I told him what I knew and he frowned. “Crap. Wonder what that’s about. Oh, hey, there they are.”
Tore and Margot were just outside one of the glass exit doors and did, indeed, appear to be arguing.
“Hey, guys.” We stepped outside and they looked up almost guiltily.
Margot swiped at her eyes. “Is Gracie okay?”
“Well, she came and told me you and Tore were fighting, so we figured we’d come make sure everything was okay.”
“We’re not fighting,” Tore said mildly. “We just disagree about a few things.”
“Well, it upset Gracie and she upset Everly.”
“Oh, shit, I’m sorry.” Margot waved a hand. “It’s not a big deal, really. He’s just stubborn.”
“I’m stubborn?” He scowled at her and she scowled back.
“Look, we’re fine,” Margot said after a moment, moving toward the door. “It was a dumb disagreement. No one is fighting. I’ll go see about Gracie.” She walked inside and down the hall quickly, without looking back.
“What’d you do?” Dax asked Tore with a smirk.
Tore sighed. “She totally friend-zoned me. Everyone said she’s into me. Everyone said to go for it. Everyone said the wedding was the perfect time. Well, guess what? She’s not into me, not romantically anyway, and the wedding was definitely not the perfect time.” At that, he walked back inside and went in the opposite direction from where Margot had gone.
“Yikes.” Dax grimaced. “That sounds bad.”
“Why would she friend-zone him?” I asked in confusion. “She’s absolutely into him. I know this a thousand percent. She said so the other day when we were hanging out.”
“Well, either she’s afraid, or he said something stupid that scared her off.”
“Would he do that?”
“I’ve never known Tore to be a jerk to Margot. Other women? Absolutely, but never to her. He adores her and Gracie both. I think he’s been overly cautious as far as making a move because he understands that with Gracie in the picture, he has to be positive he wants to step into the role of her father, but I can’t imagine what happened.”
“Well, as long as they don’t upset Everly and Ian, I think it can wait a few more days.”
“Agreed.” He took my hand. “So, will you dance with me tonight? I seem to recall you like to dance.”
We’d danced at a club last summer when he’d been here visiting Ian.
“I do. And yes, I will.”
“Also, everything is set for us to go away on Monday, but now I’m rethinking the idea of driving.”
“Why?”
“It’ll be easier to get on a flight to Vegas from London, and that’s where we’re going next, isn’t it?”
“It is if you want to.”
“I want you to fully experience being part of my life, and a big part of it is in Vegas.”
“But you keep talking about leaving Vegas.”
“I know, and I still might, but if I don’t, this is when you’re off work, so what better time is there?”
“I suppose that’s true.”
“So London on Monday and next Sunday we leave for Vegas?”
“You sure you want to spend six days in London?”
“Don’t you?”
“I love London in small doses,” I told him. “It can be a lot after a week. What did you want to see?”
“Other than the obvious stuff like Buckingham Palace and Big Ben, I’d like to visit the Churchill War Rooms. I’ve always been fascinated by him.”
“I’m happy to show you all those places, but when you go to the War Rooms, I might spend a few hours at the shops,” I said. “I’ve done it multiple times and I’m not enamored with things related to war. Is that all right?”
“It’s fine as long as I get a selfie of us kissing in front of Buckingham Palace.”
I arched my brows. “Why?”
“Well, technically, your house is an old castle, and I think we should take a selfie there too.” He leaned down to kiss me. “Then we’ll take one in front of Buckingham Palace and then, just for fun, maybe one in front of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. It’s not a real palace, but it’s the fun of it.”
“So you want to do a lot of palace kissing?” I asked, laughing.
“Among other places.”
“I like the sound of that.”
“Are you hungry? There are hors d’oeuvres in the wedding party lounge from what I was told.”
“It sounds like you’re hungry,” I said. “So let’s go get something. We’ll move to the reception room soon and they’ll announce Lord and Lady Campbell.”
He wrinkled his nose. “That’s so strange to my ears. Lord Campbell. He’s just Ian.”
“To me as well, but we’re big on tradition around here.”
We wandered into the wedding party lounge and Dax got something to eat while I rested my feet. I’d brought flats with me to wear later, but we were still taking a lot of candid photos and there would be all kinds of roasts and toasts throughout dinner and the early part of the evening.
“That’s the announcement for us to move to the reception hall,” Mum said half an hour later.
I looked around for Dax, who was deep in conversation with Zaan.
“I’m thinking another wedding next summer,” Mum whispered as she moved past me.
I wanted to roll my eyes but I smiled instead. We had a way to go before we actually walked down the aisle, but I didn’t mind thinking about it. “It’s been two weeks,” I reminded her. “Try to focus on today’s wedding before you start planning another.”
“You’re no fun at all,” she responded primly.
“Ready to go?” Dax asked as he approached, offering me his arm.
“Absolutely.” I slid my hand through his bent elbow and we walked behind a few of the other wedding party couples, through the hall of the hotel to the main ballroom where the reception was being held. Ian and Everly had opted to have both the ceremony and reception in the hotel, just to make it easier for the guests. Personally, once the wedding was over, the only thing I planned to think about was sex with my own personal hockey god.
All through dinner
