Chapter 30
The wedding was lovely. Justine did as she was told and walked with Ted’s cousin down the aisle. Her sister made a lovely bride. Ted, keeping his mouth shut except to exclaim over his beautiful wife, made a decent enough groom.
Mallory was now Mrs. Ted Cochran. Their parents beamed, the handsome newly married couple basking in the crowd’s adoration as the party got underway.
“They sure do know how to throw a party,” Xavier said from beside her and handed her a glass of wine.
The reception was in full swing, the music a soft jazz that added to the classy ambience and guests.
Though she’d recognized many of her father’s associates from work from the many parties her parents hosted, she also saw several of the city’s wealthier movers and shakers comingling under her mother’s watchful eye.
And of course, at the groom’s cluster of tables sat Mikayla and Mitch, looking debonair in a tux.
“Thanks.” She drank a sip of a smooth, red wine and gave her date a looksie.
“Just who are you and what have you done with Xavier?” She leaned up to kiss him on the cheek, amused when he flushed.
“You look so handsome, man of mine.” Every time she called him her boyfriend or acted possessive, everything in her settled.
He’s mine. Mine. Mine. Mine.
She smiled, pretending she wasn’t secretly freaking out about how much she’d come to like him. He helped when needed, supported her, and had been there from the beginning with a gorgeous smile and a sense of humor that made her feel as if everything in her life would be okay.
And now, here, surrounded by people he didn’t know at a wedding where he was supposed to act loving and endearing to her family, he acted naturally, going so far as to convince her he meant all the complimentary things he said. It was enough to shove a girl headfirst into love.
She swallowed a sigh, knowing she cared for him a lot more than she should.
Again, she felt terrible for taking advantage of his nurturing personality.
All he’d wanted after his breakup with Christine and a departure from his job was time to heal, and Justine came barreling into his life asking for favors.
“Hey, are you okay?”
She sighed. “Yeah. You’re just so great. I want you to know I appreciate you so much.” I think I love you. She wanted badly to tell him how she felt, but what if she did and messed up their friendship? She didn’t want to lose him just because she had no self-control.
He smiled, the curve of his lips not hidden by that soft beard and mustache. “Well, I’m pretty sure you’re going to show me your appreciation later, aren’t you?” He leaned close and kissed her on the lips, sending tingles down her spine. “You promised.”
She shivered. “I never break a promise. And I am sooo going to appreciate all of you.” She kissed his cheek and patted his strong chest.
He leaned closer and growled, “Stop it before I embarrass myself in front of your family.”
She bit back a grin. “A shower and a grower. My favorite kind of man.”
He laughed and hugged her before putting a bit of distance between them. In her tight-fitting dress, she could feel everything easily, and Xavier definitely liked holding her close.
She tried not to keep looking at him, but she failed, meeting his gaze each time. “Why do you keep staring at me?”
“Because you’re the most beautiful woman in the room.”
Stop saying stuff like that! “Xavier.”
“Besides, you keep looking at me. Relax, Justine. I swear I won’t embarrass you.”
“What?” She gaped at him. “I never thought that. I just…” She felt her cheeks heat. “You’re the best looking guy here.”
His slow smile warmed her all over. “Even better than Dr. Douche?”
She laughed, as he’d no doubt intended, and relaxed. “Dr. who?”
“Oh, now there’s a conversation we could have. Dr. Who versus the evil that is this wedding. Look there! It’s Mitch, obviously an Auton. Oh, and I think I see a few Daleks pretending to be tables over by the wall.”
“What’s an Auton? What’s a Dalek?”
He stared at her, agog. “I just… I think we need to break up. Autons were introduced to the show a long time ago, but a Dalek? Everyone knows what they are! Have you no shame, woman? That’s it. When we get home, after you appreciate me, we’re watching a marathon of Dr. Who.”
She groaned. “A closet geek. I should have known you’d have something wrong with you.” She was teasing. She’d seen her share of the sci-fi show and had enjoyed it, though not as much as the horror movies she and Katie liked.
Before they could delve into Time Lords and all their glory, the emcee asked everyone to take their seats for dinner.
She and Xavier sat at the head table with Angela and Scott, Justine’s parents, Ted’s parents, and one of her fathers’ close friends and his wife. Too bad Aunt Rosie couldn’t have been there, but then, her mother wouldn’t have wanted to share the spotlight with her sassy younger sister.
Not only did Aunt Rosie gallivant around the world when the mood struck, but she’d made a tidy little nest egg with investments throughout the years, and she wrote one of the hottest advice columns in the country—Dear Aunt Truth.
Justine had been wanting to share that golden nugget with Xavier, since he and her aunt advised people for a living.
But her aunt had a strict policy to never share her information with anyone.
What would Aunt Truth say about my feelings for Xavier?
Feelings she’d only come to recognize as deeper than mere affection.
Huh. Maybe she should reach out and ask.
But not over the phone. Anonymously, of course.
Heck, she still didn’t know exactly what she felt for the guy she’d only known a month.
Yet it felt like they’d known each other forever.
He reached for her hand under the table and held it, smiling into her eyes while the bride and groom said a few words to the crowd. Justine heard none of it, only the beat of her heart as she looked into her lover’s warm gaze.
Everyone clapped, breaking the mood, and she did her best to relax and live in the moment, enjoying Xavier’s presence while trying not to make too much of it.
Dinner went well, everyone mannerly as they talked to Xavier, asking questions and subtly digging to see when and if Justine might next be getting married.
Xavier parried every inquiry with aplomb, and she noted her father’s amusement and admiration for her wedding date.
Later, after several people at the table, including Xavier, got up to stretch their legs and use the restroom, her father sat next to her. “Xavier’s pretty damn good at deflecting, isn’t he?”
“He’s a master, all right.”
Lyle laughed. “I like him, Justine. He balances you.”
She didn’t know what to say to that. Her father rarely got super personal with her. Mostly, he badgered her about her poor career choices, and of course her terrible decision to leave Mitch, a steady companion with an upward-moving career as well as a true financial partner.
They both paused while her sister and Ted walked around, talking to people. They did make a lovely couple, she had to admit. Mallory glowed with happiness.
“Mallory looks so pretty,” she said. “And Ted looks handsome.”
“She could have done better,” he admitted in a lower voice. “At least Ted I can handle.”
“Dad.”
He chuckled. “You know what I mean.”
“Sadly, I do.” Her dad had only to dangle a promotion at work to keep Ted in line.
“But Xavier, I don’t see pushing him around.
He seems to have no interest in joining the firm or in my financial expertise.
I asked him when he came for dinner. But no, he’s strictly into being a therapist and can handle his own portfolio—a bunch of Earth-friendly companies who give back.
” Lyle snorted. “He seems a bit too altruistic for my taste, but I like him for you.”
She blinked. “Are you drunk?” He had tolerated Mitch but hadn’t liked him nearly as much as her mother and sisters had. Come to think of it, her dad hadn’t liked any of her prior boyfriends all that much.
Lyle chuckled. “Not yet. I’m just feeling sentimental, is all.
Two of my three girls are married. Now there’s just you.
” He shocked her anew by kissing her cheek.
“I know I don’t say it often, but I do love you.
Even if you’re a bit too stubborn like me.
You have to make your own way, and I respect that.
” He glanced up to see Jeanine waving at him from across the room.
“I’d better get going before your mother drags me away by my ear. ”
“I’d like to see that happen.”
He grunted. “Save me a dance.”
“Yes, Dad.”
He left her bewildered to realize that a real heart beat beneath the financial machine that was her father.
Needing a short break herself, she left the table and headed for the ladies’ room.
The Kimberly Whitestead Hotel downtown on the water was the perfect place for her sister to get married.
The fancy hotel had cost a pretty penny, according to Mallory, but their parents didn’t care.
Classy, richly appointed, and full of old-world charm, the hotel catered to a wealthy clientele, as evidenced by the expensive rooms. Justine would have gone home right after the wedding if her parents hadn’t paid for her hotel stay.
She had her priorities, after all, like paying her bills for the month.
Frankly, if she ever got married, she’d favor a small, intimate gathering with less crystal and champagne and more rum in the punch bowl.
Still, though, the hotel added to the fairytale wedding her sister had been clamoring for and rightly deserved.