Page 34 of Until Then

“Good, I plan to make it extra unbearable.”

She shakes her head, laughing. “As long as you don’t break my toes or something in our forced dance, Pretty Boy, we’ll be fine.”

I dip my chin watching her go, a soft, “Until then, Wildfire,” following her.

ELEVEN

Hayley

“He looks like he’ll be fun.” Mia snickers, nudging her way between me and Charlotte when we pause outside the reception hall doors.

“Bry says he’s a nice guy, but not one looking for commitment,” Charlotte says.

“Lottie, you’re such a wife.” Mia checks her lipstick in a pocket mirror. “No one said anything about commitment.” She snaps the mirror closed. “I said fun.”

I chuckle. “I thought you had to stick with your groomsman.”

Mia arches a brow. “Nope. I was confused when she had us dance at the rehearsal, but after digging a little deeper, turns out Briar said that all so you stick by Noah’s side.”

Briar made up her little rule about the groomsman and bridesmaid dance? I fight the urge to roll my eyes. Of course she did. I’m certain Greer had something to do with it too.

Mia leans her shoulder against the wall. “So, tell us. What’s the story between you two?”

Heat prickles over my scalp. “Ah, but we were talking about you and the stunt double.”

“Fine. To be continued. Don’t think I don’t know there must be a story.” With a quick fluff to her short hair, she rolls eachshoulder one by one. “I don’t have anything to say about Stunt Man, only that he’s hot, we’re at a wedding, we’re single, and I do not plan to waste an opportunity.”

Mia strides into the hall, an impressive swagger to her step, and a look of confidence like she owned the whole of the room.

Briar changed to a sleek white dress with more room to breathe than her wedding gown, and was instantly whisked away for parent photos.

Sweet, gentle music flows from the hall. Chatter from several conversations bleeds into the corridor. I’ve only been here for a few hours, and already my narrow pumps keep digging into the sides of my feet, threatening blisters. Another reason to be grateful Briar isn’t demanding a long, drawn-out reception.

She wanted to disappear to her two-week honeymoon before the sun set, and I fully support the idea.

“Hayley.” Charlotte stops me before we step inside. “Let Mia be Mia. I don’t know what happened between you and Noah, but he’s a really decent guy. He’s not like a lot of the types who get famous young, you know?”

“Okay.” I don’t know where she’s going with all this.

“All I’m saying is, Briar messed with her wedding to put you—her friend she’s loved since elementary school—with a man she really cares about too. Maybe see where the opportunity takes you.”

With a sly wink, Charlotte steps into the hall, already on the hunt for her groomsman husband.

The opportunity. Is that what this is? A second chance with the perfect first date?

I close my eyes. How long will I let the past dictate what I do with my future?

Tonight, what would happen, if I just . . . took a risk?

With care, I remove the lacy hat, annoyed with the beaded veil in my face, and place it on a small table, hidden behind apillar. I smooth the front of my dress out of habit, not for any wrinkles, and take my first Mia-confident stride into the hall.

Tables with drinks and hors d’oeuvres on gold trays are strategically placed on the edges of a dining area and dance floor. Fairy lights twinkle beneath black and white sashes draped in elegant ribbons across the ceiling.

Every detail, down to the flower arrangements, creates the illusion of stepping into an old black and white matinee.

There are more people here, smaller people. Kids were welcomed to the afterparty, and even have a section of the room that looks like the red carpet leading into a theater behind red drapes. Popcorn buckets and old gummy candies are arranged for the youngest guests to go inside and be entertained.

It’s there where I find Noah. He’s stripped his suit coat and has his white dress shirt sleeves rolled up on his forearms, revealing those strong hands that touch so well.

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