you both.” Corey was the first to say ‘cheers,’ as we followed; clinking our glasses together.
We settled back into our seats to enjoy the rest of our drinks. Corey’s arm behind my chair shifted ever so slightly, so his thumb was tracing lazy circles against my shoulder blade. The feeling and heat coming from the movement had my body shivering at his touch. With my ex-boyfriend Vince, I couldn’t recall a time I ever responded that way to just a slight graze of his finger. Yet, with Corey I could hardly control my reaction, no matter how desperately I tried. In the midst of focusing on the path his thumb took against my skin, I couldn’t help but notice Emily’s face brighten at the simple action; I tried hiding my confusion, since both men missed the exchange and were otherwise engaged in sports talk.
“Now I know why your Grandmother put you in charge of this place.” Emily blurted out.
My face broke into a polite smile; whatever reason they heard about why I was in charge, was probably a cover-up for the real story. I just didn’t want to dig deeper into the whole—my mother is a drug addict thing—so I grinned and thanked her.
“My mom and dad’s wedding was planned by your Grandmother and she did such a lovely job.” Emily continued.
“Yes, she has a knack for making everything she touches beautiful.” The urge to check the watch on Ben’s wrist for the time was overwhelming. The business aspect of this meeting was over, and now I was ready to mentally check myself out from the rest of the conversation. Though, Emily’s expression told me I had no chance of an early departure.
“We have all loved attending every wedding held here. It is especially meaningful to have a wedding planned by a couple living in a successful relationship.” Emily paused to take a sip of her mimosa. “I mean, my parents had the beautiful inspiration of your grandparents during their wedding. Now, Benny and I will have our wedding arranged by another couple, as deeply in love as the two of us.”
Unfortunately, I had chosen that moment to take another sip of my drink; causing the liquid to go down the wrong pipe, creating an intense coughing fit. Corey’s amusement was far from hidden, as he began patting my back; the frustration on my face as he egged her on made his grin widen.
“Sorry about that, my Sweets here gets a little too excited sometimes,” Corey said, as Emily stared at us with concern at my episode. Ben bit back the laughter rising—how Corey managed to keep a straight face was beyond me.
“We’re not together.” I choked out as soon as I could properly breathe again.
“Not officially, you know, engaged like the two of you.” Corey butted in, letting his hand rest against the back of my neck. My traitorous body heated under the touch, apparently not understanding that we were supposed to be mad at him for insinuating a relationship. “We’re just waiting for the right time to embark on the next phase of our wonderful lives together.”
Emily placed her hands over her heart and sighed.
It took everything in me not to roll my eyes; Emily was a sappy romantic while I had become the complete opposite. Oh joy—this was going to be a fun wedding to plan with her. “It is just so wonderful to see that this place has such an amazing karma surrounding it. I mean of course there is your grandparents and my parents, but then I see the two of you.” Pause for another sigh. “I am finally able to witness the real magic this place holds; that has obviously cast a spell over you lovers.”
My fake smile was slowly losing steam; I hoped they didn’t expect me to sit around and deal with this crap much longer. Corey placed a kiss on my temple and flashed her a grin bringing out that adorable dimple, while he thanked her. Ben snickered at his fiancée’s hopelessly foolish—in my opinion—reaction but caught a glance at the watch on his wrist and snapped out of it.
“Shit Em, we need to get to the cake tasting!” Emily shot her eyes up to the large wall clock hanging above the entrance.
“Oh no! We’re going to be late, Benny!” Panic set in and I couldn’t be more pleased; we were just about free from the talk of weddings, marriage and worst of all—love.
Corey and I helped them gather their stuff,