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“Nah, so I’m thinking maybe a business contact. They tried to keep that to a minimum, but there were some people they couldn’t avoid inviting.”
The bartender placed two bottles of Crown Lager in front of them and Mikayla took a grateful sip. She sighed again. “I just wanted to have a nice dance with someone. Is that too much to ask?”
When Rafe didn’t answer straight away, Mikayla looked up at him to find him watching her closely. After a long pause and a deep pull on his beer, he said, “I’ll dance with you.”
Her eyes widened. “You? You never dance!”
He gave a lopsided grin. “I can make an exception.”
She gulped down some beer and slammed the bottle on the bar. “You’re on. Let’s go.” She slipped her shoes off, leaving them under the barstool since she wasn’t prepared to risk a fall in her stilettoes.
She took his hand and pulled him to the dance floor before he had time to change his mind. He slipped an arm around her waist and they stood there awkwardly for a moment as the next song started but was cut off abruptly. Mikayla looked around in surprise when the first bars of Queen’s “You’re My Best Friend” dropped. She caught sight of Callum, slipping his phone in the front pocket of his shirt and giving her a cheeky wink. She rolled her eyes at him but couldn’t stop herself from grinning. “Funny.”
“Yeah, he’s a real joker.”
“You remember when we danced to this at our senior year formal?” She said, moving her feet to the beat of the music as best she could.
“I remember. I think that’s the last time I danced in public.” He swung her around and she gripped his hand tightly to stop herself from falling over. “I won’t let you fall.”
She took a deep, steadying breath. “I know.” Another breath had her relaxing into it a little. “At least you can dance.”
“You do alright.” He pulled her against him a little tighter and it became easier to keep her balance as they danced through to the end of the song. The next song was a bit slower, and she found she didn’t want to stop dancing. It was a song she didn’t know, but it was lovely, soft and dreamy. She let her head fall to his shoulder, sighing with contentment. As they moved to the music, she was hit with a wave of affection for him. He was so steadfast, so reliable—such a good friend. Weird sometimes, that was true. Weird more often lately, that was also true. But he was so…Rafe. And he smelled really good. She closed her eyes, smiling when she felt him rest his cheek on the top of her head. Not many men were tall enough to do that since she was nearly five foot ten. It made her feel small. Delicate.
She felt a little hand tugging at her dress and lifted her head to see Billy, smiling up at them angelically. “I wanna dance!”
Laughing, Rafe scooped him up in one arm, keeping his other around Mikayla’s waist. With her arm still around Rafe’s neck, Mikayla put her hand on Billy’s back as they swayed to the music. It was a little awkward, but super cute, so she went with it. Then Billy wrapped his arm around her neck and pulled her close, pressing a kiss to her lips. With a giggle, he pulled Rafe in too, saying, “Now you!” Highly amused, Mikayla lifted her face to Rafe’s, frowning slightly as he hesitated. It was just a peck, don’t make it weird, she thought. Then he was leaning in, brushing his lips ever so lightly, softly against hers. She pulled back and stared at him for a long moment. That was…unexpected—the tingle, the flash of warmth, the…something that flared in his eyes before being quickly smothered.
Unsettled, she reached for Billy, taking him in her arms and saying, “Alright, you little pervert, let’s go find your Mum and Dad.” She glanced up at Rafe before moving away, not feeling at all reassured by the closed expression on his face.
She found Juniper, sitting with Leah and Violet at a table near the main door. Billy gave a huge yawn just as Mikayla sat down with him in her lap.
“Hey, my little man. You want Nana to take you to bed?” Violet asked.
Billy yawned again, nodding at the same time.
“Oh, Nana, are you sure? I don’t mind taking him.”
“Nonsense,” Violet replied, rising to her feet. “It’s your wedding and it’s not even midnight yet. You hang around a bit longer.”
Billy slid off Mikayla’s lap, taking Violet’s outstretched hand. They all got to their feet to kiss her and Billy goodnight. “You think about what I said?” Violet said as she hugged Mikayla.
“Humph,” Mikayla replied, much to Violet’s amusement.
“What did she say?” Leah asked curiously after Violet and Billy had left.
“Nothing,” Mikayla said, grabbing a plate of macaroons from a passing waiter and putting them on the table to share.
“Hmm, that sounds dodgy,” Juniper said, sitting down. “In case you don’t know by now, if Violet Bell is giving you advice, she’s always right and you should always take it.”
“Humph,” Mikayla said again, biting into a macaroon. She felt Juniper’s gaze on her but refused to make eye contact.
***As Mikayla slipped into the passenger seat of Rafe’s car, she cursed her lack of forethought. The lace of her dress was no defense against the midnight chill and she had no jacket. As soon as Rafe got behind the wheel, he reached into the back seat and grabbed his football jacket, throwing it in her lap, switching on the ignition and blasting the heater on full. “Cheers. You’re a lifesaver.” She leaned back in the seat, pulling the jacket tight around her. “I love weddings.”
“I know you do.”
“Aside from the obvious – the bride getting ready, walking down the aisle, the dance, cake. All that. On the list of my favorite things from this wedding was Callum’s face when he caught the bouquet.”
Rafe chuckled. “Yeah, that was gold.”
