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She presses her shoulder into my chest, nudging me, “Let’s say I’m pleasantly surprised. Ava told me some horror stories of other events here. But Frankie did right by her. If he could only pay this much attention to all the events, this place wouldn’t be in such dire straits.”
I snicker.
“What?” She nudges me again.
“I think it’s funny you think Frankie could pay attention to anything for longer than twenty minutes to do this.”
She twists to face me, her eyes opening wide. “If not him….”
“I came across your list on Frankie’s desk the other day. I’ve been slowly chipping away at it. The only item Frankie can take credit for is the balloons and that’s only because he likes to inhale the helium and talk funny.”
She wraps her arms around my waist and leans in for a tight hug. “Oh my god Hunter. That list would take a team of three days to complete. How did…”
I press my lips to the top of her forehead not sure how we got here so quick. The move feeling so natural and heartwarming that I never want to go another day without having the ability to do this. “I’ll sleep when I’m dead,” I joke. After the bachelor party guests cleared out, I spent the rest of the night finishing off the list. I was raised a Farro. We’re never afraid of hard work. I polished every doorknob, cleaned every bathroom, and made sure everything would be up to Catherine’s expectations. Even if I hadn’t planned on being at the reception, I wanted it to sparkle for her and her friends.
When Catherine stopped replying to my texts trying to warn her about Palmer’s ambush, I didn’t have many options. I had the Zoom call with Mr. Franklin, rushed to the flower shop, and then I had to sprint here to meet her.
“Awww…” She lifts up from my chest and places a quick peck on my lips. “It’s beautiful.”
“You’re beautiful,” the compliment slips from lips without hesitation. Before she can react, I jump in, I need to ease into my next reveal. “Legendary could sure benefit from your keen eye. One of the best I’ve ever seen.”
Her snicker rumbles across my chest. “Best you’ve seen?” The question puts me on alert, my comfort with her allowing my truths to begin to flow. “How many catering halls have you worked at - two, three?”
I decide to deflect. “Hey we maintenance men do talk to one another. We have a network more extensive than T-Mobile.” When her laugh returns, I relax.
Her hand rests on my thigh, a finger running along the seam of my pants leg. “At The Crystal Palace I must’ve seen over ten thousand men’s suits, everything from the off the rack last minute ill fitted ones to national figures in designer suits, but I’ve never seen one more beautiful than this.” She lays her palm on my leg, the warmth of her hand shooting right to my core. She twists her neck to capture my gaze and I school my face hoping to hide my body’s reaction. “It looks like it was made for you. I hope you didn’t go through too much trouble trying to impress everyone here today. I know from experience how much The Legendary pays their staff and it’s not enough for a suit like this.”
She presses another sweet kiss to my cheek, something we’ve both done repeatedly since the couple’s first dance. While others have circulated and danced, we’ve planted ourselves in our seats and have tuned out the world.
“This old thing, it was sitting in the back of my closet,” I half joke. “Back in Georgia Sunday service is a big deal.” I don’t say anything else and allow her to paint the portrait I’ve outlined. This is not the place for the talk we need to have. She said she wants to talk tomorrow; I’ll tell her everything then.
“Not just Georgia…” She stops mid-sentence, her brows pinching and her lips pursing, something is off. The look on her face is a mix of fear and anger. She pushes up from my chest and stands. Hands balled into fists by her side, chin lifted as if listening for something.
I don’t recognize the country song being played. “What it is?” I say, rising to match Catherine’s movement. Her gaze is locked on the dance floor.
Her lips quiver before a tiny sound slips out in a whisper, “They’re playing… our song.”
I note the movement over Catherine’s shoulder, two of her friends with similar looks of shock on their face approach her rapidly. “Our?”
I turn my attention back to Catherine, she raises a hand to her chest, a hitch in her breath as her gaze floats over my shoulder toward the dance floor.
Concern causes me to pivot on my heel, Catherine’s words finally escaping as my eyes spot what she sees. “Mine and Palmer’s.”
Palmer is marching across the dance floor in our direction. His gaze doesn’t bother with me, it’s on one person only.
Catherine.
No way I’m going to let him anywhere near her - he’s going to have to go through me first.
