SIXTEEN
Nine MonthsLater
From her seat,Maddie watched Salty and his niece dancing while Kenzie danced with the young boy who’d been their ring bearer. At some point, Kenzie had told her which of Salty’s cousins the little boy belonged to, but she didn’t remember which one. The guy had too many cousins for her to remember them all. She wondered if Salty even knew all their names. The presence of the children at tonight’s wedding was just one of the many ways it differed from Connor and Becca’s earlier this month. The other noticeable difference was the number of guests. Connor and Becca’s wedding hadn’t been a small affair. They both knew too many people for that. But compared to this one, though, it’d been an intimate event. Maddie hadn’t done a headcount, but she estimated close to a hundred and fifty people filled the ballroom tonight. And she knew the couple hadn’t invited everyone they wanted. Over lunch earlier in the summer, Kenzie shared they’d gone through the guest list multiple times and removed whomever they could to bring down the cost. At the time, she’d joked that Kenzie should either consider looking for a guy who came from a smaller family or elope.
As lovely as both weddings had been, neither was what Maddie wanted. Nope, when she and Keith got married, she wanted as few people there as possible. And while she enjoyed dancing as much as the next person, she didn’t want a reception like this. Instead, she’d rather go straight on her honeymoon after they said “I do” and then have a cookout at the house when they returned.
“Whatever you do, please don’t get married in the next couple of months.” Alex put down her drink and retook her seat.
“You don’t like weddings?”
“They’re fine. But this is the fourth one I’ve been to this year. I need a break.”
“Don’t worry; I won’t be inviting you to something like this anytime soon.” Or hopefully ever, if Keith agreed to what she had in mind.
“Doubt that. Keith’s going to ask you soon.”
Alex was closer to the truth than she realized. Last week, she’d come home in time to hear Keith tell his sister he’d planned to ask her before they left for their vacation. Maddie didn’t know if he’d shared any plans about how he intended to do it, because she slipped back out the door, so Keith wouldn’t realize she’d overheard him. Then she’d re-entered, making as much noise as possible so Keith realized he was no longer alone.
“And he’s not the type to want a long engagement. I’d guess he’d be willing to wait three or four months.”
Once Keith made up his mind, his ability to wait went out the window. “I don’t know even half this many people, and if I did, I wouldn’t want something like this.” Maddie searched the room for Keith. He’d gone to get them drinks from the bar, and she’d rather he not overhear her and Alex’s conversation.
“That makes two of us.” Alex raised her glass as if making a toast.
“I….” Maddie stopped when she spotted Keith walking back toward their table. Until Keith proposed, she didn’t want him to know what she had in mind.
“What was that?” Alex asked.
Maddie inclined her head in Keith’s direction. “Later.”
“Sorry, it took so long. The line was long.” Keith handed her a glass of white wine before pulling his chair out and sitting down.
With Keith back at the table, Maddie and Alex couldn’t resume their conversation, so she latched on to the first thing she saw. At the moment, it was Megan, Kenzie’s maid of honor. Kenzie considered the woman more a sister than a cousin, and she’d been thrilled when Megan moved to Virginia and rented Salty’s house the previous December.
“Neil’s got it bad. I don’t think he’s danced with anyone but Megan tonight.”
“No, he danced with Salty’s grandmother.”
“She doesn’t count. Keith and Spike danced with her too, and now she’s out there with Matt.” Although probably in her eighties, Mrs. Russo had done more dancing than Maddie. “And speaking of men, Adam is walking this way, and he’s not looking at me.”
Since Adam lived in North Carolina, Maddie didn’t know Salty’s identical twin well, but according to Kenzie, the two men were like night and day in most ways.
“Would you like to dance?” Adam asked, turning his attention to Alex after greeting everyone.
“I’d love to.”
Sipping her drink, Maddie watched the couple walk away.
“When I got the drinks, I noticed a garden outside.” Keith’s leg repeatedly brushed against hers as it bounced up and down. “I don’t know about you, but I could use some fresh air.”
She wouldn’t mind a break from the music and the constant hum of various conversations. “Sounds good to me.”
Shades of purple, pink, and red dominated the garden located off the hotel’s main ballroom, and in the middle, a white gazebo took center stage. Both wooden and granite benches provided visitors with different places to sit and enjoy the nature around them. And for those who visited after sunset or when clouds blocked the sun like now, lights resembling small lanterns lined the walkways.
“I’m surprised there aren’t other people out here.” Unless people were hiding behind the larger shrubs, they had the garden to themselves.
“Maybe they’re afraid to get wet.”