“Where are you going to go first?” Charlie asked.
“Not sure. I’ve always wanted to go to Vegas, but I may hit New York first.” I held out my fist to Thomas, and we bumped knuckles. “Could give me a chance to pick up some tips for the bar back home.”
“But you guys already make the best cocktails!” Alex frowned, flicking his eyes up to glance at me briefly through his rear-view mirror. “What kind of tips are you hoping to pick up?”
“We’ve been talking about extending our main bar back home into an American style place. You know, cheesy fries, corn dogs, lobster rolls, key lime pie, waffles, pancakes…” Thomas explained. “The whole nine yards.”
“Everything except biscuits in gravy.” I grinned at Thomas, watching for the look of revulsion on his face.
Alex and Charlie both laughed when I said that.
“It’s not like you’re imagining.” Charlie unclipped her seat belt as Alex pulled up to a spot outside the hotel Nina and James were having the reception at. “It must be nice, as it’s a popular dish.” She opened the passenger door, but before she could even step out, Alex was already there, holding his hand out for her.
“Whipped,” I teased after I climbed out.
“It’ll be you one day.” Alex laid a hand on my shoulder before he closed the door and locked up the SUV.
“Me?” I shook my head at him and walked ahead, leading the way to the doors of the hotel. “I’ll never settle down. Lifelong bachelor, I am.”
“That’ll change when you meet the right one,” Charlie called out as she wrapped her arm around Alex’s waist.
“Me?” I walked backward toward the door, giving them my signature cheeky grin. I spread my arms wide in a confident gesture. “I’ll never change.”
* * *
“Come on, beautiful.” I held my hand out to Nina. I gestured for her to come closer, but she just stood staring at me like a deer in the headlights. “You owe me a dance. Come on.” I grabbed her hand and gave her a gentle tug, pulling her off of James’s lap. “One dance before you go.” I took a step away from her groom, but before I could get any further, Nina’s words stopped me.
“Go?” She sounded surprised at the word, but it just made me laugh.
I turned around and gave them both an‘Are you serious?’look.
“You and I both know your tattooed groom is going to be dragging you out of this party in the next thirty minutes.” James cockily shrugged his shoulders in a‘Do I care?’fashion. She giggled when he did that. “You’ve been hogged by everyone else at this shindig…”
“Shindig,” she giggled, repeating my word choice back to me.
“Don’t I deserve a dance with the most beautiful bride in the world?” I stopped us in the middle of the dancefloor and took her hand in mine. I slipped my other arm around her waist and began rocking us back and forth in a slow dance to the music. “You look beautiful, Nina.”
“Thank you.” She slipped her arm around my neck and threaded her fingers into the hair at the back of my head. “I never thought I’d ever be this happy, Luke.” Her eyes twinkled up at me when she said that, and I knew she was telling the truth.
“Well, you two didn’t have the most perfect start to your relationship, it’s safe to say.” I smiled down at her. “At one point, you know I was close to banging your heads together.”
She giggled at me. “I know. We probably wouldn’t be here today if we hadn’t had you meddling and playing matchmaker.”
“Nah.” I made a goofy face at her. “You two were made for each other. You just needed your heads bashed together a few times to start off with.”
“You’ll have this one day, Luke.” She tightened her fingers around mine as we waltzed from side to side.
“Geez. What is it with everyone trying to get me down that aisle today?” I rolled my eyes at her, laying on the humor. “I’m too pretty to be tied down to one person for the rest of my life.”
“Yes.” She darted her eyes to the bar, where there was a small group of women watching us dance. “I’m not sure your fan club over there could take it, though, if they knew you played for the other team…” She ended her sentence by raising a delicate eyebrow at me.
“What is it?” I asked. “You keep looking at me lately like there is something you want to say to me.”
“I do worry about you sometimes, Luke,” she admitted.
“Worry about me?” I scoffed. “Why?”
“Because you’re always thinking about everyone else. Do me a favor, okay?” she asked me. “Don’t forget to love yourself, Luke. You’re always there for other people. Remember to be there for yourself.”