At some point we got pulled apart, but now that’s giving me a chance to watch her work the room. She’s a vision in that dress. And the way she’s talking with everyone, despite me not being next to her, is something not every person can do. But Maeve? It’s as if she’s holding court, and these are all her subjects.
“She’s got a way about her, doesn’t she?”
I didn’t see Josh come up next to me, and I do my best not to have a visible reaction to Maeve’s ex-husband being in my vicinity.
“That she does.”
The two of us don’t say anything for a minute, both watching a woman who has a meaningful place in our lives talk to a group of women, and I don’t know what she just said but they are all holding their stomachs in laughter.
“When we first met, I was a dumbass bartender,” he says. “Thought it was a great job. Good tips. My pick of women. A bachelor’s dream.”
I don’t say anything, wondering where he’s going with this.
“Women came into my bar every night. But that first night I saw Maeve, it’s like I couldn’t see anyone else. She has that way about her, you know?”
“Oh I do,” I say, thinking back to that first night I saw her at the airport bar. “Why are you telling me this?”
“I don’t know,” he says. “All this fighting we’ve been doing, I forgot until right now about the girl at the bar I first fell in love with.”
I snap my gaze to him, but he’s immediately shaking his head. “It’s not like that, man. Did I love her? Yes. But we weren’t right for each other. We tried to force it for Jayce’s sake. But she’s the mother of my kid, you know? And I think I’ve lost sight of that…”
I don’t say anything, not wanting to push this too far, but also at the same time wondering where his new wife is.
“Thanks for attending,” I say. “Now if you’ll excuse me.”
Josh tips his head, and I make my way toward Maeve.
“Ladies, can I be so rude as to steal my wife?”
Maeve waves goodbye as I place my hand on her back, leading her toward what I’m calling the dance floor in the main room where guests have gathered.
“What are you doing?” she asks as I pull her in tight to me.
“I think it’s about time we find a little calm.”
As if I gave them some sort of cue, the string quartet changes from a Christmas song into a popular ballad. Maeve leans into me, resting her head on my chest as we move to the melody of the song. I close my eyes, not wanting to catch the eye of anyone else here, only wanting to focus on the woman in my arms.
“I remember the last time we danced,” I whisper. “I thought that at any moment this was going to end. That you were going to be a snapshot in time, never to be seen again.”
“Am I a horrible person for saying that I hoped to never see you again?”
“You’re not,” I say with a laugh. “And if I didn’t know it when you snuck out of the room, I would’ve figured it out on the plane.”
“You mean the most embarrassing hour of my life?”
“You were cute,” I say. “All flustered and covered in drool.”
She narrows her eyes at me in a mock glare. “Watch it, Matthews. I know where you sleep.”
I twirl Maeve out, before bringing her back in. “And I know how to make you scream.”
Before she can respond, I press my lips to hers, deepening the kiss as I dip her low. Is the kiss a little much for a room full of CEOs, celebrities, my board, and a handful of media? Probably. I feel the cameras flashing. I know what they’re doing.
And I couldn’t care less.
Because I’m kissing the woman of my dreams.
The woman I married for convenience.
