Daughters Of The Bride(41)
Maggie held up her champagne glass. It was close to midnight and everyone was feeling the effects of food and liquor. She swayed slightly. Neil kept his arm around her.
“Thank you all for coming,” she said with a laugh. “I love you all.”
“We love you, too,” someone called.
Quinn sat at a table in the back, watching everyone else. He’d had a surprisingly good time. Maggie and Neil weren’t an obvious choice to be a couple. At least not physically. Maggie was leggy and lean, while Neil edged more toward short and round. But they were happy together. Even he could see that, and he prided himself on seeing all things through a cynical lens.
Like the proposal. Sienna had been caught completely off guard. That had been easy to read. So had her reluctance to say yes. But what choice had she had? Refusing David would have been all anyone remembered. And now she was engaged. Quinn wondered how long until she broke things off.
“I never thought I’d fall in love again,” Maggie continued. “But I did. With the most wonderful man in the world. I’m so lucky to have found you, Neil.”
They smiled at each other, then shared a brief kiss. Maggie straightened and turned her attention to the crowd. “I also want to thank my daughters. I love you girls. I’m so proud of my daughters...and Courtney.” She waved her glass. “Now everyone has to dance!”
Quinn stood and searched the room. He found Courtney on the opposite side of the open tent. She stood with her arms crossed, her shoulders hunched forward. As if trying to be small again.
He wished Courtney could accept that she would never be like everyone else. That she was so much more than she realized. But it was hard to be more when those who were supposed to love you most insisted on seeing you as less.
She caught sight of him as he made his way over. Her mouth twisted as if she wasn’t sure what to do. Then her chin came up and her shoulders went back.
Good, he thought. She was still tough, still strong inside. He liked that.
He stopped in front of her and looked at her. She stared back.
“Are you not telling them about your degree because you’re punishing them or yourself?” he asked.
“Most people start a conversation with ‘how’s it going?’ or a comment about the weather.”
“It’s dark and clear. What about my question?”
“It’s very to the point.”
He waited.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “Both, maybe. I have something to prove.” She tilted her head. “For the record, I’m not happy about your insights. It makes it hard to keep up. I don’t have any about you, which isn’t fair. You should tell me something really intimate so we can level the playing field.”
“You already have all the power, Courtney.”
She laughed. “Yeah, right. This is me, filled with power.”
“You just don’t know how to use it yet.”
“You’re very good with one-liners.”
“I write a lot of songs. It’s great training for being cryptic.”
“You use it well. What power? How do I find it?”
“By being brave.”
“Are you brave?”
“Not as often as I’d like.”
She pressed her index finger into his chest. “Be specific.”
He took her hand in his and pulled her close. “There was a woman I was seeing.”
“Seeing as in dating?”
“Seeing as in sleeping with.”
“Without dating? Just sex?”
“It’s easier.”
“I guess, but lonely.”
Funny how she’d guessed the truth so quickly.
“I wanted more from her, but I didn’t say anything. I wasn’t brave.”
“She left?”
He nodded. “Married someone else. She’s happy and that’s a good thing.”
“Is she why you moved here?”
He smiled. “No. I wasn’t heartbroken. Just disappointed by the missed opportunity.”
“So your advice to me is more of a do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do thing?”
He laughed. “Yes. Very much so.”
“Okay. I’ll think about it.”
“Just like that?”
She looked surprised at the question. “Sure. You have a whole lot more experience than I do. Not only because you’re, well, old, but you’ve lived a lot more, too.”
He tugged her a little closer. They were almost touching. She had on flats, so barely had to tilt her head to meet his gaze.
“Old?”
“You keep telling me you are, so I’ve decided to believe you. In fact, now that I’m thinking about it, you’ve been standing a really long time. Do you need to sit down?”