flute of milk shake, and he accepted it with a gentlemanly nod of the head. He took a tentative sip.
“Delicious,” he said, a bemused smile on his face. “What’s in it?”
I smiled back. “Raspberries, for one. And a secret ingredient known only to the bride and groom.”
No one other than me, Jason, and Crystal knew that the milk shakes contained a Dr Pepper reduction, which added a rich complexity to the bright note of the berries. I’d even managed to keep Bree in the dark. Not only was I worried about how Dr Pepper-flavored ice cream would be received, but I figured Jason and Crystal would enjoy sharing a secret on their wedding day.
“I can taste the berries, but there’s something else there. Familiar, but I can’t place it.” He shrugged. “Whatever it is, it’s tasty. Reminds me of you. Sweet, but not simple.”
I felt my face heating up at his compliment, and guessed I was probably every bit as pink as the milk shakes.
I suddenly realized we were still holding hands right in the middle of the Silver Jack barnyard. I began to pull away, but just then the band inside the barn struck up “When the Saints Go Marching In,” and folks started pairing up for the grand march.
Cal tugged me around so I stood at his side and dragged me to a spot in line right behind the groom’s parents. I craned my neck looking for Bree, hoping I could get her to take my place, but I watched in dismay as she shoved Alice and Kyle together and then pulled Finn into the line right behind us.
Ahead of me, the line started moving, everyone stomping their feet and shaking their hips in time to the music. When Cal started forward, I followed dutifully, but I felt the force of Finn’s gaze on the back of my neck.
We shuffled through the barn doors and into the reception site. Fairy lights and flowered garlands hung from the rafters and the oak plank floor glowed a mellow gold in the gentle light. Long trestle tables topped with crisp white linens, colorful mismatched china, and dozens of ivory pillar candles lined either side of the big open space. A dozen or so of the older folks were already perched on the benches, nodding their heads and tapping their toes to the beat. The flower girl, one of Jason’s nieces, snuggled on the lap of one plump matron, her white patent leather Mary Janes peeping from the frothy pink spill of her skirts. The woman clasped the child’s hands in her own and clapped them gently together.
Two by two, the bridal party and guests danced down the length of the barn. At the front of the room, the couples peeled off, alternately moving to the right or the left, forming two lines that boogied around the perimeter of the room and back to the door. There, the two lines merged again as each couple met another and formed a group of four.
Cal didn’t have the best sense of rhythm, but he bopped along good-naturedly, swinging our joined hands back and forth between us.
Ahead of me, I watched as Tom and Deena Silver met the Arbaughs, coming from the other side, in front of the barn door. Deena took Mr. Arbaugh’s hand in her own, and the foursome began the trek down the dance floor again.
Cal and I rounded the corner and came face-to-face with Bree and Finn. Cal stiffened just slightly, and I hesitated a beat before taking the last few steps and reaching out for Finn’s hand. To their credit, neither man came to a full stop. Casual observers might not have even noticed the tension between them.
But I noticed, and I was caught squarely in the middle.
Finn, the passion of my past. Cal, with his promise of respectability and stability. Just exactly what I’d always wanted.
If I’d figured out anything over the last year, it was this: you have to live in the now.
As I stood between those two men, one like fire, the other like rock, I realized I needed to focus on who they were at that exact moment. Who I was at that exact moment. How they made me feel.
And I knew which man held my heart at that very point in time.
My heart pounding in my chest, I squeezed his hand.
Pink Pepperberr y Milk Shakes
This is the signature milk shake Tally whipped up for Jason and Crystal’s wedding. The milk shake is a lovely deep-rose