“Dance with me.”
I stared at him.
“You dance?”
“Never.”
A laugh escaped me.
His smile deepened, “Come on, Holly.”
The way he said my name should not have affected me nearly as much as it did.
Before common sense could intervene, I slipped my hand into his.
The band had moved into a slower song by the time we reached the edge of the dance floor. Noah’s hand settled lightly against my waist, and suddenly I became very aware of his nearness.
The stage lights cast a warm glow across the marquee, catching in the greenery overhead and reflecting in the glasses scatteredacross nearby tables. Around us, conversations rose and fell, laughter spilling between songs, but it all felt slightly distant.
My attention kept returning to the man standing in front of me. The loosened tie. The softness that had replaced the tension I’d grown so used to seeing in his expression.
He seemed genuinely happy.
The realisation settled over me with surprising force.
He simply watched me, his expression shifting with something contemplative. Then he drew me a fraction closer until the rest of the reception seemed to disappear altogether.
“I wanted to thank you,” he said gently. “Not just for the wedding. Although it would have collapsed without you.” His voice dropped low. “But for the last few days. For… everything.”
The honesty in his eyes robbed me of every sensible response I’d prepared, so I did what any self-respecting wedding planner with too many feelings would do, I reached for the nearest professional shield.
“It’s all in a day’s work for a wedding planner,” I said lightly, lifting one shoulder in what I hoped passed as breezy confidence rather than heart-palpitating panic.
His mouth curved, not quite a smile, not quite disbelief, something else. “Holly,” he said as we swayed, “nothing about what you did this week was normal wedding planner territory.”
I felt heat creep up the back of my neck. “You’d be surprised,” I muttered. “You should see what happens when two cousins fight over a grazing table.”
That earned a loud laugh from him, a sound that wrapped around me like a hug I wasn’t prepared for.
My stomach dipped. I looked down, letting the weight of the moment settle.
“It wasn’t nothing,” he continued. “And I don’t want you thinking I kissed you because everything was going wrong.”
The world tilted slightly.
I lifted my eyes.
“You didn’t?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
“No,” he said. “It happened because I’d been wanting you ever since that first day I met you.”
Relief and hope unfurled beneath my ribs.
Still, a small part of me hesitated. “I didn’t know if it still meant anything… after today. After everything settled.”
He shook his head gently. “It does. More, actually.”
Over Noah’s shoulder, I spotted Cleo near the bar.
