Thank you for having me.”
“No, thank you for being here. I was beginning to wonder if this guy was full of it and making up your friendship.”
Her wink makes me laugh as she wraps me in a tight hug. When we separate, I extend my hand to Matthew who shakes it before pulling me into a man-hug with a smack on the back.
“How was your flight? Is your room okay?” Matthew asks, as he accepts a drink from his bride-to-be.
“Everything has been great. I’m sorry I couldn’t get here yesterday with everyone. My schedule is crazy right now.”
“No worries, man. We knew you were coming straight from Europe. We’re just happy to have you here.”
Before either of us can say anything, a little girl wearing a crown approaches us, skipping the entire way. At first glance, I’d assume she’s already dressed for tomorrow’s wedding by the sparkly pink dress she’s wearing. Then I recognize it as a dress-up outfit. One of my nieces has the same one, curtesy of her favorite uncle—me.
“Daddy, when is the dancing? I am so ready!”
Laughing, he looks down at her with love in his eyes and smiles. “Sprite, I told you the dancing is tomorrow after the wedding. This is just to spend time with our guests. Say hello to Mr. Stone.”
Calypso, lovingly referred to as Sprite by her family, groans and she throws her head back, hand to her forehead before turning her attention my way. Looks like Matthew may have a little actress on his hands.
“Hi,” the little one grumbles.
“Hello there. I like your dress. It’s very pretty.”
The compliment seems to do the trick and her face lights up as she spins in a circle. “Thanks. It’s not better than Elsa’s blue one. But I left that one at home because it’s Luke’s favorite.”
I recognize the name as characters from a movie my sister complains about watching on a constant loop. Before I can comment further, the blushing bride takes over.
“Okay little princess, let’s go mingle. It was nice to meet you, Hunter.” Carrie takes the little girl’s hand and they walk away, chattering the entire time.
It’s then that I see a mess of curls across the pool. It couldn’t be. Well, I mean it could be since we share mutual friends, but I’m surprised, nonetheless. It never occurred to me that I would see Celeste again after my botched attempt to spend some time with her. Yet, there she is. I watch her move around, laughing and talking as she makes her way through the crowd.
“I need to follow my future wife’s lead and work the crowd before the wedding planner gives me the side eye again,” Matthew interjects, completely unaware I forgot he was standing next to me. “I swear, she’s worse than Donna on a photo shoot. Who knew someone helping you with the happiest day of your life could be more of a task maker than a Type A romance author?”
Once again, I have no idea who he’s talking about. Maybe I need to leave my post and make some conversation with the other guests. “Don’t worry about me. Go do your groom thing.”
Nodding his head, he walks away. For the next few hours, I sip on my whiskey and accept hors d’oeuvres from waiters as they pass by. Ignoring my own advice to socialize, I never move from this side of the pool. Actually, I’ve stayed close to this pillar and kept myself hidden from the rest of the group. Not that I’m hiding per se, I just like watching Celeste. The way she throws her head back in full belly laughs. Her hair bouncing around carefree with every movement.
Celeste is carefree and I envy that part of her.
“For God’s sake, would you just go talk to her?” Matthew’s voice startles me and I jump, turning to face him. I can feel the heat on my skin in embarrassment. Busted.
“Uh, who?”
“Celeste. You’ve been stalking her all night.”
“No I haven’t. And don’t you have other more pressing matters to attend to than what I’m doing?”
“Dude. It’s hard to ignore the fact that you haven’t moved all night. You look like a creeper. A lumberjack creeper with that beard you’ve got. By the way, my fiancé has asked me if I’ll grow one. So thanks for that.” He claps his hand on my shoulder. “If you like her so much, go talk to her.”
“I… no… that would be awkward.” Especially since she rejected my offer the last time we spoke.
“Would