Seeing the approving smile on Joyce’s face, Marissa headed out of the bathroom and toward the dance floor to brave the dreaded bouquet toss.As she suspected, a bunch of teenage girls vied for a spot close to Carolyn, who had her back to them.
Keeping to the rear, hopefully out of reach, Marissa paused.
“No.”Ava tugged.“Closer.”
“Baby, we don’t want to get trampled,” Marissa mused as she gestured to the cousins throwing elbows.
Shaking her head, Ava continued on and effectively dragged Marissa to the women.
“Ready?”the DJ asked.
The women cheered.
“Set,” he said.
Carolyn glanced over her shoulder and winked.
What was that about?
“Throw.”
Using both hands, and apparently all her might, Carolyn tossed her flowers behind her, over her head to the group of young women with their hands in their air, hip checking one another.
Marissa’s gaze followed the cluster of calla lilies tied with a wide ribbon as it soared in an arc toward her.Her eyes widened as she noted the trajectory.
Oh, hell no.She wanted to be no part of that pageantry.
Ava lifted her hands, spread her fingers, and reached for it.
Closing her eyes and turning away, Marissa all but darted as though it were a missile aimed at her.With her head down, she collided with an unmovable force.As she bounced off a well-tailored suit and nearly fell back on her ass, arms caught her.
When she looked up, her mouth fell open, and her heart swooned.
Beau.
Of course it was.
“Easy,” he said, wearing the most adorable smile she had ever seen.
“You came,” she stated the obvious as she got her feet below her and reestablished her balance.
On a chuckle, he ran his hands up and down her arms a moment before releasing her and stepping away.“Joyce had this whole plan where I’d catch the garter belt, and Carolyn would throw you the bouquet,” he said as he scrubbed the back of his neck.
Marissa glared at Ava’s mother, who twisted her head like she wasn’t eavesdropping and pretended to console her daughter, who had not caught the flowers.
“But some overeager dude snatched that shit right out of the air,” Beau continued.“So, I figured I’d catch you instead.”
She couldn’t stop smiling.No one had ever “chased” her like this.When stuff got rough, everyone else just left.They didn’t care, put effort in, or try harder.They quit.Beau didn’t.He had hard conversations and showed up.His persistence nearly brought tears to her eyes.
He slid his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.She rested her head on his shoulder, closed her eyes, and let herself melt against him as they slow danced right there on the corner of the dance floor to “I Hope You Dance,” by Lee Ann Womack.
It was the perfect moment.The world sent her a message.Give it a shot.They could figure things out.It wasn’t every day that a sexy ginger appeared in her life, took her to swim with dolphins, ate her out in public, and attended a wedding with minimal notice for her.
She’d be a fool to reject him.
“How far is Allentown, Pennsylvania, from you?”he asked.
Pulling back, she peered up at him.“About two hours.Why?”
