Page 41 of Fake As Puck
I move my hand from her back to her wrist, then to her hip, and each touch feels natural and intentional and completely right.
Which is completely wrong, but I can’t seem to stop myself.
Dinner is served buffet-style. It’s nothing fancy, just good food and good company. I’m cutting into my chicken when I notice Liv struggling with hers.
“Here,” I say, reaching over with my fork and knife.
“I can cut my own food, West.”
“You’re taking forever.”
“I’m being careful.”
“You’re being slow.” I cut a piece of her chicken and put it on her fork. “There. Problem solved.”
She picks up her butter knife and points it at me. “Do that again and you’ll be eating through a straw.”
“Promises, promises.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I. You’re cute when you’re threatening me with cutlery.”
She rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling, and I realize we’re flirting.
Actually flirting.
Like a real couple.
The toasts start after dinner, and they’re exactly what I expected from the guys.
Hurley goes first, and his speech is a barely coherent ramble about the time Reed got food poisoning before a game and played anyway.
“And that’s when I knew,” Hurley concludes, raising his beer, “that Reed would do anything for the people he loves. Even play hockey while actively dying.”
“That’s not romantic!” Gabby shouts from across the room.
“It’s romantic if you’re a hockey player!” Hurley shouts back.
Colton goes next, and his toast is surprisingly poetic, something about finding someone who makes the ordinary feel extraordinary, who turns a house into a home.
“To Reed and Chelsea,” he finishes, “may you always find magic in the mundane.”
Everyone raises their glasses, and I catch Liv wiping her eyes again.
“You’re emotional tonight,” I tell her.
“I’m a sucker for love stories.”
The dancing starts around eight. I dance with Liv first, because that’s what boyfriends do, and she fits perfectly in my arms.
“You’re not a terrible dancer,” she says as we sway to some slow song.
“I took lessons.”
“You did not.”
“I did. Tessa made me when we were sixteen. Said I needed to know how to dance for my wedding someday.”
