“And Olivia found out,” Mel said.
“I don’t know how to get her to forgive me,” he said. “And I miss her.”
“Do you love her?” Mel asked.
Marty nodded. “Crazy, huh?”
Mel glanced around the room, looking at all of the couples surrounding them. Some, like Oz and Lupe, just fit so perfectly, but then there were others, like the tall woman with the shorter man, or the younger man with the older woman, or the quiet woman with the gregarious man, who didn’t seem to suit one another at all, and yet while Mel watched them she saw these couples exchange looks of affection, fondness, and love.
“No, it’s not crazy,” Mel said. “Unexpected, sure, but isn’t that the best part?”
Marty smiled at her. It was the first genuine smile she’d out of him in weeks. “Yes, it is,” he agreed.
The band kicked in with a slow dance, and Mel glanced up to see Tate and Angie headed to the dance floor. At the first notes of Van Morrison’s “Have I Told You Lately,” Mel felt her eyes water up and her throat get tight. Tate pulled Angie into his arms and they moved around the floor staring into each other’s eyes as if they were the only two people in the room.
“Here,” Marty said. He handed Mel a fancy handkerchief from his tuxedo pocket. “You look like you’ve sprung a leak.”
Mel laughed and dabbed at her eyes. Joe strolled over to where they stood and slipped his arm around Mel.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yes, they’re happy tears,” she said. “It’s all good.”
Oz and Lupe drifted back to their group and Lupe hugged each of them in a warm hello embrace. Oz looked as besotted with his girl as ever and Mel hoped that with their lives pulling them in two different directions, it didn’t end in a crushing heartbreak for Oz.
She laced her fingers with Joe’s, wanting to be sure of him and his presence. She couldn’t imagine what she’d feel if she lost him. It would be unbearable.
Tate ended his dance with Angie by bending her over his arm in a deep dip. The photographer hired to replace Blaise was happily snapping away. Mel knew the pictures would be great, but Blaise had known Tate and Angie so well, it just wasn’t the same.
“Come on,” Joe said. “Let’s go show them how it’s done.”
Mel glanced quickly at Marty. She wasn’t sure he was in a good state to be left alone. He lifted his drink and waved her away.
“Don’t worry about me,” he said. “Go.”
“Save me a dance?” Mel asked him.
“Obvy,” Marty said, using slang and sounding just like Oz. Mel smiled and let Joe lead her onto the dance floor.
It was a slow song, and Joe pulled her close with her hand in his and his hand on her back. Mel put her hand on his shoulder and followed his lead, feeling at ease for the first time all day. That was, until her mother and Uncle Stan came dancing by.
“Be careful in those shoes, Melanie,” Joyce leaned close to whisper. “You don’t want turn an ankle or, you know, dislodge anything.” Then she turned to Joe and added, “I love a nice Christmas wedding, don’t you, dear Joe?”
“That might work,” Joe said. He gave Mel a cautious look. Mel felt her face get warm. Joe frowned at her as Joyce was led away by Uncle Stan.
“That was weird. Explain,” Joe said.
“Oh, where to begin,” Mel said. She tipped her head back to look up at him and said, “My mom has gotten it into her crazy cabeza that we’re pregnant.”
Twenty
“What?” Joe tripped and Mel had to catch him before he fell, taking her down with him.
“I know, it’s crazy!” Mel said. “I don’t know how she comes up with this stuff.”
“Joyce is an original,” he said. Then he looked at her. “So, last night my aunt Rosalind—”
“Probably heard my mother and assumed that we’re expecting,” Mel said.
“Was she upset by the idea?” he asked.
“No,” Mel said. “More hopeful than anything else. You know you’ll always be her ‘dear Joe.’”
Joe grinned and spun Mel in a slow turn. He pulled her close and kissed her quick.
“That’s fine with me. She’s the mother of the woman I love; how could I not be grateful to her for raising you to be the amazing woman that you are?”
“Oh my god, if you say that to her, she’ll replace me with you in her will.”
“So, you’re sure we’re not . . .” Joe said. His gaze drifted down to her belly and then back up to her face.
“No! Believe me, if and when that happens, you’ll be the first to know,” she said. She studied his handsome face. “Does the idea bother you?”
Joe gave her a small smile. “Nope. In fact, just thinking about it makes me feel as if it’s right.”
Mel nodded. She knew exactly what he meant. She could so easily see him holding a child or two or three of his own, and she wanted that with him. It was a good feeling.
“Uh-oh.” Joe’s attention was caught by something over her shoulder.
“Is my mother coming this way again?” she asked.
“No, I think this crazy train is for Marty,” he said.
“What?” Mel whipped her head in the direction he was staring.
Sure enough, Olivia Puckett, Marty’s ex-girlfriend and Mel’s longtime baking rival had crashed the wedding. Mel looked for Angie. This could go a variety of ways, from Angie being full of magnanimous marital bliss and welcoming Olivia to a less-friendly reaction that would likely involve a tackle and some hair pulling. Uh-oh.
Marty, for his part, was oblivious to Olivia’s entrance until Oz nudged him and pointed at the door. Marty turned around and took in the sight of Olivia, who Mel had to admit was looking quite lovely in a royal-blue dress with
