Page 82 of The Wedding Favor

He nodded, his eyes suspiciously shiny. “You do the same.”

Missy elbowed her new husband in the stomach. “For Pete’s sake, hug the woman.”

So, we hugged and I let myself enjoy it, soaking in that familiar feel of him, like that comfortable sweater you used to love but never wore anymore. But something about this hug felt different. Final. The end. But also the beginning, I guessed.

“Are we?” Aidan whispered. “Still friends?”

“Let’s start with ‘I don’t hate you,’ and go from there.”

I pulled away and gave them one last wave before weaving my way back to my seat.

And Abe.

“Come dance with me.” Abe stood and held out his hand.

“But I’m so tired. And my feet hurt after that awful dance thing for which I will never forgive Aidan and Missy.” It had been recorded, too. Future generations would one day come across it and know what a horrible dancer I was. “I think I’ve met my dance quota for the next twenty years.”

Smiling, he shook his head. “Shut up and come dance with me.”

“Oh, fine, but I’m taking off these shoes.” He took my hand and led me to the dance floor.

The crowd had thinned out but there were plenty of couples swaying about. “What a Wonderful World” began to play. Aidan and Missy weren’t too far away, and he smiled at me over her head.

Abe put a hand on my back and pulled me closer.

I settled my arms on his shoulders. “This hasn’t been as bad as I thought it would be.”

He laughed softly, his breath skating across my cheek. “You were forced to dress up as a cowgirl, got thrown in the drunk tank, and you’re wearing a dress that makes you look like a naked chicken.”

“See?” I said. “Not as bad as I thought it would be.”

He pulled me a touch closer and I went willingly.

“How about you? Has it been awful? You seemed pretty popular with the ladies, that’s for sure.” Every time I’d spotted him, he was either dancing with a woman or talking with a woman or laughing with a woman.

“Jealous?”

“So jealous,” I said sarcastically, but I heard the truth in those words, nonetheless. “I’m sure they were all just trying to make a new friend. How many slipped you their phone number?”

“No one.” His eyes looked almost black under the low lighting. A shiver snaked through me, not unpleasant. “I’m not taking applications for any new friends.”

“Well, good.”

A corner of his mouth curled up and like he’d done at the Shady Cove dance, he took one of my hands and placed it over his heart. The steady beat of it under my palm calmed me even as my own sped up.

“Thanks for coming with me,” I said. “I wouldn’t have had anyone to pick me up from jail otherwise.”

“Are we telling people this story?”

I sigh in resignation. “Ten bucks says it will already be making its rounds before we get back tomorrow. In fact, if I don’t have a text from Mae by the time I get up to my room, I might have to call and make sure she’s alive.”

I didn’t know how it happened, but we’d gotten so close, there was only space for our hands. Somehow, my head was now resting on his shoulder and it all felt so good and right that the thought made me trip over my own feet.

“Whoa,” Abe said, righting me before I fell.

“Sorry, I… I’m nervous.”

His head tilted to the side. “Why? The hard part’s over.”