able to keep track of all of the names and the people so I decided that I should introduce her to a few of my closest friends. But before I could, Bernadette grabbed my arm.
“I think I need to go use the restroom,” she said. “I’ll find you after I’m done.”
“Okay, I’ll be talking with some friends. I know they look forward to meeting you,” I said, kissing her on the forehead. She smiled up at me and then left.
With a sigh, I headed over to where a few of my friends were talking next to one of the appetizer dishes, holding a few drinks.
There was Samuel, Vanessa, Howard, and Rachel. The four of them had been my closest friends in college and I was pretty sure that they would all hit it off really well with Bernadette.
“Hey guys,” I said, grabbing a plate with some vegetables and dip, crunching down into a carrot. “What’s been going on with you?”
“With us? What’s been going on with you, inviting us to this party of all of a sudden. Has something gotten into you? And where’s your little lady friend?” Vanessa asked. She had always been the bluntest of the group and could tend to be more confrontational. I think it came a lot from always protecting Rachel, who was shyer and tended to get picked on by the teachers.
The two of them had been best friends before they met the rest of us, and they stuck together like no one else did. They fit right in though, and always made us welcome in their little world. I had suspected for a while that they might be interested in each other romantically, but so far they hadn’t announced anything like that and I wasn’t about to pry.
Samuel, meanwhile, was the smartest of the group. He was a very friendly guy too, with a good sense of humor and a certain aura about himself that made him attractive to a wide variety of people.
Howard tended to be a little more awkward, but he had been the only one of his to find real love. His wife, Ana, was here but was chatting with some of her other friends not too far off. He was probably the nicest of all of us, and I had a feeling that he and Ana would make Bernadette feel very welcome.
“What’s going on with me?” I scratched the back of my head. “I do have to say it has been an awful lot, I can’t say I even know where to start.”
“You know we’re always down to listen,” Rachel said with an encouraging smile. “We don’t judge, you know that.”
I laughed. “Thank you, but I can promise you it’s nothing like that. It’s just…I’ve told you guys about Bernadette before, right?”
“Oh have you?” Samuel laughed. “You mean your best friend who you have the biggest crush on, but are way too shy to do anything about?”
“Which is perfectly fine, some things just take time,” Howard added helpfully.
“Thanks, but actually things have happened between us.”
Vanessa’s eyes opened wide and she looked at me with the biggest smile on her face. “You mean you finally told her how you feel? Oh Lucas, I’m so happy for you.”
“Something like that.” I couldn’t help it. My face was split by the widest smile and I looked down at my feet, unable to meet their eyes while I was smiling like an idiot.
“Finally. I’m glad you did something about it.” Samuel patted me on the back and Rachel choked back a giggle.
“We’re all happy for you,” she said. “Was she the one that you were greeting people with?”
I nodded.
“Oh my, Lucas, you have good taste,” Vanessa said teasingly. “You never know, I might just have to steal her from you.”
