Oh, right, I thought with dry humor. I had two mimosas before I went on my shopping adventure. Settling on the stool, I propped my sunglasses on my head. "Good memory."
"Just wait and see." He moved behind the bar, shaking things together until he placed a perfectly iced gin and tonic in front of me. His grin was too proud. "You wouldn't stop drinking these last night."
Hesitating, my fingers paused by the glass. "Huh?" It was all I could say. Was I seriously drinking that much lately? If I thought back, it was obvious I'd been a bit more... loose with my habits since getting the wedding invitation.
Sipping the drink, I gave him a smile. "It's perfect. Thanks." The guy winked, then went about pretending to be busy for the ghosts or whoever that were sitting at the bar, because as far as I saw, I was alone.
Alone alone alone. Ugh. But, it was true. I guess this wedding is really hammering it home. Work was my husband, I was married to my job. I'd gone from managing Four and a Half Headstones to consulting for others, as well as playing a minor agent. I was richer than ever and busier than ever, and no one had forced me to slow down enough to realize how unsatisfying it was.
But what could I fucking do? Online dating terrified me, and the only guys I ever met belonged to the music industry—and they were as messy as I was. Worse, usually.
There'd never been a guy who'd held my attention.
Well, that's not true. What about—I cut my own thoughts off at the stem. I was not about to moon over a guy I had no chance with. After all, I'd interacted with him on the sidelines for years. If he hadn't noticed me by now, he never would.
Yup. That's right. I tilted my glass back and swallowed. Fate doesn't exist. I started to chuckle, my eyes lifting to scan the lobby. I was in the perfect spot to watch the doors and see everyone entering.
That meant it was easy to spot Sean Cooper.
Spitting gin and tonic onto the bar, I coughed violently. Holy shit he's here. I summoned him with my mind! Maybe fate was real, or maybe I'd just taken for granted that Lola's brother would show up for her wedding.
It's fine, who cares if he's here. I cared. A lot. Shit, maybe I shouldn't let him see me. Wait, who cares if he sees me? Shit. He saw me. Sitting up on the stool, I dabbed as casually as I could at the gin and tonic spill while smiling at Sean.
He hooked his dufflebag over his shoulder and grinned. "Brenda? That you?"
Did he know my name because I was his sister's manager, or did he remember it for other reasons? I was normally so cool and calm. Channeling my inner power-bitch, I thrust my hand in his direction. "Hey there, Kiddo!" Fuck. Kiddo?
Sean's eyebrow piercing wiggled over his amused grin. "Uh, hey yourself. I'm guessing you're pregaming before the ceremony?"
Of course he'd noticed the glass in my hand. "Well, I've got another hour to kill before they expect us to show up in the ballroom. Who knows what those two will put us through before I can get to the open bar."
Laughing so that I could see his perfect teeth, Sean nodded. His smile warmed me better than the gin did. "I'd better clean up. I'll see you tonight, okay?"
"Yeah. Okay." Waving at his back, I stared for a long while.
The bartender cleared his throat. "Did you want another drink?"
Jumping up in a flurry of limbs, I threw some cash down. "No time! Thank you!"
Sean was going to be at the wedding.
Sean was going to look hot.
If I wanted to get through this evening...
I had to go pick out a damn dress. For real, this time.
****
Ever been to a rock star wedding?
Me either.
As I strut my way into the courtyard on my fuck-me-heels balanced out by my brand new and too expensive but demure green cocktail dress, I gazed up at the decorations in wonder. Lola's taste in black and purple was... well, everywhere.
There were dark flowers on every surface, leading the way into the open air garden. Here, things appeared more traditional. White chairs, flower petals on the green grass, and a gigantic archway crafted from fiddlehead ferns, music notes, and woven vine tendrils.
It was pretty and ethereal. I was impressed—they'd planned all this while finishing up a brand new