Andrew grunted. “She was handling it on her own before I stepped in. She had a long list of reasons that he sucked going.”
“That’s my bestie!” Macy laughed and then eyed her brother’s arm around me still. “So. You savedCupcake, huh? Tell me, big brother, why you’re still touching my best friend.”
“Cupcake is having dinner with me. As a thanks for helping her take out the trash. I’m just making sure she doesn’t evade me.” Andrew drew me even farther into him. “I’m thinking if I spend enough time forcing my company on her, she’ll stop thinking of me as the asshole I was as a kid.”
Rolling her eyes, Macy shook her head. “Fat chance.”
“Do you have an issue with me stealing Cupcake for dinner?”
I held my breath as Macy looked at me. “Are you okay with hanging out with him? You don’t have to just because he pretended to jump in and save you from a fight you seemed to be winning.”
I smiled and nodded. “I think I can handle him.”
Frowning again, Macy pointed at her brother. “Don’t be weird. And don’t boss her around. And don’t think she’s going to like you more than me. We’ve already had that conversation. I’m the best friend.”
Feeling emotional still, I reached out and pulled Macy into a tight hug. “I love you.”
She blinked a few times before hugging me back just as tightly. “Love you, too,Cupcake.”
Jason cleared his throat and shoved his phone into his pocket. “I’ve got to take care of this before we eat.”
Macy took his arm. “I’ll come with you.”
They said their goodbyes and left us standing there, me feeling like we’d just almost gotten caught. Andrew sighed and took my hand. “Come on.”
He had a table for us at the back of the restaurant. Fresh flowers were wrapped and waiting for me in my chair. “This would’ve felt a whole lot better if none of that would’ve happened.”
I grabbed the flowers and smiled. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d gotten flowers on a date. Smelling them, I blew out all the tension that Mark had tried to put on me. “It’s perfect. These are beautiful.”
Andrew helped me into my chair and sat next to me. “You’rebeautiful.”
I was debating telling him that I thought he looked like heaven when he was angry, but Macy’s voice rang out.
“Sara! You’re going to want to see this.”
Andrew sighed. “Go on, Cupcake.”
I delicately stroked my hand over his, hoping no one saw it. “Coming?”
He laughed. “How’d you know? Come on.”
We walked together out of the restaurant and into the lobby, where a small crowd had gathered. Macy grabbed my hand as soon as she saw me and pulled me away from Andrew.
“You’re a popular woman.”
I was about to ask her what she meant when I got through the crowd and saw Milo sitting on a chair with his favorite guitar. He had a ton of flowers around him, and as soon as he saw me, he smiled and started strumming out a tune I instantly recognized. The first song we’d kissed to, romantic and slow; it had been one of my favorites.
I could see several of the women around me clasping their chests, falling for the act. Me, on the other hand, I felt like throwing up. Never in my life had I ever been popular with men, and out of nowhere, they were lining up for a chance with me. It made no sense.
Milo started singing to me, giving it his all as he did. I knew all the looks, all the points of the song where he’d put emotion and even when he’d pretend to blink back tears. I’d seen him perform the same song a million times in dive bars. He didn’t realize his act was so obvious when you watched it more than once. While the other women swooned, I crossed my arms over my chest and counted to one hundred.
I wanted to know why the hell he was at Macy’s wedding, putting on a pathetic show that was as transparent as a slab of glass. My mind wandered while he finished crooning his song. I wondered where Andrew had gone and if he was going to knee Milo in the face, too. I knew I shouldn’t hope for violence, but Milo was a special case.
When the song ended, people clapped and cheered, looking at me like they were waiting for me to break into tears. They were going to be disappointed.
Macy was at my back. “Oh, my god, this is awkward.”
I elbowed her. “You couldn’t have locked the doors or something?”
