“Looking forward to the reception?” I asked, mostly to fill the silence.
“Hoping to fill up on cake, then head to bed.”
I huffed a laugh. “Bold strategy. I like it.”
“I like to live dangerously,” she deadpanned, then sighed. “Guess I should go be social.”
I nodded. “Me too. I haven’t even said hello to half the people I know here.”
She nodded and started to turn away.
“Hey, Wren?”
She turned back, pushing a stray curl out of her eyes.
“If you’re still up for it after cake… save a dance for me.”
A smile crept across her face. She nodded once, then turned and walked away.
I watched her go longer than necessary.
I did what I was supposed to do after that, caught up with family and friends, answered the ‘when are you getting married?’ question more times than I cared to admit.
I was having a good time.
Dinner was great and seeing Kara this happy made the whole trip worthwhile.
But even as I laughed and talked, part of my attention stayed somewhere else.
Every time the crowd shifted, every time someone moved out of my line of sight, I found myself scanning for her again.
Someone clinked their glass with a fork and Kara and Grant stood and kissed for the crowd. We all hooted as the kiss went on and when they finally pulled away, Kara fanned her face.
The two of them looked at each other for a moment. He raised his eyebrow and she nodded.
What did they have up their sleeve?
Kara grabbed a microphone from the DJ table and everyone quieted again.
“We weren’t going to do speeches tonight, but we have some exciting news we wanted to share.” Grant left the table and went back inside the cabin. I exchanged looks with the other people at the table.
Was he hiding from having to make a speech?
“Grant and I are very excited to announce that we are expanding our family.”
People started to cheer and I forced myself to join them, despite being confused.
Kara had never wanted kids.
She could change her mind, of course, but I hoped she wasn’t just doing it for Grant’s sake.
The decision was too important to be made by just one personin a relationship.
Just as I was contemplating this, Grant reappeared at the door with a puppy in his arms. Tuck was beside him, determinedly sniffing at the puppy’s foot.
“Everyone, meet Peanut.”
The pup cuddled further into Grant’s chest and stared out at the group. Kara moved over and patted his head and the pup started chewing on her fingers.
