Page 81 of Obeying the Owner

“Better late than never.”

All the guests take their seats, and the servers start going around to each table, placing bowls of salad in front of each person. I move my fork around the greens.

“What’s wrong with your salad?” Trey asks.

“I’m afraid I’ll spill on my dress.”

He laughs. “It can be replaced.”

“If I don’t spill on it, I won’t need to replace it.”

Trey and I have different views on money. Because he has plenty, he doesn’t worry about every dollar he spends like I do. And as much as I love how he spoils me with thoughtful gifts, it’s going to take a while for me to get used to it.

The main course gets delivered, and I dig in. Soft music plays in the background, and the conversations lower to a hum as everyone eats.

“This meal is amazing,” Sheryl says.

“It’s better than I expected. We lucked out when we found this place on such short notice.”

“This would be a great place to hold your wedding reception,” she whispers, waggling her eyebrows.

I shake my head. “Talk about premature.”

When I finally put down my fork, it’s almost time for the slideshow to begin, which I’m really excited about. Greg doesn’t know about it, and Lillith gave Trey a bunch of pictures to include. I’m predicting by the end of the slides, Greg will be tearing up.

The vineyard staff turns on the massive white screen at the back of the tent. One of the staff members, holding a tablet, turns on the slideshow. “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong starts to play, calling everyone’s attention to the screen. The pictures start when Greg was a baby, which elicits a lot of “Awws” from the guests. When “My Way” by Frank Sinatra, the second song we used, starts to play, it’s the beginning of the pictures from when he became the team owner. Images of him and some of hockey’s biggest legends flash on the screen. The song ends with a pic of him holding the large silver championship cup after the team won this season.

The third and final song was going to be “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life,” but Trey thought it should be something funny to lighten the mood. He chose “Take This Job and Shove It” by Johnny Paycheck. I’d never heard it, but when I looked it up online and listened to it, I had to agree with him. Judging by all the laughter, I’m guessing I’m one of the few who wasn’t familiar with it. All the images for this song are from the party we threw him in the boardroom on his last day of work.

Trey nudges my thigh with his, and I smile at him. “Good choice.” I hold my fist up, and he bumps it. We’re halfway through the song when an image comes up on the screen that makes me gasp—Trey and I engaged in a kiss in the break room.

“Oh my God,” I whisper behind the hand covering my mouth.

“What the fuck?” Sheryl says, seeming to be genuinely shocked.

Trey rubs my back. “Relax, Sunshine. It’s okay.”

“Okay? That’s not the word I’d use.” It feels as though every pair of eyes in the room is no longer focusing on the slideshow and instead are watching us.

He shrugs. “It’s too late to do anything but lean into it.”

“Are you all right?” Sheryl asks.

“I don’t know what I am.” I’m panicked and sick to my stomach. It’s all I can do to remain in my seat until the slideshow is over. But once it is, I jump from my chair and speed walk from the tent.

“Maeve!” Trey calls my name, hurrying after me. I slow down, allowing him to catch up. “Where are you going?” he asks, grabbing my hand.

“I don’t know. I couldn’t stay in there with everyone’s judgy eyeballs on me any longer.”

“No one cares that we’re together, Maeve. They’ve all got their own lives to worry about.”

“People love gossip and scandal.”

“What’s so scandalous about two people meeting and starting to fall for each other before they end up working together?” he asks.

“Nothing, but that picture makes us look bad.”

He squeezes my hand. “No, that picture shows everyone we’re in love. What could be wrong about that?”

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