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“Steve, my man!” Frank slapped him on the back. “This is quite the party! Care to join The Gregger and me in a cigar on the patio?”
The Gregger stood over by the French doors that led directly out to the beach. He grinned and held up a couple of stogies.
“Maybe later?” Ordinarily he wouldn’t have minded a little male bonding time with Kitty’s slightly drunk, soon-to-be stepbrothers-in-law, but the waitress was signaling to get his attention.
“Cigars are so nasty. I’d much rather have dessert,” Sharon said, catching the tail end of their conversation. Her arm was looped around Alan’s. They already looked like a happily married couple and Steve was genuinely glad for them. “Thank you so much for this lovely dinner, Steve.”
“Yes, we appreciate it,” Kitty’s father said stiffly.
If Steve were a betting man, he’d say that despite the polite veneer, Alan Burke wasn’t his biggest fan at the moment. Not that he blamed him. If he were Kitty’s father, he’d probably beat the shit out of him.
“It was my pleasure,” Steve said. “Excuse me, but I need to take care of something.” He made his way to the other side of the room to speak to the waitress.
“We’d like to go ahead and serve dessert,” she said. “Normally, in a rehearsal dinner, this is the point where the guests make the toasts. Would you like us to serve champagne for that? We have several varieties—”
“Sure. Pop out the good stuff and keep it flowing.”
She looked pleased. “Very good, sir.” He’d spared no expense tonight. An open bar, appetizers, and the full menu. She and the rest of her staff were going to be looking at a very nice tip. He’d even hired a limo to take everyone back home so no one had to be the designated driver, although as the host, he’d limited himself to two glasses of wine with dinner and no hard liquor. Just in case.
He turned around to find Kitty standing in front of him. It was the first time tonight they’d been in a position to talk semi-privately.
“Hi, there,” he said. His voice sounded gruff and scratchy, like he was nervous. Probably because he was. The last time he’d been nervous around a woman had been…never. Well, maybe back in the sixth grade or something. He wished he could whisk her away for a week. Just the two of them with no one else around. Maybe he could still make that Hawaii trip work.
“Hi, yourself.” Her hair was pulled back in a bun, but a few loose fiery strands had worked their way down her cheek. A pair of diamond stud earrings, exactly one carat each, shone brilliantly in her delicious earlobes. A surge of male pride flared through every cell of his body. And not just because she’d chosen to wear the earrings tonight. She was the most gorgeous woman in the restaurant. He had to fight the urge to reach out, grab her into his arms and tell her…and tell her what?
Going to see Joanna was supposed to make everything easier. Clearer. Instead, after just one session he felt more messed up than ever. She’d called it progress. He called it bullshit. But she’d laughed and said she would see him next week. At this rate it was going to take forever before he could “embrace his feelings” as Joanna put it. Maybe he could get on some kind of accelerated therapy plan.
“Everything is really beautiful tonight, Steve,” Kitty said softly.
“Not as beautiful as you. Kitty—”
“Not now,” she said. “Everyone is sitting down for dessert. We’ll talk later. Okay?”
He nodded, relieved. At least she still wanted to talk to him. He took his seat back at the long banquet table that had been set up for the occasion. Alan and Sharon sat in the middle. Kitty sat next to her father with Steve on her other side. The guests were served their choice of Key lime pie or chocolate lava cake and the wait staff began popping bottles of champagne and pouring them into the elegant flute glasses.
Greg was the first one to stand up. He clinked his fork along the side of his glass to make sure he had everyone’s attention then raised the glass in the air. “I’ll make this short, sweet, and simple. To Alan and Sharon, who both deserve a world of happiness!”
Everyone murmured their approval then raised their glasses in agreement.
Next came Ginny, who got all weepy and said something about no one ever replacing her father in her heart, but she was glad that her mother had met such a great guy. The rest of her toast buzzed by Steve’s ears. Mainly because at this point, Mallory, too, had started crying and then before everyone knew what was happening, Sharon was hugging them both and even Kitty’s dad had a tear in his eye.
Joanna would have a field day with this group.
He shifted around in his chair, wishing he’d had something a little stronger than just the couple of glasses of wine to drink tonight.
Then it was Sharon’s sister’s turn and then finally, the groom himself stood up to make a toast. Alan cleared his throat. “Today, I consider myself the luckiest guy on the planet. I have the great fortune to be surrounded by the two most important people in my life. My beautiful daughter, Katherine, who came screaming into the world thirty-six years ago today, and Sharon, the woman I can’t wait to make my bride. I’ll be honest; never in my wildest dreams did I imagine this day would ever come for me. Kitty will tell you that, there for a while, I had a bit of an unsavory reputation as a playboy.” As if on cue, Kitty nodded in an exaggerated manner, causing the room to chuckle politely.
“All that changed the day I met this gorgeous woman.” He reached out and placed his hand on Sharon’s shoulder. “But it wasn’t just the outer woman I was attracted to, although all you have to do is take one look at her and see why I became a blithering idiot around her.” Sharon blushed furiously.
“It was the inner Sharon who stole my breath away. Her gentleness of spirit, her intelligence, her fierce kindness…put all together I never had a chance. No guy should ever be this lucky. But damn if I’m going to complain.” Everyone laughed, and then he raised his glass high in the air. “Please join me in toasting my beautiful Sharon!”
“Here! Here!” Everyone began clinking their spoons against the crystal flutes.
“I think they want us to kiss, hon.” Alan bent down and smacked Sharon one on the lips and everyone clapped and laughed again.
“Who’s next?” Greg said.
“A toast from the host!” Frank yelled, causing Greg to laugh at the rhyme.
