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Before I had a chance to decide where we should sit, Clark’s nana hurried up to us. “Hunter, sweetie, there you are! Isn’t this all just so lovely? Two former sweethearts reuniting because their love can’t be defeated.” She lowered her voice. “Even if that old coot does love his dang car an unhealthy amount.”
I chuckled and turned to Holly to explain, “Elmer’s car is a famous point of contention between them. They even called off this wedding once—”
“Twice, actually,” Iola corrected. “We even had a pool going on whether they’d make it to their wedding day. Winner donates the pot to them.”
“That’s sweet,” Holly said.
Iola’s eyes narrowed on her. “Hmm. Yes. Well, not all couples should reunite. In fact, most shouldn’t. Don’t you agree, Hunter?”
“Uh…I suppose?”
She nodded once. “Come this way. I’ll show you to your table.”
“Okay, thanks.”
We followed her through the room, passing tables with plenty of open seating. A lot of people were moving through a line greeting the bride and groom, stationed at a banquet table at the back of the barn. Holly tentatively said, “I didn’t realize there was assigned seating. I was a very last-minute invite. I hope that didn’t cause a problem.”
Nana waved her hand. “Oh, there’s not assigned seating. You can sit anywhere you like, dear, but Hunter will be sitting here.” She stopped and placed her hands on the back of a chair. “Beside my grandson, his boyfriend. You are still his boyfriend, aren’t you, Hunter?”
Clark looked up at us, horrified. “Nana!”
My mother approached from the other direction. “Oh, he’s still Clark’s boyfriend if he knows what’s good for him.”
Wow, double-teamed. I glanced at Clark. “Actually,yeswould be my answer even without the meddling.” He bit down on a smile as I took the seat next to him, which felt like a victory. “This is where I want to be.”
Mom squeezed my shoulder. “I knew my son was smart.” She waved at Holly. “Nice to see you, dear. Come mingle when you get bored with this group.” She shielded her mouth as if sharing a secret, but said loudly enough for us all to hear, “We’re the fun ones around here.”
Holly laughed. “I’ll remember that.”
Mom turned to Iola. “Shall we go so these boys can chat?”
Iola’s eyes twinkled. “I don’t know. Can we trust them to sort this out on their own?”
My mother smiled at us both, love practically beaming from her eyes. “They’ll get there.”
With arms linked, they strolled off as if they weren’t a couple of meddling meddlers who liked to meddle.
Around the table, Clark’s friends—some of whom I hoped were my friends now—watched us with expressions ranging from amusement to concern on their faces. Wes was smirking, Augustus and Joe wore matching frowns, and Beckett appeared to be confused. And why shouldn’t he be? I was Clark’s boyfriend but here with my ex-wife. This whole thing had become such a fiasco. I wanted to be Clark’s plus one, not Holly’s, but I couldn’t exactly tell her to attend a wedding full of people she barely knew on her own.
Still, if Clark and I hadn’t been on such uncertain footing after Toby’s meltdown, I would have insisted that he be my date and we could have escorted her together. It didn’t feel right, showing up separately—even if I had explained to him that Holly wasn’t really a date and he’d given me a thumbs-up, whatever the hell that was supposed to mean. I needed to talk to the man. Privately. Needed to make him understand, unequivocally, that I was in love with him. He was the only person I wanted beside me at a wedding or any other damn place.
Hell, he was the person I wanted across from me on a wedding altar, when the time was right. I never thought I’d want that again after my divorce, but Clark had changed everything. He’d made me see what a good partnership could feel like. The unwavering love and support that I could have, the equal give and take that made life better.
“I’m so sorry,” Clark uttered into the tense silence. He pushed back his seat. “If you two want to sit together, I can move.”
“Oh, no!” Holly said quickly. “Stay with Hunter. I’m the interloper here.”
Wes smiled flirtatiously. “You can sit next to me.”
Beckett rolled his eyes, muttering, “Here we go.”
I didn’t quite know what to think of Wes eyeing up my ex-wife, but there was no jealousy there. My heart had moved on. Still, Holly was uneasy in social situations and I didn’t want her to be in an uncomfortable position.
Before I could speak, Clark did it for me. “Actually, why don’t you sit beside Joe? He’s less likely to hit on you all night.”
Holly laughed while Wes gasped and clutched at his heart. “Harsh, man. I’m just a friendly guy who’s misunderstood.” He winked at Holly. “Unless you need a dance partner. Then I’m all yours.”
“Good to know,” she said, smiling. It was a nervous smile, but not overly anxious, as she took a seat next to Joe. “Thanks for letting me crash your party.”
