Page 109 of The Wedding Favor

He (I assumed) didn’t reply.

“Okay, then. This is up to me. How about Chad? You could be a Chad.” I frowned. “I’m trying to imagine Abe chatting with a Chad and it’s not working. Oh, what about Rick? That’s Humphrey Bogart’s character’s name in Casablanca. That’s perfect.”

I had to laugh. Only six weeks ago, I’d spent my birthday talking to a jar of pickles. Turns out I actually could make small talk… to inanimate objects.

On Saturday evening, I stood on Abe’s doorstep, my heart thumping against my ribs. I held Rick in my hands with a big red bow around him. Abe opened the door and stared.

“Hi. This is for you.” Very smooth.

“Is that a Philodendron Spiritus Sancti?” Abe asked in a reverent tone.

“This is Rick.” I handed it over. His fingers brushed mine as he carefully took it from me.

“I don’t know what to say.” For the record, he wasn’t talking to me; he was talking to Rick. Plant in hand, he turned and wandered away, leaving the door wide open.

“Yes, thank you. I’ll come in for a minute.” I closed the door behind me and tracked him down in the sunroom.

“Let’s put you right here.” He’d moved several other plants to make room for Rick in a place of honor. He was adorable. Not Rick, Abe. Although Rick was kind of growing on me.

I leaned against the door jamb, unable to keep a smile from my face. “I’m guessing you like it.”

Abe turned to me and grinned. “But why?”

I shrugged. “I wanted to get you something to say thank you. You know, for the wedding, and… and tonight.”

He crossed the room and stopped in front of me. “You didn’t have to.”

“I know. I wanted to. That’s why it’s a gift.”

“Thank you,” he said quietly. He stepped closer and his eyes traced my mouth, my cheeks, my nose with such intensity, it felt like he was touching me. My breath caught as I watched him back, waiting.

He moved closer still, his hand brushing mine as he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my cheek, right on the corner of my mouth. I held my breath hoping he would do it again. Instead, he pulled back and he smiled. “We should get going.”

The movie theater had gone all out for opening night, and they’d asked all moviegoers to dress with Old Hollywood in mind. Abe wore his suit from the Shady Cove dance, which was especially fitting because I wore the same dress. Except I’d wanted to dress it up a little. I’d added long black gloves and a black, floral fascinator with a veil.

An actual red carpet was there for us to walk down. Photographers lined up and snapped our photos. We posed for them, Abe’s arm around my waist, one of my legs kicked up, and both of us grinning like we didn’t have a care in the world.

In hindsight, we might have wondered exactly where those photos would be used and who would see them. But something happened to us when we stepped foot in that theater. For a few hours, we could pretend we were living a different life, in a different town where no one knew us. Our problems could be forgotten for a few hours. I could pretend I knew exactly what my life would look like come the fall. Abe didn’t have the weight of his father’s judgment.

Maybe that’s why Abe held my hand during most of the movie. Or why he held me when I sobbed at the end. It could explain why Abe drove the long way to Two Harts. Or why I felt like I was floating?

“That movie was worth the wait,” I said as we pulled into Abe’s driveway next to my car. As soon as I got out of his car, the pretending would be over. I’d drive back home and go to bed and wake up tomorrow like it was any other day. I rolled my head to the side to look at him. He looked so handsome. The cab of his truck was dark and quiet and maybe that made me braver. “I always told myself I wouldn’t watch Casablanca for the first time unless it was with someone special. I’m glad I saw it with you.”

“I’m honored.” His eyes glided over my face, lingered on my lips. My mouth tingled. “I’m glad I saw it with you, too.”

“I don’t want to get out of this car,” I whispered. “All of this will end.”

“We can sit right here for as long as you want.” The sound of him unclicking his seatbelt was so loud.

“Okay.” I took my seatbelt off, too.

Our eyes locked and I wasn’t sure who moved first, maybe me, maybe him, but I liked to think it was both of us. One second, we were on opposite sides of the car and then next we met in the middle. Abe’s hands cupped my face, and time seemed to slow down. I thought he might have been giving me time to tell him to stop when all I wanted to do was yell at him to hurry up.

That first kiss was messy and a little awkward and perfect. And it seemed to go on forever and ever. We broke apart just long enough to breathe.

“I’ve wanted to do that since that damn supply closet,” Abe murmured. He kissed the corner of my mouth.

“You did?”