Do You Take This Man (69)
“Anyway, one day, I ran into you again. You were wearing a black-and-white dress and red heels and you took my breath away. I’d always thought that expression was a cliché, but I actually forgot to inhale for a moment. You were that captivating.”
Mina’s face lit up, and even from the back of the room, I could see her eyes welling with tears.
“I had to think fast. I’d never thought about what I would say, so I asked to borrow a quarter for the machine. I can tell you this now,” he said with a grin. “I had, like, six dollars in change on me, and I never got around to spending that quarter you lent me or buying Pop-Tarts that morning, because I didn’t want to waste any time not talking to you.”
Again, the awws filled the ballroom, and I let my eyes dart across the room once more to Lear, whose expression hadn’t changed.
Mina stood, leaning into her husband so they could both speak into the microphone. “So, I have a secret, too. You wanted me to have that quarter with me today. It was my something old, but I accidentally left it at home.” She held his hand, and the two of them seemed to forget any other people were in the room. “I planned to give it to you after the ceremony like I did back then,” she said, looking around the room. She pointed to the back of the room, and the gathered crowd all turned in their seats to look at me. “RJ, are you still here? RJ gave me this one to use instead until I found the original.”
Heat rose on my cheeks. Even though the crowd had returned to watching Doug and Mina, I felt one set of eyes still on me.
“She said you’d never know, and maybe you wouldn’t.” She pulled the quarter from the pocket in her dress. “I know how much the original one means to you because it was the start of our story, but, here.” She held out his hand and placed the quarter in his palm. “Our story is just starting out, and I want us to have lots of quarters, old and new.” Her voice wavered, and embarrassment prickled on the back of my neck.
Mina’s father was solidly in the top one percent, and she’d grown up in lavish wealth. Watching her and her husband talk about collecting change was still moving.
The groom slipped it in his pocket. “I already feel like the richest man in the world.”
Mina smiled. Doug smiled. Everyone applauded, and the two kissed as the sound of silverware hitting glasses filled the room.
I sipped my wine, reminding myself I didn’t have to feel bad about helping her out, even though she ended up confessing. I also reminded myself I didn’t want someone spouting cheesy lines at me like that. But something still made the hairs on my neck stand on end, and I looked to my right to see not everyone was focused on the happy couple.
Lear’s gaze met mine, just for a second. His expression was blank. It was off-putting, but he looked like he didn’t even know me. The inkling I was feeling was guilt. Guilt at having been complicit in trying to deceive the groom and lying to Lear. And it shouldn’t have mattered, but it still unsettled me.
I don’t have to tell him everything. I repeated it to myself. Friends with benefits doesn’t require confessing all of our secrets. Still, the uneasy feeling didn’t leave me as I watched the couple onstage kiss a second time. Now guests were tossing quarters onto the dance floor.
I wished Lear were nearby. He’d be grumbling about how he’d have to get someone to sweep up the coins before someone’s stiletto slipped and they broke an ankle. He would have already planned for someone to do it, though. I was a planner, a type A, I-know-what-you-should-be-doing planner, but Lear put me to shame. I sighed, since that was probably what he was doing at that moment, and sticking around was beginning to make me feel pathetic.
I spotted him again across the room. He glanced at his phone and cracked his neck in this annoying and weirdly sexy way he had when he was stressed. He didn’t notice me watching, and my irritation grew. I hadn’t moved, so he knew where I was. He knew we always hooked up after rehearsals, and he’d avoided me the night before. I flashed back to our conversation. He’d agreed to keeping things just physical, said he understood. I felt like the bad guy and I didn’t like that, because I’d been up-front with him.
Another few moments of him looking around and avoiding me had me gritting my teeth, and I pulled out my phone.
Chapter 38
Lear
Penny: So?
I blew out a slow breath and glanced around the reception. All the events were done, and now the evening would coast for a while with people dancing and drinks flowing. Tina was checking in with the caterers about the s’more and nacho bars the couple had requested to be ready at nine, and I took a moment to rest against a wall.
Lear: Happy bride. Happy groom. Happy oil magnate.
Penny: I love you. Get an expensive bottle of something tomorrow. I’m buying.
Lear: You already did. Thanks.
I cracked my neck, a headache threatening to cut through the Advil I’d taken. I’d dismissed three texts from my sister and deleted one from Sarah without reading it. I’d been able to push away a lot in the last week with my focus on preparing for this event, but I had a feeling things were going to crash down on me soon. A very nice bottle of bourbon was waiting for me at home, and I had plans to spend the next day forgetting it had been a year since I’d found out the ground beneath me was actually water. I was about to tuck my phone into my pocket again when the screen lit with an incoming text.