Page 14 of Father of the Bride

The music faded as they walked, lingering in the air behind them until silence overtook it. They finally stopped in a dimly lit hallway off the kitchen. A secret place that held the promise of something. Sunny looked up at him and waited. When his face broke into a real smile, she let out the breath she’d been holding.

“I can’t believe it’s you,” he said. His deep baritone caressed her ears, making her shiver.

“I know,” she managed to say. “It’s a small world.”

He shook his head slowly as he walked into her space, muttering, “Come ‘ere, girl.”

He swept her into his arms, pinning her to him in a way that made her breathless. She wrapped her free arm around his neck, inhaling deeply, smelling his cologne, triggering memories she’d repressed a long time ago. Love. Lust. Pain.

The air was easier to breathe once they parted.

“Sunnecia Johnson.” He smiled. “I meanDixon.”

“Markez Bennett. I meanDr. Mark.”

He bellowed out a laugh. “It’s been damn near thirty years. Two name changes. Two marriages. Six kids. But goddamn, girl. You still got it.”

That was the second time she’d heard that this evening, but it may as well have been the first. It was the only one that made her feel something.

“I can’t get over us meeting again like this,” she said. “My head is still spinning.”

“Mine, too.”

She tucked her hair behind her ear, gazing at him like she once did, making him feel weak.

“And yes, I heard our song.”

He chuckled. “There’s so much I wanna say to you. Questions I wanna ask.”

“I’m listening.”

Heat passed between them, their eyes fixed on each other like no one else in the world mattered. “How do I get on your schedule?” he said.

She laughed. “You tellme. You planned this whole thing from top to bottom.”

“I can’t take the credit. That’s all Daisy.”

“Daisy?”

“Wedding planner.”

She smiled. “That’s her real name?”

“Hell if I know.” He laughed. “How do we do this?”

“Do what?”

“I wanna talk. I wanna…” he trailed off, grabbing her hand in his. “I wanna get reacquainted. If this was a regular situation, I’d be asking if I can take you to dinner.”

“So ask me.”

His full lips curled into a sly smile. “Oh, it’s like that?”

“It is like that, Kez.”

He took another step toward her, leaving roughly an inch of space between them. “So, Cici’s still in there, huh?”

She gazed up at him through her lashes. “Cici never left.”

---