A Fool's Gold Wedding - Susan Mallery Page 0,28
made a mental note to pop in about halfway through the evening, just to make sure all was well.
They were expecting a crowd. Melissa and Davis, of course. Abby, Joaquin, Davis’s parents. All six Hendrix siblings, their spouses and kids, Grandma Denise and Grandpa Max. Rather than a fancy dinner at a restaurant, Melissa had asked for something easy and casual. Liz had arranged for tables to be set up in the backyard. She’d hired Ana Raquel to do the cooking. Instead of a bar, there was self-serve wine, a couple of kegs of beer and a metal tub filled with sodas on ice. Dessert was cupcakes stacked in the shape of a wedding cake. Ethan had set up Bluetooth speakers around the backyard and Davis had chosen the playlist.
Right at six, people started arriving. Abby hovered by the door, as much to greet her family as to wait for Joaquin. She hadn’t seen him all day, which shouldn’t be a big deal but it felt as if it had been weeks since she’d seen him smile at her. She also wanted to make sure she was nearby when he arrived because she knew the crowd of relatives would be a little stressful for him and she planned to run interference.
She greeted Molly and Gary Kincaid. They were both nice people—he was a dentist and she ran a daycare facility in Gardenia, California. They hugged Abby, then made their way to the backyard. Abby was just about to text Joaquin when she saw him walking up to the house.
She raced out front. He opened his arms and she threw herself against him, even as he pulled her close. When he kissed her, she felt the tingles all the way down to her toes.
“It’s been forever,” she complained. “How did we go the whole day without seeing each other?”
“I don’t know, but let’s make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
She thought of his practice back in Los Angeles and how her life was here. “But it’s going to, isn’t it?” she said before she could stop herself. “Once the wedding is over, you’ll go home. This is only a vacation.”
His mouth straightened. “I want to talk to you about that. I’d like it to be more. Abby, being with you has been—”
“Hey, you two,” Uncle Finn said, walking toward them. “Take it inside. You’ll shock the neighborhood.”
Aunt Dakota followed, Hannah and Jordan Taylor at her heels. “Finn, leave them be. They’re young and in love. It’s nice.”
In love? In love! What was with everyone? Abby tried to process the comment even as she hugged her relatives and introduced Joaquin.
“The mysterious but gifted doctor,” Dakota teased. “Nice to meet you at last. It’s good to know you have such excellent taste in women.”
Joaquin grinned. “It’s one of my best qualities.”
They all went inside. Abby told herself to put all thoughts of the L word out of her mind for now. She had a party to get through and she didn’t want to be distracted and not enjoy it. From what she could tell, Joaquin was as interested in her as she was in him. Yes, he had things he wanted to tell her, but they could figure out the logistics. They could visit on weekends and there were her long breaks at the holidays and over the summer. It could work.
Melissa and Davis arrived to cheers. Abby took Joaquin around and introduced him to everyone. When he seemed to tense up around so many people, she stayed close, linking her fingers with his. He smiled gratefully as he rubbed his thumb against the back of her hand. Over the next hour or so, he began to relax.
When her mom announced dinner would be starting in ten minutes, Abby headed toward the tables. She wanted a couple of seats near the back where they would be out of the limelight. Not only did she want the night to be all about her sister and Davis, she knew that plan would make things easier for Joaquin.
She’d just chosen their chairs when Uncle Simon walked over. He gave her a quick hug before turning to Joaquin.
“Did you tell her?”
Joaquin stiffened. “You said I had until the wedding.”
Although Abby had no idea what they were talking about, she suddenly felt cold and her stomach knotted. What were they talking about?
“You had over two weeks,” Simon said. “There was no reason to wait.” Simon turned to her. “Abby, let me start by reminding you that I love you