44. Epilogue
Maya
“I’m almost certain that everyone in this room knows the story of how Adam and Evan met.” Maya was met by a swell of chatter from those nearest and dearest to them confirming they indeed had.
“By heart, I’m sure,” she teased as she glanced at the two of them, sitting side by side in their black suits at the sweetheart table in front of the room. “But for those who don’t know, it was on a blind date, and I just so happened to be there when Evan arrived to pick Adam up. It would have been love at first sight had they not mistaken my friend for each other…”
Laughter erupted in the room, and one particularly raucous table in the front began to razz them about this mystery man who almost came between them.
“What?” Evan laughed nervously. “Just look at him!”
He motioned toward the table full of her friends on the other side of the room, and received an assist from Sydney who pointed at the man to her left who was shaking his handsome, blushing face as he locked eyes with her from across the ballroom. She mouthed sorry as she beamed at him.
“We’ve made our peace with it,” Adam stated confidently, trying to settle the scandalized room. “And no, he is not available if anyone is wondering because what Maya did not mention is that he’s now her boyfriend.”
A wave of ooohs spread across the room as if they were in a third-grade classroom and not a wedding reception. Even her parents who were seated at the table next to her friends got in on it. Now Maya’s cheeks burned from the attention. She fanned her face with the notecard in her hand and laughed along with the rest of the room. Today was all about love anyway, right?
Once the laughter died down, Maya carried on with her toast. “But luckily it all got straightened out and everyone ended up exactly where they were meant to be, including me,” she added off the cuff. “Last summer, I had the privilege of seeing my cousin fall in love. And yes, we gave them a hard time for falling so hard and so quickly, but never once did we question it because the love and respect between them was obvious from the start.” She folded the piece of paper she held in her hand just in case she lost her place and dropped it to her side as she turned to the men of the hour. “Life rarely goes exactly as planned. Your happily ever after will have the brightest, most beautiful moments, but there will still be challenges and difficult times along the way. You’re so lucky to have found each other. No matter what lies ahead, I know that you’ll meet it together with love, a sense of humor, and the support of all of these beautiful people.” She raised her glass of champagne in the air. “To Adam and Evan, and the start of your life together.”
The room saluted the couple, and she gave the grooms a hug before handing the microphone back to the DJ and making her way to her seat amidst the sound of laughter, applause, and clinking glasses as the music began to swell in the room again. As she neared the table, her friends erupted into cheers, happy to finally have her join the ranks of the lowly wedding guests who were fed, buzzed, and ready to get the party started. She laughed at them and placed her hand on Reed’s shoulder just as he looked up to see her behind him. He smiled and stood to pull out the chair that had been waiting for her all night.
“You did great,” he whispered as he leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek.
“Thank you,” she whispered back.
She began to lower herself into the chair but felt a squeeze on her shoulder and looked up to find her father passing behind her with her mother in tow.
“Wonderful job, sweetheart!”
“Thanks, Dad,” she said with a warm smile as she tried again to take her seat.
“Yes, such an inspired speech,” her mother agreed, giving both Reed and Maya a loaded look. Maya wasn’t sure if it was the bubbly talking or just the way the end of one wedding always had people looking for the next couple to tie the knot. “Don’t you sit down now, they just called everyone out to the dance floor!”
“Mom, I haven’t eaten anything all day,” Maya protested.
“What’s five more minutes then?” she exclaimed over her shoulder as her husband led her onto the dance floor.
They had left her in their dust before she could even answer. She watched as they found her aunt and uncle on the dance floor and started doing embarrassing things she wished she could unsee to the tail end of a Kool and the Gang song. She shook her head and looked down at the now cold plate of chicken and sautéed vegetables that awaited her. It was not appetizing at all, but she didn’t even care at this point, she just needed food. She went to sit once again before Reed’s hand wrapped around her arm.
“What’s five more minutes?” he asked with a grin.
She looked down at the plate then out at the dance floor where everyone had coupled off and were swaying along to a slow song. Of course she had five minutes for him. He could have as much of her time as he wanted. He took hold of her hand and led her to the far corner of the dance floor. She wrapped her arms around his back while his hands moved around her waist and pulled her closer.
When she invited him as her plus one last fall, she had visions of them hanging out and enjoying the open bar with her friends. Maybe a part of her had hoped that if the mood or drinks hit them just right, they might share a dance like this. Just as friends, of course. Sharing a dance like this as girlfriend and boyfriend, though? It was sweeter than anything she could have imagined.
* * *
Reed
“Hi.”
He had watched her from afar all day as she fulfilled her maid of honor duties, and now he finally had her all to himself for the first time today.
“Hi.”
“You look absolutely beautiful,” he said as he stared into her brown eyes.
She was radiant. Skin glowing, hair twisted and pinned back into an updo, and body swathed in a floaty pale green gown.
“And you look handsome, but I suppose you already knew that,” she said with a smirk. She chuckled quietly as she moved her hand from his back to the base of his neck, grazing her thumb along his skin and through the tuft of curls that gathered at the collar of his shirt. He loved the warm current it sent down his spine when she did that.
“Turn me.”
“What?” he asked of the abrupt request.
She sighed as she took the lead and took a few steps to change their position. “My mom keeps staring at us and it’s weirding me out. Was everything okay with them?” she asked.
“Your mom is…very curious,” he said with a grin, choosing his words carefully as they swayed back and forth in each other’s arms. “But I get it. This is new to them.”
Maya had been back in town for less than forty-eight hours, and in that time, he had met her parents, helped them move Maya into her new apartment, and now they were all attending a family wedding together.
“I think you made a pretty good impression helping with the move yesterday. I’m sure my dad appreciated having you there to help him put together my new bedroom set. You two had it done in no time.”
“Do you have any idea how awkward it is to do that with your girlfriend’s father?” he huffed. “I can only imagine what was going on in his head.”
“Oh God.” Her face fell as the implications hit her. “Oh my God, Reed. I didn’t even think about that.” Her forehead dropped to his shoulder as they both laughed quietly. When she pulled back, he was met with the brightest smile. “See, this is why I love you.”
He wished he could stop his heart from pounding so loudly in his chest, turn off the music, and make everyone hush for a moment, so he could ask her to repeat herself because he wasn’t quite sure if he had heard her right.
“I do,” she said. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
It came so easily from his lips. Nothing had ever felt so right in his life. Whatever song was playing was just background noise as they slow danced in their own little world on the corner of the dance floor. He would carry this memory with him forever.
“Finally a party where you’re not leaving me the next day,” he said as he held her in his arms.
“That’s right. I’m not leaving town. In fact, you’re coming home with me, and I don’t even plan on leaving that bed tomorrow,” she purred into his lips as she leaned in for a kiss.
“How much longer do we have to stay here?” he murmured into her lips as they briefly parted.
“Not much longer,” she promised before stealing another kiss.
As he pulled away, he opened his eyes slowly, catching a glimpse of Maya’s father looking their way. “Let’s turn again,” he muttered as he angled them away with a few steps.
“Hmm?”
“Your dad,” he explained, shaking his head. “I can’t.”
No disrespect, of course. He loved Mr. Hendricks’s daughter something fierce and would spend the rest of his life trying to make her happy, in any and every way possible.