Page 66 of The Wedding Favor

I sputtered and whipped my head around to glare at her.

She blinked at me innocently. “Come, Hallie, let’s go find more interesting people to talk to.”

With a fair bit of maneuvering, she managed to get up and glide off in that monstrous dress with Hallie in tow.

“That woman is a menace. We don’t have to dance because she says so,” I said.

“She’s watching us like a hawk. What happens when she doesn’t get her way?”

I sighed. “Chaos.”

“That’s what I thought.” He led me onto the dance floor. The upbeat song ended and, like this was a bad romcom, a slow song began. I froze, but Abe slid a hand around my waist and turned me toward him. His other hand settled on my back.

“I’m not really a dancer, honestly. I’m more of a ‘sit on the sidelines and judge everyone who is dancing’ kind of gal.” Based on the number of eyeballs pointed at us, many were participating in a similar activity.

“Put your arms around my shoulders,” he said. “I’ll take care of the rest.”

Slowly, I did what he asked. Being a couple of inches taller made it awkward at first. But as I relaxed, I found I kind of liked it. I didn’t have to crane my neck or stare at the buttons on his shirt.

Abe stayed true to his word. It was easy to follow him. His hair brushed my hand; it was cool and soft to the touch.

“You’re good at this,” I said.

“You’ll have to thank my mother for that. All of us had to take ballroom dancing lessons. Mom said it was an important part of being a gentleman.”

I laughed. “No, she didn’t.”

“Oh, yes, she did. The only three boys in the class with fifteen girls. We were very popular. But the worst was when she made us practice at home with Ali. She hated those dance lessons more than us.” He laughed softly.

Absently, he reached up and drew one of my wrists down, placing my hand on his chest right over his heart, and covered it with his own. He didn’t seem to even notice he’d done it. Through his shirt, I could feel the beat of his heart, strong and steady. Like the rest of him. The first song ended, and another began. We didn’t stop, just held the same position, swaying.

“The only dance I ever went to in high school was the prom.” And that was because Aidan had been the first boy to ever ask me to anything—a dance, the movies, to sit with him at lunch. “With Aidan.”

“Makes sense.”

I tilted my head in confusion. “Why?”

“I bet all the boys were scared of you.”

I stumbled but he steadied me, pulling me a little closer. “What?”

“That came out wrong.” He shrugged. “You just have a thing.”

“A thing?” The song changed to hip-hop, and the residents rushed to the middle of the floor to “whip it.”

He took my arm and led me to the exit door on the other side of the DJ. It opened onto a little patio. The air outside was stifling. This time of year the nights weren’t much cooler than the days.

“Yeah, a thing. You’re a little intimidating, I guess.” He sat down on one of the two benches and stretched his legs out, crossing them at the ankles. “Not with Hallie, though. Or here with Gloria and the residents. You’re… softer.”

I sat next to him on the bench. “You make me sound like I’m some sort of people repellent.”

“Not that. I think you’re”—he paused, searching for a word—“careful who you let in.”

He wasn’t wrong. I worried my bottom lip. “Well, what about you? I am sure you make friends with everyone.”

“I used to. I had a lot of friends. Or I thought they were my friends.” The fabric from his pants brushed my knee. His expression turned pensive, almost pained. “When I left Two Harts, I made a lot of dumb mistakes. Hung out with people who took advantage of my age and level of stupidity. Everyone’s an idiot at nineteen. I wasn’t reliable. I took things for granted.”

“What happened?”