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“I have to make a speech, remember?” I told him. “My mom would die if I blew it off. Well, first she’d kill me, and then she’d die.”
Right then, the silver Town Car that was supposed to squire me and Qui
“And there goes my ride,” I said, lifting my flowers.
“So I’ll drive you,” Jake said.
My eyebrows shot up. Jake was technically not invited to the wedding. And if I brought him into the reception, I’d have to explain it to my mom. Something I didn’t remotely know how to do.
“It’s just a ride. I won’t even come inside if you don’t want me to,” Jake said, as if he was reading my thoughts. He took out his keys and twirled them once, catching them in his palm. His eyes danced. “Your limousine awaits, princess.”
Then he held out his free hand to me. And after only a moment’s hesitation, I took it.
ally
The note card on which I had written my speech—just in case—was starting to go soft in my hands from the disgusting amount of sweat my palms were producing. I stared at it under the table, my salad untouched, keeping one eye on the band director for the signal that I was up. Ever since we’d arrived at the Orchard Hill Country Club, I had been unable to relax. Even in the moments I wasn’t consciously thinking about my speech—like when I was inhaling mini crab cakes at the cocktail hour, posing for the ten billionth picture with my mom, Gray, Qui
“If I may have your attention, please!” the bandleader suddenly a
My knee bounced up and knocked the underside of the table, causing everyone’s china to jump. Mortifying. Totally mortifying.
“We’ll now hear from the maid of honor and the best man!”
There was a smattering of applause. I rose slowly, rubbing my knee under the tablecloth. On the other side of the table, Mason buttoned his tuxedo jacket and strode purposefully to the front of the room. Why couldn’t I be that confident? And why hadn’t Gray made his daughter the best man and forced her to get up in front of hundreds of people and make a stammering idiot out of herself?
I glanced at Qui
Somehow, I arrived at the bandstand without tripping. The gazebo room of the country club looked like something out of a modern fairy tale. The ceiling was draped with a canopy of white lights, and every table was adorned with colorful swags of floral garland. Flowers burst from the glass centerpiece vases like fireworks, and the windows looked out over the lake, where hundreds of yellow, red, and orange paper lanterns bobbed in the setting sun. I took a deep breath and looked at my mom, seated at the sweetheart table with Gray directly across the dance floor. She was giving me that look. The one that said I could do no wrong. Damn, I hoped she was right.
“Ladies first,” Mason said, handing me the microphone.
My jaw hung open. Was he kidding? He was, like, forty something years old. He couldn’t give a kid a break and lead off?
“Uh, hi,” I said into the mike.
“Go, Ally!” Sha
I tried to shoot her an I hate you look and instead found myself looking at Jake. At the last minute I’d decided to let him come inside, and the maître d’ had said there was no problem squeezing him in at my friends’ table. My mother hadn’t even seemed to notice he was here, and now I was beyond glad he’d come. However stupid or weak or wrong someone on the outside may have thought I was, this day just hadn’t felt right without him in it. And besides, he was the one who had advised me on my speech. Now we were about to find out if he was right.
Jake lifted his chin and gave me a confident nod. I squared my shoulders and began.
“I’m Ally, daughter of the bride,” I began. My voice sounded weird and nasal, coming back at me through the speakers. And loud. Way too loud. I held the microphone farther away from my lips. “I was really psyched when my mom asked me to be her maid of honor … until I realized I was going to have to do this,” I joked. The laughter was more wholehearted than I expected and I felt my confidence rise. “But honestly, it made sense. Because my mom and I have always been best friends.”
“Awwww!” the crowd cooed.
I smiled. Who knew they were going to be so effortless? I could have written any kind of crap and they would have eaten it up.
“I’m sure you can all imagine that it’s not the easiest thing, watching your mom marry someone who’s not your dad,” I said, my stomach clenching a bit. “But if she was going to marry someone, I’m glad it was Gray, because it’s obvious to the world how happy he makes her, and anyone who makes my best friend that happy has to be pretty cool.”
I glanced at Gray and he smiled, nodding his head in thanks. My mom kissed his cheek.
“So thank you, Mom, for giving me the distinct honor of making this speech,” I said, with a touch of sarcasm that made everyone laugh. “And thank you, Gray, for being the guy who makes my mom’s face look like that,” I said, pointing.
My mom’s eyes shone and her cheeks were all pink with happiness. I earned another “aw” from the crowd, then turned to pick up my champagne glass.
“To the bride and groom!” I shouted, my relief at being done pouring through every last speaker in the room.
“The bride and groom!” the guests replied, lifting their glasses.
Then there was a round of applause and it was over. Just like that. After months and months of worrying. I handed the microphone to Mason and stepped back, so very happy that I was done. For a while I watched my mom and Gray react to Mason’s speech, but as it went on longer and longer, people started to get antsy and squirmy, including me. Looked like Jake had been right about the speeches. Short and simple was the way to go. I turned, just slightly, to see if he was still paying attention. I figured he’d be eating his salad or laughing it up with the Idiot Twins or something. But he was just sitting in his chair while my friends chatted and ate around him, watching me. I felt the intensity of his stare from my scalp all the way down my arms and into my fingertips, along my spine and down to my toes.
And just like that I knew. Whatever fears I still had, whatever distrust, whatever disappointments or questions, I knew that this wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.
jake
“Your mom seriously knows how to throw a party,” I said, gripping the Jeep’s steering wheel.
Oh, nice. Bring up her mother. That’s romantic. Jackass.
“As long as I don’t ever have to give a speech again, she can throw whatever parties she wants,” Ally replied.
She was sitting in the passenger seat, but as far away from me as possible. Across the water, the lights of the country club glowed. The gazebo room was full of dancing guests. Every once in a while a laugh could be heard through the open car windows. But the only thing I could think about was that this was where I’d kissed her the first time. How I’d kill to do it again. My pulse pounded in my ears. Would she ever let me do it again?
“I thought you were awesome,” I said.
“Please.” She rolled her eyes and flicked the window controls back and forth. Which did nothing, since the car wasn’t on.
“No. You were,” I protested, maybe a little too loudly.
“Well, I couldn’t have done it without you,” she said.
I felt a rush of pride. Maybe all wasn’t lost.
“Seriously, if it wasn’t for your advice, I would’ve rambled on longer than Mason did.”
“Yeah. That guy crashed and burned,” I said with a laugh.