to himself. Which is when Cady found me with my mouth still hanging open.
“Oh my friggin’ God, that was so hot!” she gulped, fanning herself. “What’s going on with you and Mr. Knob-head?”
It had been so long since I’d thought of him that way, it took me a second to realize who she was talking about.
“Just Vince being Vince,” I said, still flustered.
“Hmm, methinks you protest too much, Counselor. I mean, phew! I could feel the heat from 20 feet away.”
“He’s being annoying,” I countered. “I’m irritated not turned on. He told your mom we were dating. She asked for an invitation to our wedding!”
Cady laughed so hard, there were tears in her eyes. “Oh, hell, that’s awesome! I can’t wait to be your maid of honor.”
“Stop it!” I said crossly. “People will hear you.”
She sniggered, then gave me a big hug. “Whatever you say, hon. But that guy has it bad for you. Don’t break his fluffy little heart.”
She reeled away in a zig-zag pattern across the floor, groping Rick’s ass along the way as he gave her a tolerant smile.
Was it true? Did Vince really like me that much? I knew he was attracted to me and we’d become friends, sort of, but surely I didn’t have the power to break his heart? It was an unnerving thought. I’d felt his vulnerability when he’d told me about his ex-girlfriend, and I understood much better now why he’d kept all other relationships as shallow as possible. But was he asking me for something else, something deeper…?
He’d already invited me into his life and entrusted me with his dogs, and they were his family—far more precious to him than anything. I tried to examine how I felt about Vince: what would it be like to date him? Chaotic and confusing, definitely; he could still be arrogant, and he was very vain, spending more time looking in the mirror than I ever did; but he was also fun and exciting, completely impulsive, living life by the seat of his pants. He was kind, he could be sweet. And I had to admit that he was hot.
So the question was, why wouldn’t I date him?
Not while he was my client, of course. But after?
With so many thoughts whirling through my brain, it was lucky that I remembered I had a job to do and went to check with the hotel staff who were ready for Cady and Rick’s guests to be seated.
There were 16 of us, including the rabbi who was going to conduct the ceremony and her husband.
The seating placements had been planned with precision, trying to ensure that everyone would be happy with their places. Cady assured me that at least one member of her family would undoubtedly be pissed but she could live with that.
She was at the head of the table with Rick, of course, then going around it was Mr. and Mrs. Roberts, me, Vince, Ben and Leon the ex-rugby players, Cady’s Uncle Gerald and Grandma Callaghan at the foot of the table, then Cady’s brother Davy, with Nana Dubicki next to Rabbi Lisa Buchdahl and her husband, and finally Cady’s parents, Rachel and Sandy.
Cady had tried hard to meet everyone’s conversational requirements, but failing that, she’d ordered enough champagne to drown a herd of hippos.
Fascinating factoid: the collective noun for hippos is pod, school or bloat, which seems a bit unkind to hippos.
“Well,” said Nana Dubicki loudly as she allowed Davy to help her to her seat, “I never thought this day would come.”
Cady laughed. “You and me both, Nana.”
“Girls your age would have been considered on the shelf in my day,” added Grandma Callaghan. “Spinsters. But times have changed.”
“Mom!” Cady’s dad yelped from the other end of the table, but his mother was on a roll, enjoying being the center of attention.
“A woman over 29 was an old maid if she wasn’t married and you’re, what, 45?”
Cady choked on her water. “Still a mere stripling of 38, Grandma.”
“Yes, that’s what I said, pushing 40. You were lucky to have someone take you off your father’s hands.”
“Huh,” Cady said accompanied by a roll of her eyes, “I thought I was off Dad’s hands once I landed my first job after college and paid back my loans five years later, but I could be wrong.”
“And I’m the lucky one,” Rick said quietly, but Grandma Callaghan was too deaf to hear him.
“Thank you, honey,” Cady said, kissing her fiancé sweetly.
“You’d better not get lucky with my sister before