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“No, I’m not bringing anyone.”
“Oh, I was looking forward to seeing her again.”
“She was invited and will be attending, so you’ll still get to see her.”
“Oh, great! She seemed really great.”Please stop saying “great,” Sutton.“Max really liked her, too.”
“Is Maxine coming to the wedding? As your date, I mean,” he clarified. I searched his face for any hint that he was as invested in my answer as I was in his, but his face gave nothing away. I imagined the ability to not broadcast one’s thoughts via facial expression was a useful skill for a lawyer to possess.
“No.” I shook my head. “I didn’t think it would be fair to bring a date since I’m in the wedding party.” I conveniently left out the fact that I didn’t have anyone to ask. “She hasn’t mentioned being invited by Richard either.”
“Makes sense. Richard was invited, but I’m not sure if he’s going.” He covered his mouth as he yawned. “Sorry.”
“You’re fine.” I adjusted my position, reaching for the remote on the coffee table. “Do you want to watch a movie?”
“Sure.” He leaned back to rest his head on the back of the couch. “A movie sounds good.”
I switched from cable to a streaming service and scanned through the new releases list.
“What are you in the mood for? Action? Romance? Horror is off the table, sorry. I’m still traumatized fromThe Exorcist, and I don’t really want to spend the next five years sleeping with all the closet doors open.”
Holden rolled his head along the back of the couch to look at me. “How old were you when you saw it?”
“Thirteen.” He chuckled, the corner of his mouth tipping up. “It was my first and last scary movie. My mama always used to tell us that idle hands are the devil’s playground, so after we sawThe Exorcist, I was convinced that I was possessed.”
“Did you get in trouble a lot? As a kid.”
I shrugged, clicking on the action filter. “My parents said I was always ornery. It was more that I didn’t like to wear dresses and play with dolls, like Sissy.” I kept my eyes on the TV screen. I didn’t want Holden’s powers of observation to see all the emotions disguised by my careful tone. “Have you seen this one? It was supposed to be good.”
I selected the title, so he could read the description.
“I have not. I don’t even remember the last time I saw a movie in a theater.” His tired eyes narrowed as he read the synopsis. “Sure, that sounds good. What do you think?”
“It’s fine with me too. Do you want popcorn?” I asked, mentally taking inventory of everything in my cupboards. I was pretty sure there was at least one bag of butter-lover’s popcorn buried under some pretzel bags.
“No thanks, I’m good with just water.”
I got up to turn off the light in the TV area — careful not to trip over Douglas, who was still hellbent on revenge — and grabbed my big throw blanket from the wicker basket by the TV stand.
Pressing play, I snuggled into my spot on the other side of the couch, tossing the throw over Holden and my legs. Douglas rolled past the couch and under the coffee table, his ball coming to a stop in the corner.
Holden’s eyes started closing almost as soon as the opening music ended, and I spent most of my time watching him fight off sleep out of the corner of my eyes. I realized that I was holding my breath the last time his eyelids slowly slid closed and didn’t reopen. His breathing slowed, shoulders relaxed. There was absolutely no way I was going to wake him up, but I wished he was in a more comfortable position. This man needed sleep like I needed high-speed internet.
I sat as still as a statue until I felt confident that he was deep enough asleep that my movements wouldn’t wake him. Sliding off the couch, I dropped to my knees and reached under the coffee table to retrieve Douglas, who was also sound asleep. I unscrewed the lid of his exercise ball and slid the chunky little guy out. Shushing the piglets, I deposited him back in his side of the cage and gave each baby a goodnight pat between their ears.
After closing up their cages, I walked back to the couch and stood there uncertainly, watching Holden sleep while I tried to think what I could do to make him more comfortable. Cautiously, I tugged the blanket up and over his arms and eased myself back into my spot, snuggling in to finish the movie.
My own eyes were struggling to stay open by the time the closing credits started rolling across the screen. Grabbing the remote, I paged through the guide mindlessly until I found a documentary about what scientists have already learned from the new telescope launched by Spatium. I hoped the quiet but enthusiastic voices of the speakers would help Holden stay asleep. He’d adjusted his position to rest his head more comfortably on the cushion behind him, so I wasn’t worried about how his neck would feel tomorrow morning.
The documentary was incredibly interesting, but it couldn’t compete with the lure of sleep. I heard something about the mass of a black hole, and then I was floating through space with Douglas, the two of us wearing matching space suits.
33
The morning of the wedding started off with a bang — literally. Even the weather didn’t feel like celebrating the pending nuptials. Sissy was sobbing at the table when I came downstairs. I would have turned around to go hide in my room, but the coffee was in the kitchen. I really needed to work on my caffeine-dependent lifestyle — starting right after this wedding.
“I can’t believe this is happening to me,” Sissy sobbed into a paper towel.
“You have to stop crying, babe.” Skye dabbed some cream under her eyes using her phone camera as a mirror. “Your eyes are going to be so red and puffy in the pictures.”
