Page 10 of Luck of the Draw

“Goat dance?” I asked in disbelief.

Her grin spread wider, her whole face radiating joy. “Trust me. Do you promise?”

“Yeah,” I said, realizing that I couldn’t refuse her even if I wanted to.

“Good. That’s settled, then.” Satisfied, she headed down the steps. Part of me wondered if I should help her, but she seemed to be handling them just fine.

I headed back to the reception and found Samantha sitting at a table with the man from the line at the bar. Several other people were sitting with them, but Sam had saved me a spot, the same way she always used to in high school. Her purse sat in front of the empty chair next to hers.

I took my seat, and she smiled at me. “I got you a lemon drop martini. They didn’t have many options.”

“I’m not complaining.” I picked up the martini glass and took a sip, thankful it wasn’t very strong. I had a feeling I’d be the designated driver again.

“I nearlydiedwhen that goat came running down the steps,” one of the women at the table said to the woman next to her, shaking her head. “And then when it knocked down the candelabra…”

“It’s a good thing the bridesmaid was so quick on her feet,” her friend responded.

“The bridesmaid?” the first woman said. “What about the groomsman? He practically tackled her to put the flames out.”

“What?” Sam asked, catching the tail end of the conversation.

“Didn’t you see it?” the first woman asked.

“We were late,” Sam said.

“A goat came out of nowhere, and an older woman was chasing it. The goat knocked over a candelabra, and the candles rolled, one of them catching a bridesmaid’s dress on fire.”

“It was the maid of honor,” said the man next to Sam. “Georgie’s sister, Adalia. And her fiancé, Finn Hamilton, was the one who put the fire out.” He glanced around. “He has a consulting business to help start-ups. I have this great idea about self-driving cars for dogs, and I’m hoping to corner him tonight.”

From what Blue had told me, Finn and River were best friends, and I was pretty sure Finn wouldn’t want to talk shop at this wedding.

“So let me get this straight,” the man next to me said, leaning forward with a perplexed look. “You put the dog in a car and it drives itself?”

“That’s right.”

“Why would you want to do that?” he asked. “What purpose could that possibly serve?”

Sam’s new friend looked confused. “So you can send your dog to the dog park if you don’t have time. Or the vet. Or—” He started getting excited. “Let’s say your dog likes to chase cars. Now you can put him in one and let him chase it behind the steering wheel.” He made a face. “The steering wheel is for aesthetics only. It would look weird if a dog were driving a car without one.”

Like that was the only weird thing about his idea.

“What happened to the goat?” I asked.

“One of the bartenders dragged the older woman off, and the other one tried to lure the goat away with a breath mint.”

Was the guy who’d confronted us a bartender? I made a mental note to stay away from the bar and to warn Sam later. Even as I felt a pull to go order a drink.

Poor Georgie. Blue had told me that Georgie had planned this wedding to be perfect. The goat interruption would be a disaster for any wedding, but for a perfectionist? It could be devastating.

As if on cue, the bridal party made their entrance, the band announcing them as they walked in and headed toward a rectangular table off to the side. I was relieved to see Georgie beaming at her groom. Hopefully, all the disasters were behind them now.

“I’m Phoebe,” the woman across the table said, “a friend of the bride’s from back in college. How do the rest of you know the happy couple?”

Everyone introduced themselves as we waited for our table to be called up to the buffet. Thankfully, the others all seemed to be there for the bride, including Samantha’s new friend Tristan. When Samantha introduced herself, she said, “I’m Samantha and this is my friend Deeandra. We’re friends of the groom.”

The man next to me gave us a suspicious look. “How do you know River?”

Samantha paused, then turned to me.

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