Page 82 of Legal

“Really, Perry?” Her sister, Samantha, had just arrived. “You can’t show a little restraint during your engagement party?” She waved hello to Chase, then looked confused as to why he was there.

“It’d be easier if my smokin’-hot fiancé wasn’t so hard.” Perry grabbed him around the waist. “What do you say, baby? It’d be a shame to waste it. Should we go upstairs for a quickie before the others get here?”

Sam just shook her head and walked away.

“Did you enjoy yourself?” Stephen asked.

“Yep,” Perry said. “I love her and all, but sometimes she can be such a prude. It’s fun to mess with her.”

“As long as you had fun, dear.” My brother kissed her, and I melted on sight. They were like the sweetest candy together with none of the sickening.

“Isn’t he perfect?” she said. “Perfect and hard. What more could a woman ask for?” Perry winked at me.

The happy couple went off to greet the other guests who’d filed in. The place was starting to pack quickly. I strolled around with Chase, not sure what to do. We stopped by the champagne tower, checked that out awhile, got a couple vodka cranberries that had little ring-shaped ice cubes floating in them. We talked to a few people, and if anyone asked, Chase was a friend of mine. Easy-peasy.

Over the course of the next two hours, I grew pleasantly sublime. Chase had survived meeting Mom and Frank; in fact, it went better than imagined. I’d prepared my mom the other day, revealing his age, hoping to eliminate any surprises. However, I still thought she’d be leery of him, considering what she’d been through. That wasn’t the case at all. Both she and my stepdad were very welcoming, and I figured it had to do with all my prior assurances telling them it was nothing serious.

“How are you doing?” Chase asked. His breath in my ear made me shiver. He’d been keeping a close but respectable distance from me all night, and there were no outward displays of affection. I really appreciated him for that.

I could not wait to get him home and thank him properly.

“So far, so good.”

Chase and I found our spot for dinner and took a seat. We were at the table of honor, along with Perry, Stephen, and the parents. My biological father was not in attendance, and I doubted he was even invited.

We were the first ones to sit down, and it felt nice to have our little corner of the world for a while. There were pens and cards on the table, and I wondered what we were supposed to do with them.

“Hey!” Perry bounded over. “Try some.” She tried handing me her ice-blue glass, but I pushed it away. “You have to make me happy, remember? It’s one of your duties.”

“Fine.” I expected to shudder, and that’s exactly what happened when I took a sip. It tasted like mashed-up jellybeans.

She pointed at the cards. “You have to write down words of wisdom for us.” She smiled wide. “Advice for the married couple-to-be.” I had to stop from laughing. Like she’d take marital advice from anyone. Perry would run her relationship however she saw fit and probably be the most successful one at it too. I betted on her and Stephen being one of those rare couples who lasted forever.

“And these?” I picked up a different set.

“You can’t do that one. Guests have to guess how he proposed to win a prize. Obviously, you’re disqualified.”

“What about me?” Chase asked.

Perry raised an eyebrow. “You don’t know?” He shook his head, and she narrowed her eyes like it was my fault for not telling him. “Then you have a shot. When you’re done, write your name on it and drop it in the pink box.” She pointed a finger at me as if making it clear that my window of spilling the answer was now closed tight.

“I’m not going to help him, Perry.”

“I’m sure he has ways of making you talk.” She blew me a kiss, then skipped off.

Chase scribbled some things down, and I was dying to see. I bet they’d be hilarious. He was a great guy, but I highly doubted he knew much about proposal ideas. When I tried grabbing the card, he snatched it away. “Uh-uh.” Then he darted over, letting it fall into the box before I could take a peek. I crossed my arms, and when he came back to the table, he yanked them apart, making me smile. “Now, what about the advice one?” he asked.

I picked up a pen and tapped it on the card. “I’m probably not the best one to be handing out words of wisdom. I’m divorced, remember?”

“So if you could do it all over again, what would you do differently?”

“Pick the right guy.”

Wait, what? Did I just say that out loud? Shit. I hope he didn’t think I was implying that he was the right guy. I didn’t mean it that way; it was only supposed to be a general statement. Was I reading too much into this?

I banged the card against my lip, then put it down before I got a paper cut. Thankfully, the server arrived shortly after, placing a couple baskets of bread in the center of our table. Thirty seconds later, the seats were filled, and Chase and I were no longer alone.

The dinner went smoothly. Chase was happy; he had a full plate of food in front of him. I was comfortable with the company around me. Stephen was reserved around Chase, but that was better than the alternative. Overall, everything was good.

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