“Can I agree without the arm twisting part?”
She laughed and said, “Shoot, I was looking forward to inflicting a little pain.”
* * *
Following the rehearsal, Chansey found me on the front porch swing. She was wearing a white sundress that accented her sun kissed skin perfectly. Her hair was down, but her former waves hung in loose ringlets and one side was pulled away from her face, adorned with a white flower.
When her eyes met mine, I said, “Well, that’s totally unfair.”
She looked confused. “What?”
“You’re more beautiful than the bride. She won’t be happy about this.”
Her smile was breathtaking. “How do you know, you haven’t seen her, yet?”
I laughed and said, “I don’t have to see her to know. Come on, the caravan is leaving.”
I drove at the back of the pack and we joined the wedding party at a formal restaurant downtown for the rehearsal dinner. We entered the restaurant and round tables were draped with white tablecloths, adorned with fuchsia floral arrangements and countless burning candles.
We searched the name cards for our seats and found the seating cards for Chansey Leclaire and her companion, Evan Finley. “I’m sorry, the placement cards were already printed and the seating arrangements had already been made.”
I felt a spark of jealousy. “It’s alright. I just hope he doesn’t show up to claim his seat. Who is Evan Finley, anyway?”
“He was the guy I was dating when I responded to the RSVP.”
That couldn’t have been more than a few months ago and the idea of another man touching her had my stomach turning flips. “How long did you date?”
“Not long.”
She didn’t volunteer additional information, so I took that as a sign to discontinue my line of questioning. We took our assigned seats and servers came around to take our orders. I was in the middle of deciding on a new topic of conversation when I was interrupted by a tapping butter knife against a wine glass. We turned our attention to the pastor and he asked us to bow our heads as he asked the blessing over our meal.
I played my usual game of charades, as I pretended to eat the food placed before me. Those seated at our table laughed, as Chansey and her family reminisced about stories from their childhoods. My eyes rarely left her and I found myself staring as I hung on her every word.
The number of guests dwindled as the rehearsal dinner ended and we were the last ones remaining at our table. “I heard the others talking about going out tonight. Are you not going to join them?”
Her elbow was propped on the table, supporting her chin. “I was thinking about it, but I was waiting to see if I got a better offer.”
“Such as....?,” I questioned.
“Come with us. Everyone is going to the casino. It will be fun.”
I didn’t need time to decide, but I hesitated to make myself not look so desperate. “I will, if I can take my truck.”
“No problem. They’re about to leave. Are you ready to go?”
”I am.”
I resumed my place at the back of the caravan on the drive to the casino. After parking, we walked in as a group and Christian spoke up, “Hey, Curry, do you play blackjack?”
I was once something of a card shark and I had robbed quite a few casinos with my ability to know how to place bets. “I have, but it’s been a while.”
“The guys are gonna hit the blackjack tables. Do you want to join us?”
I turned to Chansey. “Is that alright?”
“Go for it.” She pressed a kiss to my cheek and said, “A kiss for luck.”
I didn’t really want her out of my sight, but didn’t want to appear excessively concerned. “What kind of gambling are you going to do?”
“I think we’re going to play roulette,” she said as she pointed in the general direction of the table.
I took my wallet from my back pocket and handed her $200. She put her hands up and said, “No way. I’m not taking your money.”
“Yes, you are. It’s an investment, so if you hit it big, you’ll owe me big,” I argued.
“That’s not why I asked you to come,” she defended.
“I know. Now, take it. Go win me some profit.”
I joined the guys at the blackjack table and dropped a$300 for chips. I positioned myself so I could see Chansey at the roulette table, but it was difficult to concentrate on the hands being dealt when I only had to lift my eyes to see her.
I decided to win a hand or two after my chips began to dwindle. I placed my bet, all of my remaining chips and won the hand, receiving a sweet payoff. I repeated my wager with the next hand, earning a second large reward and my fellow gamblers slapped me on the back, congratulating me on my earnings.
I raised my eyes to see Chansey and noticed a man standing behind her at the roulette table. It wasn’t unusual for spectators to watch and study the game, but it wasn’t the game holding his interest. and my protective instinct urged me to go to her. “Hey, guys. I’m going to go check on Chansey and see if she needs some chips.”
“No way, Curry, you’re on a winning streak. You can’t leave now,” Christian encouraged.
“I won’t be long,” I promised.
I walked to Chansey’s table, keeping my distance and stood back, waiting to see if the man had motive or was just enjoying the view. He smiled when Chansey squealed delightfully over her win.
Chansey told Rachel she was going to the restroom and as she turned from the table, the man reached out and touched her arm. I protectively stepped forward to intervene, but stopped when I heard him say, “Chansey Leclaire.”
She turned at the sound of her name and broke into a large smile before she said, “Evan, what are you doing here?” So, this was Evan Finley. He leaned forward to embrace her and kissed her cheek. I felt a pang of jealousy and didn’t want to witness this display of affection for another man.
“I’m in town for the wedding. How have you been?” he said.
“I’m good. I’m rea
lly good. I’m here with Christian and Rachel.”
“I can’t believe it’s already here. It seems like they just got engaged.”
“I know.” Chansey asked.
“Listen, I’m here with my brother and we were on our way out when I saw you, but I’m in town all week and I would love to get together.”
“It’s so nice of you ask, but I’m tied up with this wedding stuff for the next couple of days and then I go back to work.”
“What if I swing by your apartment one night?” he suggested.
I had heard more than I wanted to hear of this. I walked up next to Chansey. “Hey, did you win anything?”
“Not really, but I ran into my friend, Evan Finley.” She turned to Evan and introduced me. “This is Curry Brennan. It’s so weird because we were just talking about you earlier.”
I watched his ego inflate and it irritated me. “How was I lucky enough to be your topic of conversation?”
“I replaced you.” I let that linger a minute before I added, “As Chansey’s date for Christian and Rachel’s rehearsal dinner, that is.”
“Oh. I see.” He turned his attention back to Chansey and said, “I think we were interrupted when you were about to tell me when to come by your apartment.” He was determined. I’d give him that.
“I don’t live in my apartment anymore. I’m back home with my grandparents.”
He appeared dissatisfied with that answer and said, “Well, perhaps another time. It was really good to see you.” He leaned in and gave her a hug. He cut his eyes up at me and said, “Very good to meet you, Curry.”
“And you, Evan,” I replied politely, as he turned to leave. “I think I’ll head back to the blackjack table because I seemed to be having some luck before I left.”
“Then, why did you leave?” An underlying smile threatened her face. She knew why I left and wanted to let me know she knew.