Jess raised her glass and drank as Rick stepped away from the podium and back to his seat. When he was beside her again, she leaned over. “That was very nice.”
“It wasn’t that hard, because it was all true.”
With the string quartet playing behind them and the scent of flowers and the
flickering candles, something clicked between them. Something Jess wasn’t ready for. Something she wasn’t sure she wanted.
Tom and Abby got up to go cut the wedding cake and together they watched as Tom put his hand over Abby’s on the cake knife and they sliced through the bottom layer. Everyone clapped and camera flashes went off like fireflies in the dusky light. Rick leaned over a little and said in an undertone, “Aren’t we supposed to dance together later?”
Her throat tightened. “Yes, I think we are.”
And heaven help her, she was looking forward to it.
CHAPTER 9
As evening deepened and the temperatures dipped, the guests moved inside for dancing. The chandeliers were dimmed to a soft light, and a small bar was set up in the corner of the dining-room-turned-ballroom room close to the fireplace. A fire burned behind the grate, the light casting flickering shadows on the walls. Jess mingled for a while, visiting with friends and neighbors, until the music started up.
Rick went to the bar and came back with a couple of glasses. He handed one to Jess. “Just soda,” he said, hanging back and putting a hand in his pocket.
“Okay,” she answered. She took a drink. The house was warmer than she’d anticipated. The fire was nice but it was also throwing extra heat in a house full of people.
“I told you I wouldn’t drink tonight,” Rick said quietly beside her, his gaze on the fire. “I know you think I’m a drunk, but you can stop inspecting everything I swallow. Besides, if I’m driving Glen’s car I have to be on my best behavior.”
“You like the ’stang?”
“I do. Not sure I’d want to restore my own, but it was a kick driving it around today.”
Bryce picked up the cordless mic and began speaking again. “Ladies and gentlemen, would you please clear the floor for the bride and groom’s first dance.”
Jess watched with a lump in her throat as Tom took Abby in his arms. He gave Abby such a tender smile that Jess was sure every female heart in the room practically melted, and as the music started and their feet began moving, every eye was transfixed on the happy couple.
“They’re great, aren’t they?”
She looked over at Rick. “Yes, they are.”
“I wasn’t sure Tom would ever find someone. But last spring, after Abby showed up … he was different.”
“Different how?” Jess asked, watching the couple turn on the floor, gazing into each other’s eyes.
“He’d been just going from day to day, you know? Running his business, living out at his place, but he was just going through the motions. When Abby showed up, it was like he had a purpose again.”
Jess wasn’t sure if Rick was describing Tom or himself. “What about you? Do you have a purpose, Rick?”
“I keep looking,” he admitted. “At first it was just get through each day. Sometimes it’s still like that.”
The dance ended, but Bryce called for the maid of honor and best man to join the couple as well as Tom’s parents.
“This is us,” he said quietly, holding out his hand.
She realized belatedly that he’d held out his left hand—his prosthetic. She’d never touched it before. She took it and schooled her face while the material felt slightly odd beneath her fingertips. Once on the floor his right arm came around her and her hand was cushioned in the stiff-feeling artificial limb.
“Should I have warned you?” he asked as they started dancing to the slow song.
“About what?” she bluffed.
He chuckled. “Sorry. It doesn’t exactly feel like flesh and blood.”
She looked into his eyes. “Of course it doesn’t.” She frowned. She’d never known anyone with an artificial limb before. “How well can you use it?” she asked, curious.