Diego and I followed them, and once they were clear of the reception tent, I directed security to remove the woman from the reserved area.
“You’re going to regret this!” As she struggled, her hat fell off. She swore at the security, but the team was unfazed and kept on moving.
I checked over my shoulder. Wyatt, bless him, had gone to the DJ and requested that the dollar dance begin. Drama forgotten, folks enthusiastically began to line up to dance with the bride and groom, cash in hand.
I met his eyes and mouthed, thank you.
Wyatt tipped his head in response, and I gave him a thumb’s up for thinking of the distraction. With a sigh of relief that an ugly scene had been averted, I went over to pick up the young woman’s fallen hat. As I expected, it too was designer, and I wondered why a young woman of obvious wealth would pull such a mean-spirited stunt.
“I’ve seen a lot of crazy things at weddings, ya’ll,” I said to Diego, “but that was new.”
“I’m glad I was nearby to help,” Diego said quietly. “She shouldn’t be here.”
“So you know her?”
Diego nodded.
“She said that she was a relative…Wyatt knew her. He called her Leilah.” I glanced up from the hat I held to Diego’s dark eyes. “Who the hell was that?”
Diego didn’t answer immediately. Instead he stood there looking handsome in his suit and tie, watching as the security team carried the woman out, and over to a parking lot well past the reserved section of the gardens.
“Diego?” I prompted.
“That was Leilah Martin Drake,” he said. “She’s Julian’s half-sister and Thomas’s daughter.”
I bobbled the hat. “Holy shit!”
Diego studied my face. “You didn’t know.” It was a statement not a question.
“No, I sure as hell didn’t know!” I caught myself and immediately lowered my voice. “Not one of ya’ll saw fit to tell me.”
Diego dipped his hands in his pockets. “There’s some bad blood between Leilah and Holly Bishop. Thomas disowned Leilah last year. I’ll admit I was very surprised to see her here, but you handled it well. Hardly anyone noticed.”
“Did the bride or groom see her?”
“No.” Diego slung an arm companionably around my shoulder. “Neither did Thomas. Julian did, but he kept his father distracted.”
“I don’t understand any of this,” I said. “I need to find out what in the world—”
Diego cut me off. “I’m going to give you some advice. Don’t mention this to Thomas until after the wedding is over. Give him today.”
I yanked back on my impatience to get answers immediately. This wasn’t the time or the place. I had a wedding reception to finish and the bride and groom deserved my undivided attention. “Alright.” I bit back my frustration, but still managed to smile at Diego. “Thank you for the help.”
“De nada.” He smiled in return. “Let’s go back inside.”
Walking back into the reception tent with Diego, I stuffed the designer hat into a nearby garbage can, without breaking stride. I went directly to the edge of the dance floor, where the lines had formed with guests waiting to dance with the bride and groom.
Willow was standing in line holding Thomas’ hand. When their turn came, Thomas gave Willow a few dollars, and she handed it off to Lexie and then my girl went to dance with Duncan. Duncan scooped Willow up and danced with her, making her laugh.
Thomas handed Wyatt a crisp bill and began to dance a smooth, formal waltz with the bride. They went slowly around the dance floor and, fortunately, Autumn didn’t trip.
“Welcome to the family,” he told her as they danced past where I stood.
Autumn was positively glowing at his words, and she gave the man an affectionate hug and kiss on the cheek.
I eased over to Wyatt’s side. “Thank you for the distraction.”
“You bet,” he said.
“Wyatt,” I said under my breath, “I’m going to want to talk to you tonight about…everything.”
Wyatt kept his attention on the line of guests waiting to dance with Autumn. “That can be arranged,” he said smoothly.
I wasn’t sure if I admired his suddenly suave attitude, or if it annoyed me. I made sure to continue to keep my voice low. “I’m going to want some answers.”
“Of course.” He smiled and held up his hand, silently telling Oliver Jacobs that he’d have to wait a bit longer for his turn to dance with the bride.
“My money is good,” Oliver laughed, holding up a twenty-dollar bill.
“The gentleman before you was a bit more generous,” Wyatt said and flashed the one hundred dollar bill Thomas had given him. This caused a laughing reaction from the line of people waiting to dance with Autumn, as they all realized they’d have to continue to wait.
Chloe and Sophia were hopping up and down waving five-dollar bills, and Lexie motioned for them to come up and take a turn with the groom. Duncan solved the problem of who would go first, by taking each of the girls’ hands and dancing with them, together.
I’d been told about it, but I had to say that this ‘Dollar Dance’ was a new wedding tradition for me. But it soon became apparent that the more you “paid” the longer you were allowed to dance with the bride or groom. It was adorable. The extra cash they received from the guests was intended for use on the couple’s honeymoon.
I retreated into the background. Lexie and Wyatt had things under control, but I still had work to do.
“Mama!” Willow ran over to me. “I danced with the groom!” she said proudly.
Wyatt tapped Thomas on the shoulder and Thomas surrendered the bride. Oliver Jacobs swooped in and began an enthusiastic jig with the bride that had her howling with laughter.
Thomas came over to stand with us. “You did a beautiful job with the wedding, Maggie.”
“Thank you.” I smiled at him even as my stomach churned with dread. He was so happy, I thought. I didn’t want to do or say anything to
