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There was strange air between them; that was clear. Elise tried to make her face bright and open, especially as she thanked Roger for her glass of champagne.
“I don’t know how I’d get through this beautiful day without a bit of this,” she told the groom.
Roger’s smile was plastic for a strange moment as his eyes scanned over Wayne. Wayne took the glass of champagne and said, “Thanks a lot, bud.”
Anna stepped back and splayed a hand across her groom’s chest. To calm him down, she tilted her chin up and dotted a kiss on his lips, which left a smudge of lipstick across them.
“Shoot,” Anna said, laughing. “I knew that would happen before the pictures were taken.”
“You got me looking me, silly.”
“You look great, Roger. Don’t let her make you think any different,” Tracey said, tapping the side of her nose playfully.
Elise stepped back to stand alongside Wayne. She felt a big allegiance with him, as though it was the two of them against the world. That said, it was obvious that this world was his, and, it seemed, the past brimmed with gritty details.
In actuality, they didn’t know anything about him at all.
Tracey lifted her glass as her eyes glittered. “I’d like to make a toast to one of my very best friends in the world and her new beloved.”
Elise’s heart lurched.
“I know you think it’s been a long road—with a lot of bumps along that road—to get you to here,” Tracey said.
Was Elise mistaken, or had Tracey glanced toward Wayne the moment she’d said the wholebumps along that roadthing?
“But I couldn’t imagine you with anyone else but Roger. The two of you were made to be with each other. You complete each other more than any two lovers I’ve ever met. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your special day,” Tracey continued. “And Anna, I love you more than you’ll ever know.”
Anna’s eyes glittered with tears.
Another guy stepped forward to give his own toast for Roger, who he said was “one of the best guys I ever met, bar-none.” Others continued to speak until the bride and groom swam in compliments and love.
After most people had spoken, there was a strange silence. It occurred to Elise that nearly everyone had turned their attention toward Wayne.
Was he expected to speak?
Finally, he cleared his throat and lifted his champagne glass.
“Anna. It amazes me to see the woman you’ve become since I first met you all those years ago on the playground,” Wayne said.
Ugh. So much history here.
“I know we’ve had our differences, but I’d just like to say, I’m so grateful to be here today. And nobody deserves happiness more than you. Clearly, Roger has given you all that and more,” Wayne said.
“All right. Let’s drink up!” Tracey hollered after that. “To Roger and Anna!”
Everyone knocked their drinks back and sipped. Elise’s heartbeat hammered in her ears. When she finished her drink, she turned her face up toward Wayne and gave him a bug-eyed look. As people fell into separate conversations, she said, “So. What was that all about?”
At this, Wayne shrugged sheepishly and said, “You dragged me into this.”
“It’s a little bit of a mess, isn’t it?”
“You don’t even know the half of it,” Wayne said. “I’m about to fall over.”
Elise laughed. “So, just an ex-girlfriend situation?”
Since Elise had married so young, she wasn’t used to that kind of dynamic. She knew the strain between herself and Sean, knew how she felt about his new trendy girlfriend Regina, sure; she couldn’t fathom what it might have been like to attend their wedding.
Elise stretched a hand across Wayne’s lower arm. The contact surprised both of them. Sparks seemed to fly. Elise dropped her hand almost instantly, swallowed, and tried to pretend nothing bizarre existed between them.
