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Mom didn’t notice; she was avoiding looking at the stage. “Oh dear.”
Dad shook his head. “Persistent fool.”
“Incredible,” Calista said. She’d never cared for Warren.
Mikah said nothing, but if she thought his tension was bad before, it had nothing on now.
Dodo strode across the stage. “What am I grateful for?” He took over the microphone. “We’re winning.”
The guests laughed, thankfully taking all the attention from her. Not that they’d minded the drama, but she had. Who knew she’d be grateful to Dodo this Thanksgiving for taking the attention off of her, but there it was. Thanks, Dodo.
“Ahem.” Dahlia cleared her throat in jest and strolled over to her fiancé with her hands on her hips.
Dodo held up his hands in a pretend “caught me” stance. “All kidding aside.” He took Dahlia’s hand and turned the ring toward the crowd. “Actually, what I’m most thankful for is that this beauty said yes.”
“Aww.” The gushy sound and much applause echoed through the room.
Dahlia gave him a kiss that extended the clapping. She fluttered her hand over her heart before taking the microphone. “Thank you all for being here. We have dessert and coffee in the next room. As all my favorite people are here. I hope you can join us and mingle.” She held up her arms. “Happy Thanksgiving.”
The crowd echoed her sentiment, “Happy Thanksgiving.”
The wait staff opened the partition, revealing tables laden with desserts, a corn husk pyramid holding colorful macaroons, a cornucopia balancing tarts, a giant pumpkin pie the size of a dinner table—a fantastical display to end the meal.
Dad took Mom’s hand. “Pumpkin pie sounds good.”
They wandered to the next room, where tall cocktail tables were spread throughout. Each held a carafe of coffee and a pitcher of water.
Mikah’s twin brothers went straight toward the tarts.
Mr. Czerski shook his head. “I’ll corral them for some networking.” He followed the boys.
Mrs. Czerski craned her neck and waved back at a woman four tables away. “I see some old friends. Please excuse me while I say hello?”
“Of course.”
Music filtered through the room, and guests took seats at small groupings of tables. Mikah stayed with them at the table, but he was more quiet than usual. Piper made small talk with Lily and Calista. Not the easiest thing to do, as neither one was talkative by nature. Her own conversation felt slightly forced because she was ignoring the last fifteen minutes when Warren had professed his intentions to the entire room.
Her parents returned with their desserts as she spotted Warren weaving through the tables headed in their direction.
Good time for a trip to the restroom.
Mikah put his lips to her ear. “We need to talk.”
Gut-wrenching words, but okay. Piper rose and left with Mikah. They had a choice of the restroom corridor or the exit to get away from the crowd.
Mikah opened the door into the quiet hallway. Good place for this conversation, the toilet hallway.
At least he wasn’t leaving in a huff. Was this their first couple’s challenge? Nope. Had they handled the others well? Not so much. Things were different now though. They were more together, more committed. Right? Anxious butterflies swarmed through her belly.
Mikah turned to her. “Why does Warren still think he has a shot with you?”
He doesn’t have a shot, was the easy answer. Piper wanted a more thoughtful response. She’d been pondering this since Arizona, when Mikah had offered to pay her plane ticket change fee, and she’d refused. It was with good reason. Warren had always paid, and the more he’d paid, the more her opinion got eroded. Over-indulged rich guy. “Warren has money. He’s not used to women who don’t accept his excuses. That’s all this is.”
Mikah frowned. “We’re overdue to talk about him.”
Were they? Here? Now? This wasn’t exactly an empty unused passageway. They were thirty feet down from the public restrooms. “This isn’t that private. Let’s speak later. There’s really nothing more to say.”
“We’ve waited long enough on this topic.” Tension hardened his mouth and darkened his cobalt eyes. “Because it comes up at every team event.”
