Page 44 of Four Weddings to Fall in Love
We head back inside, and I grab a slice of strawberry champagne cake.Not that I need any more food, but I’ve always had a bit of a sweet tooth.
Nolan rushes over to me.“Max!I’m having a sleepover with Po Po tonight!”
At least, I think that’s what he’s saying, but he’s a lot shorter than me, and it’s hard to tell with the music.
He eyes the cake in my hand.“Can you get me a piece of pink cake, please?”
Daisy appears at my side.“Nolan, you’ve already had cake.”
“Only the chocolate one.I want the pink cake.Pink is my favorite flavor.No—blue is my favorite.But there’s no blue cake.”
It pains me to hear blue referred to as a “flavor.”
“There’s some extra cake for us to take home,” Daisy says, “but since it’s a special day, you can have a bite now, okay?”She picks up a plate with a slice of pink cake, bends down, and holds a small forkful to his lips.
Nolan makes a face.“Why is it so yucky?I thought I liked pink!”
My lips twitch.I finish my cake as Daisy wipes Nolan’s mouth, then I search for Kim.
Before I can find her, Aaron approaches me.“Hey, you wanna do a shot?”
“No,” I say curtly.I never intend to repeat that drunken experience.
“Is something wrong?”Aaron sounds concerned.
“No.”I try to make my voice gentler, despite my agitation.Somehow, it seems paramount that I find Kim as quickly as possible.
“Cake was great, wasn’t it?”
I nod, and out of the corner of my eye, I catch a glimpse of Kim.
As soon as I see her, I can’t look away.She has a face that makes me wish I were an artist.She’s taken her hair down, and I itch to run my fingers through it.I walk over to her, trying to look calm and collected despite my rapid pulse.
“Would you like to dance?”I ask.
In response, she loops her hands around my neck, and I smile.I recall our dance at Malcolm and Tessa’s wedding—that time, she asked me.It was only last month, but a lot has happened since, and dancing with her feels different now.
We don’t say anything for a long time.It’s nice to just hold her.She moves back and forth, the skirt of her pretty dress swishing about her legs.We’ve spent so much time in close proximity tonight, but I didn’t get to touch her until now, and it feels good.It feels right.
It feels like a gift.
She’s breathtaking, and she’s dancing withme, this woman who’s consumed my thoughts in the past several weeks.I don’t think I could ever tire of dancing with her.
I pull her a little closer.I try not to imagine touching her skin, rather than the thin fabric of her dress, but I can’t help it.She smells vaguely of coconut, and I want the scent of her on my pillows one day.I think it’s her shampoo; even in those heels, she’s quite a bit shorter than me, and the top of her hair is a couple of inches below my nose.
She tilts her head up to meet my gaze, her face so close to mine.It throws off our rhythm, and I can barely even hear the music now.
She’s everything.
When she stumbles, it breaks the spell, but I react quickly and wrap an arm securely around her.
“Sorry,” she says.“I’m tired.”
“Would you like me to drive you home now?”
“If you want to stay—”
“No, no, I’m happy to leave.”If it’s with you.
