or wanted was the local single men jockeying for her attention. She didn’t want even a hint of scandal associated with her in this new position.
The men and women had been divided on opposite sides of the room. All the single men gathered in one spot. It didn’t escape Tansy’s notice that Lars positioned himself with the married group, the same as Delphi stood on the fringe of all the married women. The crowd counted in unison, “One...two...three....”
Facing the women, Liam tossed the garter over his shoulder into the crowd of single guys. Curl caught it. A cacophony of catcalls and whistles and a few good-natured rumblings from the men accompanied the catch.
Tansy faced the men across the room. Once again there was the communal countdown and Tansy threw the bouquet high and wide. A woman with a long dark braid down her back who looked distinctly Inuit caught the flowers. The room really broke into cheering then.
“This should be interesting.”
Delphi glanced beside and slightly behind her. It was Alberta, the woman in the pink satin and turban. “That’s Luellen Sisnuket, Nelson and Clint’s cousin. She and Curl have been an on-again, off-again item for a while now. I’ve got a feeling they’re about to be permanently on.”
Delphi laughed. “They’re in trouble now.”
6
IT HAD STARTED out as a glimmer and then blossomed into a smile, which gave way to laughter. It was a bit like watching the sun emerge over the horizon in the morning.
“Okay, so I’ll pretend I’m interested in talking to you.”
“Blondie, I’m not sure if I can handle all this ego-stroking,” he said, leading them off of the dance floor.
“Marine, I’m so sure your ego is just fine.”
Here they were in the midst of a small mob and he wanted to kiss her again. In fact, he was starting to feel a little desperate with the need. He was, however, sure that would reverse all the progress he’d made with Delphi.
“Would you like something to—”
Before he could finish his sentence, the music ended and the DJ spoke into the microphone. “If I can have your attention, Liam and Tansy are about to cut the cake and they’d like for everyone to enjoy a piece.” He smiled out at the crowd. “And afterwards, could all the women move to one side of the room and all the men to the other? They’ll be tossing the bouquet and the garter soon afterwards.”
“I’m amazed he’s lasted this long,” Lars said to Delphi in an undertone. “Liam isn’t one for either crowds or parties.”
She leaned in closer and her breast glanced against his arm, sending another surge of heat through him. “Well, it’s not as if he gets married every day.” Her breath was warm against his cheek.
He suddenly felt as if his shirt collar had grown too tight. “He must love her to go through this.”
There was a musical note to Delphi’s laugh. “I’d hope he loves her. He’s marrying her.”
“I hope so, too.”
They both hung back as everyone moved toward the front. They had a good view of Liam and Tansy from where they stood. His brother and new sister-in-law laughed together and exchanged a look as they both held on to the knife and cut a piece of cake.
“Did you see the way they looked at one another during the ceremony?” Delphi said. Lars wondered if she heard the note of wistfulness in her voice. He doubted it.
“I could only see Tansy.” But he saw both of them now as they fed cake to one another, and he had to admit it’d be nice to have a woman look at him like that. Of course, the expression on Liam’s face left absolutely no doubt as to how he felt about his wife. It was there for everyone in the room to see—fierce protection tempered by tenderness, love and joy. It was the oddest sensation to know that of all the experiences he and Liam had shared as brothers and twins, this was a moment Lars had never had. An awareness rippled through him that he brushed aside.
“It was quite lovely.”
Delphi was quite lovely, too, even with the internal scars she obviously carried. He’d seen far too many soldiers who had suffered a lapse of one kind or another—he recognized the look of pain. Awareness rippled through him again. He dragged his attention back to Liam and Tansy. “Liam looks at her differently than he did his ex-wife.”
“I didn’t realize he’d been married before.”
“They aborted that mission. Luckily there