Shivan studies us and points at Nick. “Yes. That is the face of a man who just had sex.”
“Hell yeah, dudes!” Doug gives us both high fives. “Sorry to interrupt, but, uh . . . did everything go okay?”
I shake my head. “Not doing a sexual postmortem with you, bro. Not gonna happen.”
Doug frowns.
“Hey,” I say, eager to change the subject. “You guys wanna crash a wedding?”
“Yes,” Shivan says immediately. “Is there an open bar?”
“I’m supposed to be bartending and I’m currently here, so . . .” Nick trails off.
“So it’s extremely open, is what he’s saying,” I finish.
“Look at you two.” Doug leans back and crosses his arms. “Finishing each other’s sentences. I called it when you came to bowling.”
Nick sighs. “You did not.”
Doug looks to Shivan. “Did I or did I not say, ‘This chick is his soul mate’?”
Shivan nods. “But to be fair, you say a lot of stuff. You also thought Burger King was a good idea for breakfast, and we both ended up puking.”
Doug leans toward me. “He’s never looked at anyone the way he looks at you. It was obvious. He got pretty lucky with you.”
Nick and I look at each other, and for a second, it’s like Doug and Shivan aren’t even here. “No,” I say, smiling at him. “I think we both got pretty lucky.”
* * *
* * *
The music reverberates through the stairwell as we climb the creaky stairs. I squeeze Nick’s hand and he squeezes mine back and then we open the door and step through.
Pete Townsend’s “Let My Love Open the Door” is playing, which is yacht rock adjacent so I’m here for it. Gary waves to us from his spot in the DJ booth, then gives us a thumbs-up when he sees that we’re holding hands. Doug and Shivan immediately spot the bar and head there.
Everyone has a plastic cup in hand—people seem to have ransacked the bar in Nick’s absence, and judging by the dancing we’re seeing, they poured with a heavy hand.
“Chloe!”
Annie rushes toward me and envelops me in a hug. Nick leans in and says, “I’m gonna go check out the damage at the bar and try to keep the guys in check,” and the feeling of his stupid-sexy beard against my cheek and his whisper in my ear is enough to make me want to go right back to his office.
But I wouldn’t want to miss this. Annie releases me from her hug, then leans back and stares at me. “You just had sex!” she says, her jaw dropping.
“Keep it down.” I look around us, making sure no one’s paying attention.
“You have SEX HAIR!” Annie shouts. “Did you and Nick just HAVE SEX?”
“Shut up, drunkie,” I say, grabbing her by the arms.
“I’m pregnant,” she reminds me. “I’m not drunk. I’m so, so tired and so, so happy and honestly, kinda loopy. Get back to the sex hair.”
“Yes, we had sex. In his office.”
“Wow.” Annie breathes. “Very . . . businesslike.”
I shake my head. “Whatever. The point is . . . it worked. The grand gesture worked!”
Annie beams. “You bet it did. Romantic comedies are the source of all wisdom and they will never let you down. The sooner you accept that, the better. Oh! The pies are amazing!”
“They are?”
“I think you did it,” she said. “You finally made the perfect pie.”
“I don’t really trust your assessment right now,” I say, but even though I haven’t tried any of the pies yet, I think she may be right. Maybe the perfect pie is the one that’s served at the perfect time, with the perfect people.
She grabs my hand and attempts to spin me around, but since she’s so much shorter than me I end up having to duck under her arm and do a partial backbend.
“It’s wonderful!” she says. “This is the perfect wedding. Let’s do it again sometime!”
“You need a nap,” I say.
The song ends and a slow song starts playing. “Annie,” I say.
She smiles at me.
“Is this ‘When I Fall in Love,’ from Sleepless in Seattle?” I don’t even know why I’m asking; I’ve seen that movie so many times that I have everything, including the soundtrack, memorized.
She nods. “I told you; the entire wedding is nothing but songs from rom-coms.”
I sigh and smile. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” She hugs me, and then Drew grabs her for a dance.
I feel a hand on my shoulder and turn around to see Nick. “So, uh . . . you wanna dance?” he asks.