The Dream - Whitney Dineen Page 0,103
didn’t get a chance to talk to him. Not only is Dylan’s friend chivalrous, but he has gorgeous green eyes that remind me of Maeve’s, my childhood cat.
I take his hand. “Thank you. That’s very kind.”
“Let me help you to a chair and then I’ll get some ice for your injury. It’ll keep the swelling down,” he announces.
Once I’m positioned at table fourteen in the main ballroom, I watch Ethan walk to the bar. He looks good in a way that suggests he’s comfortable in formal wear, like James Bond. And bam, just like that, I realize I had totally forgotten about the cute groomsman.
When my knight in shining armor—a.k.a. a black tuxedo—returns, he helps prop my foot up on a chair and states, “There’s a nine percent chance of getting injured at a wedding reception.”
As far as opening lines to, it’s not the best. Yet, his previous gallantry more than makes up for it. “That seems to be an awfully high number,” I reply. “I’ve been to almost two hundred weddings so far and this is my first injury. If my calculations are correct, that puts my risk at point five percent, nowhere near your estimate.”
“Two hundred weddings? You must be quite a popular friend.”
I inform him, “I’m a party planner. I’m Jazz’s partner.”
“Ah, well then, surely you’ve had a blister, a burnt finger, or a stiff neck?”
I laugh. “If you’re going to include all the mundane discomforts, I’d think you’d be more accurate to say there’s a hundred percent chance of getting injured at a wedding.”
He shakes his head. “No, only nine percent, unless my research is wrong.” With a pointed look he adds, “Which it never is.”
What kind of person researches injuries at weddings? So, I ask, “What exactly do you do for a living?”
“I’m an actuary. Certainly, not as glamorous a profession as party planning, but it pays the bills.”
I’ve heard the job title, but I have no idea what it entails. Kind of like an ornithologist. I know it’s something. I just don’t know what. At my confused look, he explains, “Insurance companies and brokerage firms hire actuaries to assess the financial risk of investments and people. I currently work at an insurance company and help set rates, based on the statistical probability of natural disasters hitting certain demographics. For instance, earthquake insurance in the Midwest costs you next to nothing compared to what it does in California, for a reason.”
“Huh.” I can’t seem to think of any other response.
“It sounds like a job that could bore the paint off the walls, doesn’t it?” he laughs.
I flirt, “Lucky for me, I like numbers.”
Ethan sits with me for the next three hours while I ice my ankle, ten minutes on and twenty minutes off, as per his suggestion for the best healing effects. As we get to know each other, I watch Jazz flirt and dance with the man who just promised to love her forever.
Dylan is hands down the sweetest, funniest, and most devoted man I’ve ever met. He adores my friend with his whole being and treats her like delicate china, even though she’s not the kind of woman you’d want to sneak up on in a dark alley. Jazzy is one hundred percent Amazon with a touch of Xena Warrior Princess. She and Dylan are perfect for each other.
I was once in love with a man very much like Dylan and it didn’t turn out well, which is why I’m currently in the market for someone more practical. I’m less concerned with grand gestures and flowery compliments, than in a reliable partner who will be there when the chips are down.
Throughout the reception, not only do I discover that Ethan adheres to a strictly regimented life, but I also learn he’s a lovely man. He even offers, “Would you like me to see you safely home? No ulterior motives, I promise.”
“It’s kind of early to leave, don’t you think?” And while he claims no other motivation, I wouldn’t be opposed to a little romance.
He looks at his watch and explains, “I promised my neighbor, Mrs. Fein, I’d look in on her cat while she’s away. Apparently, Fifi suffers from separation anxiety and needs someone to bat her toy mouse around with her before she can go to sleep.”
As the party is winding down, and I can see the staff has everything well in hand, there’s nothing more for me to do. I allow Ethan to escort me home. True to his word, he