likes you.”
“We’re just friends.”
“I don’t kiss any of my friends like that,” Penny said.
“Can’t tell you how relieved I am to hear that, honey,” Ethan said.
Penny laughed, and Hannah’s cheeks warmed. Fortunately, at that moment, the servers started delivering their food, so she and Kal ceased being the topic of conversation. Then all the talk was about the delicious seafood and steak and amazing side dishes.
Hannah absolutely loved the sea bass, which was melt-in-your-mouth tender. And she couldn’t get enough of whatever that sweet potato fluff was, but she wished she had a recipe for it. She also had brussels sprouts, and it was the best wedding food she’d ever eaten. Certainly better than the homemade food they’d had at her super small wedding to Landon.
Of course they’d had no money, but to her it had seemed fine. At the time she’d been way more interested in their impending move to Georgia and less engaged in the fuss and expense of a wedding. Her mom had been the one who’d insisted they do something, so she’d agreed to the bare minimum, just to get it over with.
She should have taken her lack of enthusiasm over the whole ceremony as a warning. But she’d been oblivious back then, only wanting to escape. Seeing Rafe and Carmen’s wedding today made her realize what she’d missed out on—and what she hadn’t had with Landon in the first place.
She wouldn’t make that mistake again.
Not that she was planning on another wedding, or falling in love again. She had way too many things going on in her life to even entertain the idea. Her focus was on raising Oliver and growing her business. And that was all she had time for.
But tonight? She intended to enjoy this wedding and have some fun.
CHAPTER 12
THERE’D BEEN STANDING AND PHOTOS AND TOASTING and photos and eating and photos and smiling and photos and dancing and photos. And videos. All the videos. So much talking and videos. Hopefully, now he was done. Because if he never got his picture taken ever again for the rest of his life, Kal would be a happy man.
Though he had to admit, he couldn’t have asked for a better partner in all this than Tess Blackstone. She was Carmen’s coworker and good friend, and she was funny and sarcastic. And also six months pregnant, so he’d been solicitous of her feelings and her condition the entire time they’d had to pose together. Not that she’d needed it. She was a nurse and on her feet all day. She’d told him this had been easy. Except for wearing heels.
Once they finished the wedding party dance, she looked at him. “I am so putting my sandals on.”
“Jealous.”
She laughed. “What? You didn’t bring yours?”
“Didn’t think of it.”
“Loser.”
“You said it.” He kissed her cheek, then turned her over to her husband, George, who had showed up on the dance floor to take over.
“Thanks for taking care of her,” George said.
“It was truly my honor. You have a treasure in this woman.”
George’s eyes sparkled with love as he drew Tess into his arms. “Don’t I know it.”
Tess shot Kal a look over her shoulder. “Because I tell him every day how awesome I am.”
Kal laughed as he left the dance floor. He stopped at the bar and grabbed a beer, then wandered through the crowd, stopping at a few tables to say hello to people he knew. But the person he really wanted to see was currently laughing with her head thrown back at something Miguel Acosta had just said.
He was glad she was comfortable with the people at the table. He felt bad about inviting her to the wedding just to abandon her for half of it. There wasn’t much he could do about it since he’d had brotherly duties he had to perform, but at least now he was free.
He made his way to the table to hear the end of a dirty joke that Adrienne was telling everyone.
“The more you play with it, the harder it gets.”
Everyone groaned, then laughed. He was sorry he missed it.
“About time you made it,” Ethan said. “I was about to fix Hannah up with another guy.”
Kal pulled up the empty chair next to Hannah and sat. “Not funny.”
“Three guys have already asked her to dance,” Callie said. “We had to run interference for you.”
“Also not funny.”
“And not true,” Hannah said, laying her hand on his arm. “I’m just sitting over here like a wallflower.”
He cocked his head to the