Page 37 of Mine To Keep (Southern Wedding)

“Search no more,” I state awkwardly. “I was chatting with a couple of clients,” I tell her, not wanting her to think I was sneaking off with Kevin.

“We should get to our seats,” Kevin suggests. “Are we all sitting together?”

I nod my head. “I put all assistants at one table.” I point at the table on the side, more off to the back of the room. “Out of sight, out of mind.”

“If I can have everyone’s attention,” Nash announces from the podium. “The meal will be starting in five minutes.” He smiles. “If everyone could grab a seat so we can get this show on the road.”

“Excuse me,” I say to Kevin and Kayla. “Can you take this to the table for me?” I hand her the silk purse that has been tucked under my arm most of the night. Next time, I’m sticking my lip gloss in my bra and calling it a night. “I’m going to make sure everything is going to be good to go. Save me a seat,” I tell them before walking away. I put the two champagne glasses on one of the servers’ silver trays before turning and walking to the side to see the event manager, Barbara.

“Hi,” I greet her, “is everything under control?”

“It is,” she confirms with her hands behind her back. “We are going to start plating up the food as soon as they give the opening speech.”

“I’ll go and see how long it’s going to be,” I tell her and walk toward the four of them. One look at Caine and again my heart is beating all over the place, my chest gets tight, and my nipples tighten also. I’m not even going to tell you how my panties are faring.

“What do you mean you didn’t write a speech?” I hear Nash hiss at Caine as he puts a smile on his face, trying to pretend everything is okay. “You literally said, ‘don’t worry, bud, I’ve got it.’”

“Okay, one”—Caine holds up his hand—“I would never say bud.” I can’t help but snort, and with just my luck, all four of them turn to me.

“I can attest to Caine not shortening any words with abbreviations.” I smile at him. “Now, no pressure,” I add, “but they are waiting until the speech is over to plate the food.” I look around, also pretending I’m not going to freak out if they don’t get their act together. “Now, I’ve spent the past couple of weeks making sure everything was going to go off without a hitch.” I look at Nash and then Caine. “So, one of you get up there and welcome everyone. We can always add a speech later before the evening is up.”

“Fine,” Caine hisses, “since I’m the bigger man.”

“Older man.” Nash slaps him on the back. “Not bigger.” The look Caine gives him would have me shaking in my shoes, but Nash just folds his arms over his chest. “Whatcha going to do about it, bud?”

Caine, being the calm, cool, collected, and extremely hotter of the two, just winks. “Watch and learn, grasshopper.”

“Yeah, I’ll kung fu your ass,” Nash retorts before he turns to me. “Grace, will you join us at our table?”

I hold my hands in front of me. “Thank you so much for the offer.” I smile at his parents and continue, “But it’ll be weird if all the other assistants are at one table, and I’m with you guys.”

“Fine,” Nash concedes, “but save a dance for me.”

“Got it,” I assure him before looking at Caine, who is looking at me like he’s going to throttle me, and I didn’t even do anything. “So, what, five minutes is a good time?”

“Yes,” he confirms, turning and walking up the stairs toward the podium Nash was just standing at.

“I’ll see you guys later,” I tell the three of them, turning and rushing toward Barbara at the same time Caine’s voice comes through. “Five minutes,” I inform her. She nods her head and walks toward the black swinging doors.

I walk around the room on the outside, making my way over to my table, the dress swishing between my legs. I grab a glass of champagne, not listening to my head telling me it’s not a good idea. I down it in three gulps before making my way over to my table.

“Sit back and enjoy yourself.” I hear the last of Caine’s speech and then the applause when I finally get to my table.

“Hi,” I say, pulling out the empty chair in the middle of Kevin and Kayla. “Thanks for saving me a seat.” I look at Kayla, who smiles at me, but I can see the sadness in her eyes.

“You okay?” I ask her softly when I grab the linen napkin and place it on my lap.

“Yeah,” she replies, blinking quickly, “it’s fine.”

“We’ll have a couple of shots later.” I wink at her, and she finally laughs. “God knows I need them.”

“That you do,” she agrees as the food comes to us.

I push away from the table. “I’ll be back, I’m going to the bathroom.” I grab the silk handbag.

Making my way out of the ballroom, I head toward the small corner where there are two bathrooms side by side, men on the right and women on the left. I walk into the bathroom, taking a deep inhale now that the food is being served. Walking over to the sink area, I open my purse, taking out the small light-pink lip gloss and applying a soft coat to my lips. I turn to look behind me, making sure everything is still zipped up and in place before I pull open the bathroom door.

I take two steps outside and spot Caine coming out of the ballroom, almost as if he’s on a mission. His head is down, and when he looks up and spots me, he stops for a second, looks around, and then continues on his mission. “I was looking for you,” he declares in almost a whisper.

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