“And you look very smart in that tux,” I told him.
He lifted his chin. “I do scrub up well, don’t I?” He took my hands and gave them a little squeeze. “Maggie, Freddie, and even Deacon are all so happy for you.”
I smiled. “Love you, Dad. And I love them, too.”
He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I’ll want a dance later.” With that, he moved along.
Wyatt stepped toward me. His mouth curved, and his eyes watered. “Melinda was right, you’re a sight to behold,” he said a little gruffly.
“And you look … uncomfortable,” I said. “Handsome, but uncomfortable.”
He tugged at his collar. “I hate suits. You know that. Hate tuxes even more. Tell me there’s beer.”
“There’s beer.” I strongly suspected he’d yank off the black tie and pull open a few buttons once he’d downed some drinks.
“Chris is giving me the stink eye, so I’ll move along.” He kissed my cheek and then put his mouth to my ear. “Proud of you.” Then he disappeared.
Melinda and Junior came next. He gave me a cuddle and asked if there was cake. When I told him about the cookie bar, he flashed me the hugest grin.
I greeted several more people, including Hanna, Ashley, and Tucker. I also said my hellos to many of Dane’s colleagues, including an insanely hot guy who I’d quickly learned was Blake Mercier; he’d brought along his wife, Kensey, and their two-year-old son.
Soon, Travis, Hope, Kent, and Jen walked in. I nearly gasped because, oh God, Hope was wearing white. Did she have no shame? Okay, it wasn’t a wedding, but it was a wedding reception, so wearing white was in very poor taste.
I noted that she looked highly annoyed. I suspected that she’d thought I’d be wearing white and would, as such, be pissed at her choice of dress. Instead, I could only cross my eyes. The woman was a waste of space, much like her husband.
Out of the four Davenports, Travis was first in line to greet us. After saying hello to Dane, Travis walked to me. “Congratulations, Vienna, you look beautiful.” Smiling, he put his face closer to mine and whispered, “You’ll eventually realize you made the biggest mistake of your life by not heeding what I said about Dane. Some people only learn their lessons the hard way, I guess.”
I gave him a pitying smile and patted his arm. “It’s an honest to God’s shame you never learned yours. Now, if you don’t want Dane to toss you out—and we both know he would—you’ll get moving.”
He might not have done, but then Kent accidentally-on-purpose knocked into him. Of course, Kent apologized to Travis, who walked off in a huff.
Kent gave me an “I got your back” wink. “You look striking, Vienna. My brother is a lucky man.”
I smiled. “I’d say I’m the lucky one.”
He kissed my cheek and then moved along.
Jen came next. The glassy look in her eyes told me she’d gone heavy on the cocktails. “The planners did a good job, I see.”
“They did,” I agreed.
She gave me a sweet smile. “Make him happy, Vienna. He deserves to be happy.” That fast, she was gone.
I almost rolled my eyes when Hope appeared in front of me.
“Well, congratulations,” she said to me, stiffly.
“Thank you.”
“I figured you’d be wearing something a little more glamorous.”
Knowing she was prompting me to comment on what she was wearing, I only said, “Thanks for coming, Hope.” I turned to the person behind her and said hello, forcing Hope to either keep walking or make a scene. She kept walking.
Once all the guests were finally inside, Dane turned to me, his brows dipping. “What did Travis whisper to you?”
“That I’ll eventually see I made a mistake in not heeding his warnings. Just ignore him, I did.” I gave my head a little shake. “I can’t believe Hope’s wearing white. I suppose I should have expected the passive-aggressive jab. She’s undoubtedly pissed that her games never paid off.”
“She also doesn’t like that you outshine her,” he said. “If you want her gone, say the word, and I’ll make it happen.”
“Nah, let her stay. It’ll be fun to watch people sneer at her for wearing white.”
“Your call.” Dane squeezed my hand. “Come on, let’s go sit.”
We settled at the head table. Simon and Wyatt sat on my side—mostly because they’d soon be making a speech together—while Melinda and Junior sat next to Dane. The little boy kept himself occupied using the small pack of coloring books that I’d asked Miley to place there for him. She’d done the same for all the children.
I took a moment to quickly scan the room. Everyone was now seated. Most were admiring the décor and snapping pictures. Others were chatting or laughing. Some guests were already shooting Hope looks of distaste. Her burning cheeks said that she was well-aware of it.
Shortly after, the food began to arrive. For starters, we had creamy soup served in small, artificial, hollowed-out pumpkins. I saw several people snapping photos of them, clearly appreciating the creativeness of it.
For the main meal, we enjoyed Thanksgiving-style platters of roast turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, dinner rolls, green beans, turkey stuffing, gravy, and cranberry sauce.
Dessert wasn’t served, since we had a dessert table that included fruit pies, pumpkin spice cake, red velvet cupcakes, and a whole other selection of goodies. The kids mostly enjoyed themselves at the cookie bar and Trick-or-Treat candy buffet.
The wedding cake was smack bam in the middle of the dessert table on a tree trunk cake stand. The classic three-tiered cake was embellished with silk roses, fondant leaves, winding branches, and was topped with a bride and groom underneath a leafy arch. It was so gorgeous I wasn’t sure I could cut into it—I didn’t want to ruin it.
As the waiters began collecting the dishware, Simon leaned into me. “Have you noticed that Travis’s wife keeps trying to pluck drinks out of his hand? I can’t say I blame her. He’s been knocking back champagne like it’s his job.”
I had noticed. “With any luck, he’ll pass out right there at the table.”
Simon snickered. “One can but hope.”
At a cue from Miley, Dane rose from his seat with his champagne flute in hand. The room quieted in an instant. “First, on behalf of my wife and myself, I’d like to thank you all for coming,” said Dane, smooth as glass. “Especially those who’ve travelled far to be here. And thank you Simon, Melinda, and Wyatt for making me feel so welcome into the family you’ve made together.”
Warmed by that, I had to smile. Yeah, they’d been great with him from the start. There’d been a “bump,” thanks to Travis, but my family had gotten past that.
Dane thanked a bunch of other people, including the wedding planners and venue organizers. He cast me a brief look and then added, “Anyone here who knows me is very aware that I always said I’d never marry. It’s not that I have anything against marriage; I just simply never saw any appeal in it. Until Vienna.”
There were a few awws.
“I first met my wife when she came to work at my company. I thought she was the most stunning creature I’d ever seen, but I have a hands-off policy when it comes to my employees, so I took a while to act on that. During the time she worked as my PA, I came to learn a lot about Vienna. I learned she’s sweet. Loyal. Kind. Caring. Fearless. Honest. So honest she never once hesitated to flip me off or call me an asshole if need be.”