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When I reach the two of them, I part the crowd. “Davis!” I shout, but it’s useless. My voice is drowned out by cracking sounds, fists slamming into bone, the kind of sounds I hope to never hear again.
At some point, someone pulls Davis off. Under him, bleeding on the ground, is a kid. Not an actual kid, but a young man. Maybe twenty. Then I realize who he is. Danny Vera. The bride’s brother. He stands and brushes himself off, acting as though he isn’t hurt, but when he steps forward, it is with a limp.
Julia rushes in to fix things, to get everyone’s attention. “It’s time to cut the cake,” she exclaims, and just like that the party resumes. A tinge of embarrassment fills the air, in the way that people want to gloss over what has just occurred, pretending it never happened, all the while salaciously recanting their versions of the story over half-empty champagne flutes.
The band plays a different tune.
Davis stands next to me, rubbing at his bandaged hand. Ashley checks him over, fawning like a mother hen.
“To the kitchen,” I say, taking the sleeve of his shirt. “Now.”
He follows me, Ashley follows him, and the door hasn’t even slammed shut before I lay into him.
“What in the fuck was that about?” I grab a bag of frozen peas from the freezer and toss it onto the table. “Never mind. I’m not sure I want to know.”
“That little prick grabbed my fiancée’s ass. What did he expect was going to happen?”
“Your who?”
Ashley Parker holds out her left hand. “We were going to tell you.”
“You hardly know her.”
“Ruth.” He holds up one hand. It’s covered in blood that isn’t his. “Not now, okay?”
“We’re going to have to refund them their money.”
“I’m sure we can work something out,” Ashley says. “I mean, if we explain what happened—”
“There is no we,” I say, crossing the kitchen. “In fact, this is all your fault.”
“Ruth!” Davis bangs his fist on the table. “That’s enough.”
“This is the last thing our family needs.”
Johnny walks through the kitchen doors. He’s flanked by Cole.
“He put his hands on her.” Davis pleads his case before the question has even been asked. “What was I supposed to do?”
“He’s drunk,” I say. “Like half the people here.”
Davis shakes his head. “You know, for a woman, you’re really something, Ruth. Like that’s some kind of excuse.”
“Did you have to go and beat the shit out of him?” Cole asks, coming to my aid. “In the middle of his sister’s wedding?”
“You could have waited,” Johnny agrees. “At least until they’d cut the cake.”
“They’re staying here tonight,” I say. “The whole family. The kid included.”
Davis shakes his head. “He’s not a kid.”
“He’s my age,” Ashley interjects.
“He called her a whore. Grabbed her ass and called her a whore. All because she refused a second dance.” Davis slides a chair across the floor and takes a seat. “Forgive me for not keeping his drink filled and giving him the special turndown service before sending him on his merry way.”
“What’s the special turndown service?” Ashley asks, glancing around the room.
I brace myself, gripping the edge of the counter. “Seriously? This is the best you could do?”
