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“We’re not alone,” she whispers, and, with a sigh, she buries her face in my chest.
“I thought we were only allowed to do this when people are around,” I counter and immediately feel the smile against my chest. But I keep my hands to myself. This is her family after all.
Thankfully, the music starts, and I have an excuse to stay in this position. I guide her to the dance floor, close to where we were standing, making sure that we can hide between the columns at any moment.
One song, then two—we move slowly to the rhythm, our bodies perfectly synced, and I almost forget why we are here. The third song is more upbeat and, from the look on her face, she’s not in the mood for it either. Without really breaking the embrace, we head to the bar to grab a drink.
“So, is there actual alcohol in any of these drinks?” I ask. While her earlier explanation about drinking made sense, I can’t imagine not having a proper drink tonight.
“Yeah, we just wanted to avoid making a mess during the day.” She braces both arms on the counter and I wave to the bartender. He greets us with an array of choices and Carol asks for a glass of wine. I’m tempted to get something stronger but I’ll need a clear mind tonight— especially with her ex around.
“Wine, it is,” I say, and we clink our glasses. Carol’s eyes are fixed on me, unblinking, as she tosses hers back.
The bastard.
I don’t know what he did but she’s clearly not over him.
She replaces her glass on the counter and nods to the bartender. He refills it instantly.
“Baby, take it slow or you’ll be the drunk one here.” I start to rub her back to help her calm down, or maybe I do that for me, but at least Carol doesn’t just gulp this down. She takes a long sip and makes a muffled sound before returning her attention to me.
It doesn’t last for long though.
One by one the bridesmaids come to greet her; first, the maid of honor, who seems the closest to both Emily and Carol, followed by the others at roughly five-minute intervals. They are all genuinely happy to see her and Carol seems to know them well.
They sound like they are her friends too. Which means that the woman in the pink dress who’s slowly making her way toward us, was also a friend. Did he cheat on Carol with her?
“Bella, nice to see you again.” Carol greets the young woman warmly and Bella seems shocked.
She lets out a sigh of relief. “It’s nice to see you too, Carol. It’s—I’m glad—” she stammers but at least she looks genuinely relieved. So, it’s probably not cheating. At least not with her.
Apparently worried by his girlfriend’s prolonged greeting, Morgan comes over to greet us too.
He nods at me, a look of contempt plastered on his face, and then turns to Carol, his expression immediately softening. “You look great, Carol.” The way he rolls her name on his tongue is infuriating.
“I know,” she replies, that familiar tone of indifference finally aimed at someone else. Probably for the first time, judging by his reaction.
Morgan straightens up, ignoring his girlfriend who’s tugging at his shirt. “I see that you’ve moved on already, and that’s great. I was worried when you said you wanted to spend time to find yourself, I thought—”
I don’t get to interrupt him because Carol seems to be over this conversation already.
“I don’t really care about what you thought, Morgan. But it looks like your girlfriend does, so perhaps you should continue this conversation with her.”
Morgan blinks a few times and then stares down at his girlfriend. The relieved expression she was wearing minutes ago has transformed into one of doubt and pain. It’s a vicious cycle, isn’t it?
But it doesn’t seem to register with Morgan. He turns to Carol again but this time I don’t let him speak. I put my hand before him, placing myself between them. “This conversation is over.” I silently beg for him to react, to give me an excuse to punch that smugness off his face, but he seems to catch on to that. With a curt nod at me, he motions to his girlfriend to follow him.
A soft giggling from behind me both breaks me and increases my anger. Carol has finished the rest of her drink and is waiting for a refill. The bartender finishes another order and rushes over to her, but I shake my head, stopping him in his tracks.
“Brian, I’ve had two glasses. That’s nothing.”
“You’ve gulped down two glasses,” I correct her.
Carol sighs but at the sound of the new song she perks up. I cradle her in my arms again, and we move slowly to the rhythm until we reach the exit. Her sister is too preoccupied with her fiancé, and I know that even if we stay, there’s little Carol will enjoy. The wine has done its work.
We walk slowly back to our room, savoring the cool breeze as the music fades away. I open the door and help her to the bed. She sits down and lets out a heavy sigh when I sink next to her. “What did he do?”
She raises an eyebrow. “Who? Morgan? Nothing. I just didn’t want to show up without a date, especially since he had one.”
