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I brought thewineglass to my lips as my eyes scanned over the large white tent set up for a beautiful wedding. My wedding. I still couldn’t believe I was marrying Rhett. It felt unreal some days.
“My parents took Brendan home with them?” Ashley asked as she sat in the chair beside me on the back patio of The Dock.
“Yep. I’m not sure who was more excited, Brendan or your mom.”
Ashley laughed as she took a sip of her wine. We’d had the rehearsal dinner here tonight, and everything was ready for tomorrow.
“Mom has been looking forward to having Brendan all to herself for a whole week. I’m convinced he’s her favorite out of all of us.” She chuckled and raised one eyebrow at me. She was probably right. That woman made a fuss over my child every time they were together.
I couldn’t help smiling, but being reminded that I was going to be away from Brendan for that long had me biting my lip. I looked forward to our five-day honeymoon in Turks and Caicos, but I was nervous at the same time.
My eyes sought out Rhett down by the water. His light blue dress shirt stretched tight against his muscular back and shoulders as he animatedly used his hands while talking to Jackson, who threw his head back and laughed.
“Wonder what those two are talking about.” I nodded in the guy’s direction.
“Well…” she started as she took in the scene. “Jackson is probably telling Rhett all the ways he plans to make my life miserable in the coming months.” Her heated glare in their direction told me she still wasn’t over the arrangement.
I smirked as I brought the wineglass to my lips and took a sip. I knew she felt like Barbara didn’t trust her to run the catering business by herself, but I suspected that having to work closely with Jackson had her wound tight and frustrated for other reasons.
“I think he’s just trying to help his mom out, and maybe you too.”
“I don’t need a babysitter. I can handle it on my own.”
I bit back the retort on the tip of my tongue. Ashley never needed anyone, and she liked to make that abundantly clear. I knew better than to push the subject. For now.
“When does Barbara go in for her back surgery?”
“In two weeks.” Ashley huffed.
I nodded. “And she’ll be back to work in January?”
“I guess.” She shrugged. “It doesn’t make sense to me. We’ve talked about me taking over daily operations for her. I thought this would be the right time to transition, but no!” Her hand slapped the top of the table in front of us. “Instead, I get her spoiled playboy son as a babysitter. Which is funny ’cause I don’t think he knows the first thing about catering, the business, or really any type of work.” She tossed her hands into the air before taking a deep, calming breath and turning to look at me. “I’m sorry. Here I am bitching to you the night before your wedding. Let’s change the subject. How about we discuss how stunning you will look in your wedding dress tomorrow?” Her smile was wide and genuine.
I felt my face flush. “It is a gorgeous dress, isn’t it?”
My eyes landed on Rhett again as he and Jackson approached the patio.
“Can I refill your glass?” Jackson asked Ashley once he and Rhett were in front of us.
Ashley glanced briefly in my direction before handing Jackson her glass. “Sure. Thanks.”
“Bella, did you need a refill?”
“No, I’m good. But thank you, Jackson.”
He gave me a brief head nod before disappearing inside.
Rhett stepped forward and reached his hand out to me. “Dance with me.”
“What?”
He took me by the hand, pulling me up to my feet and leading me off the patio toward the large white tent.
“Rhett, there’s no music.”
“I don’t care. I want to dance with you when it’s just you and me.”
He pulled me to him once we were in the middle of the makeshift dance floor. His lips brushed against my forehead as his arms wound tightly around my waist. I wrapped my own arms around his neck and laid my head against his chest as he moved us in a slow, swaying dance.
