“Friends, huh?” Rush said, coming to stand beside me.
“Yeah. She’s decided we can be friends,” I told him, not taking my eyes off her. She said something to Della, who glanced over at us and then back at Bethy. I saw Bethy nod, and Della looked relieved.
“I tried the friends thing with Blaire once. It lasted less than a week before I was stripping her naked in the back of my Range Rover. Good luck with that,” Rush said in an amused tone before walking off.
He didn’t have the history with Blaire that I had with Bethy. It would take a hell of a lot longer before I made that kind of headway with Bethy.
He had no idea what I had to overcome with her.
Bethy
“An Betty, see me!” Nate’s little voice called out. I spun around to see Nate in Rush’s arms as they walked into the rehearsal dinner. Rush bent down to set his son on the floor, and then his little legs were off and heading straight for me. Laughing, I opened my arms for him.
“My best fella is here,” I said as his little arms wrapped around my neck. Nate had been only a few months old when Jace drowned, and I’d spent a lot of time with Blaire during the months afterward. I couldn’t be alone. Watching Nate when they’d needed a sitter had been good for me, and we’d bonded.
“I flew in da pwayne,” he announced as I picked him up in my arms.
“You did! Was it fun?” He flew in his grandfather’s jet quite a bit.
“Yeah,” he said, nodding. Then his eyes lit up as he spotted Grant. “Dare’s Until Gwant,” he said, pointing. “See me, Until Gwant!” he called out. Grant turned his attention toward Nate’s voice, and a grin spread across his face. Grant made his way over to us.
“Hey, bud!” he said, holding his fist out, which Nate hit with his own fist. The fact that Rush had taught his two-year-old to fist-bump was too funny. He also wore his baseball caps backward and drew pictures on his arms with a black marker whenever his mother wasn’t watching. He wanted “pictures” on him like his daddy.
“See, my Betty,” Nate said, patting my chest.
Grant chuckled. “Yeah, I see your Bethy. Did you fly in with Papa Dean?”
Nate nodded his head. “We flew da pwayne.”
“I bet you did,” Grant said.
“See Wywa Kate,” Nate said, wiggling in my arms as Harlow walked in holding Lila Kate in her arms.
I took the hint and set Nate down. His little feet took off running toward Harlow and the baby.
“I think he may love your little girl more than me these days,” I told Grant.
“Don’t let it get to you. She’s hard to compete with,” Grant said with a grin. “I need to help Harlow with the wild man,” he said before chasing after Nate. I watched as Grant caught up with Nate and scooped him up in his arms so he could see Lila Kate.
Nate was a charmer, and he’d make the complete rounds of the room before he remembered I was here and came back to see me. He loved to play the crowd.
I walked over to the tables, looking for my name. Everyone was coming in from the rehearsal and finding a seat. Walking down the aisle on Tripp’s arm had been strange, but it hadn’t been uncomfortable. He’d made a joke about me stumbling and taking him down with me. Other than that, we didn’t really talk.
I sat down and looked over to see Thad’s name on my right and Blaire’s name on my left. That meant Rush and Nate would also be at our table. And possibly Dean Finlay. Once that had been all the excitement I needed. But during the past two years, I’d managed to get over my starstruck behavior around Dean. Now he was just Rush’s dad.
I wasn’t sure who the last two seats were for. I pulled my chair out just as the chair beside mine moved. Expecting to see Thad, I saw Tripp instead. He smirked and sat down.
I cautiously did the same. Thad was supposed to be sitting there, but at the moment, he was nowhere to be found. If Tripp wanted to be friendly, I could do that. At least for one weekend, while we celebrated the marriage of our friends. When we got back to Rosemary Beach, I would need some boundaries. Seeing Tripp still reminded me of things I wanted to forget. I needed to take things slowly.
“You OK if I sit here?”
I glanced down at the place card and shrugged. “I don’t mind, but Thad might. It’s his assigned seat.”
“Not worried about Thad. He’s easy to bribe.”
I turned to look at our friends gathering in the large ballroom. The stage crew was setting up for the band. I hadn’t asked who was playing, but considering who was attending this wedding, I doubted it was just some cover band. With two of the members of Slacker Demon’s kids in the wedding party and the drummer from Slacker Demon showing his grandson how to properly hold the drumsticks that Nate had snatched from the stage, the band was very likely to be a big name.
Woods and Della walked in, and everyone cheered as if they’d already gotten married, hooting and whistling. Clapping, I stood up and watched as they made their way to the center table. Della’s smile lit up the room. Woods bent his head to whisper something in her ear, which made her blush. I could only imagine what he’d said to her.