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His expression softened as he looked down on me. “Max, how about you carry the paper towels that flew out of my hand, and I will push your mom’s cart?”
“Ah, man,” Max managed to grumble but was still laughing.
“Seriously, Ray, are you okay?”
“My pride and dignity may be injured, but I’m okay,” he said.
“Okay.” I still felt awful.
“What’s with all the storage bins?” Ray asked.
“Mom is helping me remodel my room. I’m putting a bunch of stuff away,” Kyra explained. “We were gonna look for a bookshelf or desk, but I don’t think we have room for any more stuff.”
“I can help you with the bookshelf and the desk,” Ray offered.
“Cool,” Kyra said. “Thanks.”
He rubbed his back.
“Ray, are you sure you’re okay?” I asked again, feeling guilty.
He nodded. “Tell you what,” he offered, “you can make it up to me by going to my son’s wedding this coming weekend.”
Max grabbed the bundle of paper towels that had flown out of Ray’s hand. Ray pushed the cart, and we all followed. Man, Ray really was tall. He could totally see where he was going.
“Oh,” I said.
“Come on, Cass. We had a nice time on our date last week. Give us a chance, okay? I’ll explain some things. Maybe not at the wedding, but soon. I promise.”
“You should go, Mom,” Kyra whispered. I was surprised, considering that she had given me the cold shoulder for a few days after she’d discovered me kissing Ray.
“You guys are invited, too,” Ray offered.
“Ah, man,” Max said. “I wanted to go to Tommy’s house. He got the new video game and was going to let me play.”
“Yep, I was going to ask if I could hang out with some of the girls from dance class again. Maybe spend the night?”
“Oh, can I spend the night at Tommy’s?”
I groaned. “Thanks a lot, Ray. See what you started?”
He chuckled a bit wickedly. When I glanced at him to give a warning glare, I saw that famous twinkle in his eye. Uh, boy. I’m in trouble with this one.
“See, Cass? It was meant to be. I’ll pick you up at four thirty. The wedding is at five in Beach City. You might want to dress in layers. It gets much cooler in the evening by the beach.”
“Right,” I said.
“Oh, and if you can, wear something with lavender,” he suggested. “The boys will be happy about it.”
I wondered what he meant by boys, since apparently he was talking to only one of his sons. Maybe he was referring to his grandson and son.
Chapter Nine
On Saturday, as promised, Ray picked me up at four thirty, and we drove the thirty minutes to Beach City. The wedding was to take place on the beach, while the reception was at Beach City Embassy Suites. The hotel was within walking distance from the beach. Ray looked amazing, of course. He was in a loose-fitting tan shirt and slacks with a lavender lei around his neck. He also wore dark sunglasses. He appeared to be relaxed and genuinely happy. I had chosen a spaghetti-strap lavender sundress. My hair was up in a loose twist with ringlets around the edges.
He parked close to the hotel, and we strolled hand in hand to an area that had rows of chairs lined up. There were lavender, gold, and white helium balloons decorating the scene and chiffon ribbons tied to the aisle chairs. Rose petals were scattered about the aisle.
“So beautiful,” I said.
