coming unglued,” he explains. “I didn’t know how to help him, and I didn’t want him to hurt you. I was so confused.”
Zach declares, “Come on guys, let’s give these two some privacy.”
As the room empties, Davis’s dad passes by and whispers in my ear, “Go get ’em, tiger.” Then he winks before leaving the room.
“Davis,” I start to say, but words fail me.
“Yes?”
“I want … I need …” I start to say before I practically throw myself into his arms. I decide telling him how I feel is overrated. I’m going to show him. I pull him so close I’m practically climbing him. I kiss him with every ounce of passion that’s building inside me, like my heart will stop beating if I don’t. My body erupts in flames of desire. I want to know everything about this man; I have years of lost time to make up for.
I’m nearing the point of ripping his tuxedo right off of him when the bride walks in the room. “I’m guessing you talked to Chad,” she says, sounding delighted by the scene she’s witnessing.
I reluctantly pull my mouth away from Davis’s and say, “I did, thank you.”
“I wanted to warn you he was here, but I guess things turned out for the best anyway.”
“Yes,” I’m practically panting. “So good. Things are so, so, good.”
She asks, “Do you think I could borrow Davis just for a few minutes while I get married?”
I’m still hanging on to him. “Oh, sure,” I tell her. “I’ll just, um …” I lean in to kiss him again, slower this time, more deliberately, before stepping back. “I’ll just go sit with Gran.”
Davis says, “We’ll pick this up again after the ceremony, okay?”
“I was hoping you’d say that.” I take another step back, while trying to gain my equilibrium enough to walk outside.
When I pass by Chad and Benny, I call out, “I don’t hate you anymore, Chad.”
He smiles with apparent relief and says, “Thank you, Ashley. Thank you so much.”
In the time I’ve been away from Gran, the chairs have virtually all been filled. I hurry to take my place as Lee leans over and says, “What’s the other guy look like?”
I don’t know what she means, so she hands me her compact. I flip it open and discover that my mouth is covered with splotches of lipstick. I grab a tissue out of my purse and try to fix the damage, but darn that long-lasting lipstick, it’s putting up a fight.
I hand Lee her compact and tell her, “The other guy is Davis.”
“I figured,” she says.
“How did you figure?” I demand.
“Honey, none of us are as stupid as the two of you made us out to be. We knew something’s been cooking for quite awhile now.” Then she squeezes my hand, “And we couldn’t be happier.”
The wedding is perfect. Faye walks up the aisle at her mom’s side, taking turns dropping rose petals and picking them up. No one seems concerned that she’s doing her own thing. I’m in such a daze of happiness that I don’t remember many details, I just know the ceremony was sheer perfection.
After family pictures are taken, Davis and I take Gran back to the home. She fell asleep during the ceremony, so Lee thought it was for the best.
On our way to the club for the reception, I ask, “Why didn’t you tell me about Chad?”
“He asked me not to. He wanted to tell you himself when he apologized to you. He tried to do that the night of the Spring Fling but you ran off, so that’s why we had him bump into us at Filene’s.”
“Is Chad why you didn’t let things go any further between us that day at your place?”
“Yes.”
“You said things needed to be said first. Did you mean Chad’s apology?”
“That, and I needed you to trust me enough to tell me who you really were before we let things go further.”
“But you already knew,” I say. “You’ve known all along.”
“I wanted you to feel safe with me knowing. I’ve never judged you, Ashley, and I never will—certainly not for the things Chad used to say about you. I hated him for it, but he was also my best friend and he was going through a really rough time. I didn’t know what to do.”
“Thank you for waiting,” I tell him. “It’s going to make tonight that much more special.”
“You mean tonight we’re gonna …”
“Yes, sir, we sure are,” I promise as the sexual tension becomes