Page 53 of 4 Weddings and a Feud

“Happy? More like tipsy.” Considering how exhausted she was, it hadn’t taken much wine with dinner to give her brain a buzz, and everything had a rosy tint to it, from the crowded tables in the public part of the bar to the screens with the lyrics on them. Even the trio of drunk college girls screeching a Miley Cyrus song sounded good.

“Maybe a little of both. I can see why you’re happy.” She waggled her eyebrows at Alex, who stood silently behind them, taking in the karaoke club with his eyebrows smashed together.

“Oh, you mean the sex?” Whoa, that came out louder than she’d planned. Her brother, Gabe, winced. She dropped her voice to whisper in Sunny’s ear. “Yeah, it’s pretty great.” Since they’d come back from San Diego, he’d spent the night at her place more often than not. It was another reason she was so tired. But totally worth it.

Alex’s hand on her back guided her to the front of the hostess’s line. She leaned back against his shoulder and let his vanilla scent embrace her.

But when Sunny pointed to a table near the stage, he leaned around her. “Wouldn’t you prefer a private room?”

“For four of us?” Sunny asked. “What’s the fun in that?”

“What’s the fun in any of this?” Alex muttered.

“I heard that,” Mary whispered.

His arm went around her waist. “I didn’t mean?—”

“I know. It’s not your scene. Thanks for being a good sport.”

He tugged her closer. “You can thank me later.”

She turned in his arms and kissed him. “Believe me, I will.”

“Come on, lovebirds.” Sunny tapped her shoulder. “Let’s sit down so we can get our names on the list.”

“Goody.” Alex arched his eyebrow.

Mary traced it with her fingertip. “It’ll be fun.”

“Fun.” His full lips pinched together.

The hostess led them to the table. Sunny didn’t even wait for the waiter to get their drink order before she asked, “Okay, what do you two want to sing?”

“What do you…” But when she turned to Alex, he wasn’t there. He’d stopped a few feet away to talk to a man also dressed in a suit, no tie. “Sorry.” She turned to her brother and his fiancée. “He knows everyone.”

“Hmm.” Sunny’s flat lips conveyed her disapproval. “Honey, what do you want to sing? ‘Shallow’ again?” She leaned toward Mary. “That’s our song, you know.”

“I love your voice on ‘Senorita,’” he said. “Maybe that first?”

They were so cute. Her brother Gabe had seemed so stiff and serious when she’d first met him over a year ago when he’d come looking for his birth family after accidentally taking one of those DNA tests. And here he was, cozied up with professional performer Sunny, about to get up on stage and sing a duet with her.

She wished she and Alex had a song.

“How is Alex’s singing voice?” Sunny asked.

She was a little embarrassed that she didn’t know. She’d known him for over twenty-five years, and she couldn’t remember hearing him sing. He’d hummed while he loaded the dishwasher last weekend. “Okay, I guess?”

“We’ll put you down for something that isn’t too challenging. How about ‘I Got You, Babe’? I think you can do Cher’s part, and a semi-trained donkey could stand in for Sonny.”

“I don’t sing.” Alex slipped into the chair next to Mary. “You three can partner up.”

“Everybody sings karaoke,” Sunny said, narrowing her blue eyes at him.

“I wouldn’t argue with her,” Gabe said. “She might be tiny, but she’s tenacious.”

One corner of Alex’s mouth tipped up, and a dangerous glint came into his eyes. “I. Don’t. Sing.”

Mary rubbed his tense shoulder. “Sunny might be a professional singer, but she won’t judge your voice. Mine, either, I hope.” She chuckled nervously.

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