Molly
After the chairs are put away and the photographer takes more pictures, everyone reconvenes in the great room to proceed with the wedding activities. I haven’t really attended that many weddings, so I’m not sure what all’s involved.
Shane and Beth enter the great room, and the guests greet them boisterously, hooting and hollering and applauding. Beth’s turning all shades of pink as Shane leads her to the front of the room.
Gabrielle hands Beth the wedding bouquet. “Turn around and throw the bouquet behind you to the single ladies.” Then Gabrielle turns to us. “All right, all the single ladies up front.”
Lots of good-natured ribbing takes place as the single women are pushed and prodded to the front of the crowd.
“Don’t forget Lia!” Shane says, pointing out his sister, who’s doing her best to blend into the background.
“Yeah, come on, Lia,” Jake says, pushing his sister next to me in line.
Laughing, Beth turns her back to us. She says something to Shane I can’t quite make out, and he says, “Fire away.”
Beth tosses the bouquet behind her. The flowers are heading straight for Lia, and she reaches out and catches the bouquet before it hits her squarely in the face.
“Oh, hell no!” Lia says, shoving the bouquet into my hands. “Here, you take it!”
I don’t want it any more than Lia does, and I try to pass it back to her. “That’s okay,” I say. “You can keep it.”
But Lia lifts her hands, saying, “Not a chance,” leaving me stuck with the flowers, to the sound of well-intentioned laughter.
“Now it’s the guys’ turn,” Gabrielle says, ushering all the bachelors to the front of the room, including Jamie and all the rest of Shane’s brothers. Even Sam, Beth’s bodyguard, gets in the action when Miguel Rodriguez pushes his wheelchair into the line-up.
Laughing, Shane points out several men who aren’t in the bachelor line who apparently should be. “Hey, Cooper, Tyler, you’re single. Get up here! You too, Peter!”
Cooper growls back at him, and everyone breaks into laughter.
Gabrielle directs Beth to a chair in the center of the room and instructs Shane to kneel down in front of her and remove her garter so he can toss it to the line of bachelors.
Shane kneels down in front of Beth, and when he slips his hands up beneath her wedding gown, the crowd hushes in anticipation of the big reveal. His heated gaze is locked on hers as he slips the garter oh, so slowly down her leg and pulls it free. Then he stands and raises the garter belt into the air like it’s a trophy. But instead of throwing it, he kisses it, then grins as he tucks it into the front pocket of his trousers.
“Sorry, guys,” he says. “There’s no way in hell I’m letting this go.” Then he bends down to kiss Beth. “I don’t share.”
“Party pooper,” Gabrielle chides him, as more laughter ensues. “All right, next is the first dance featuring the newly married couple.”
The room goes quiet as Jonah begins to play Everything by Michael Bublé. Shane gallantly holds out his hand for Beth, and then he sweeps a very nervous Beth into their first dance. “Don’t look at them,” he tells her. “Look at me.”
A hush falls over the room as everyone watches them dance. Eventually Beth relaxes and seems to be enjoying herself. Their gazes are locked on each other’s, and neither of them pays anyone else any attention.
I find myself holding my breath as they move across the room. It’s so obvious that they’re madly in love with each other. Of course, I’m happy for them, but I’m also a little envious. Todd and I were never so wrapped up in each other the way these two are. I would give anything to have that with someone. And then I glance at Jamie, and my heart constricts. Maybe I have found that kind of love, or at least the potential for it, if I can stop being afraid and start taking a chance.
As their dance comes to an end, Shane pulls Beth close, and the two of them stand in the center of the room, with eyes for no one but each other. When he lowers his head and kisses Beth, there’s an audible sigh in the room.
“I love you, Mrs. McIntyre,” he says.
I think there are tears in his eyes.
“I love you, too,” Beth says, her voice barely audible.
As Jonah ends the song, everyone breaks into applause.
Then, Gabrielle steps forward and grabs my hand, pulling me into the center of the room. I forgot all about Lia handing me the bouquet. I think that means I’m supposed to have the next dance. I feel the blood drain out of my head when I realize that I’ll be expected to stand in front of this room full of people.
“Next is the dance with the lucky lady who caught the bouquet. Normally, she’d dance with the lucky gentleman who caught the garter belt, but since Shane was stingy.…” Again, more laughter. “Poor Molly doesn’t have anyone to dance with,” she says, scowling at Shane for messing up her plans.
For a moment, I’m relieved, thinking I’m off the hook. But then Jamie steps forward, dashing my hopes.
“I’d be honored to dance with Molly,” he says, removing his dark glasses and slipping them into the pocket of his tuxedo. “That is, if she’ll have me.”
I glance around the room, first at Jamie, then at Beth, who’s watching me sympathetically. She knows I don’t want to dance. But now I’m on the spot, in front of everyone. As I glance at Jamie, my heart hurts. I don’t want to dance in front of a room full of people, but I can’t turn him down in front of everyone. He even took his glasses off for me.
I have no choice. I can’t say no without hurting Jamie, and there’s no way I’m going to do anything that would hurt him. How can I stand here and be such a coward when he’s putting himself out there for me? I smile at him, touched at his courage and his kindness. “I’d love to, Jamie.”
As Jonah starts strumming the opening chords of one of my favorite songs – All of Me by John Legend – I move toward Jamie, and he meets me halfway. His arm sweeps around my back, and he takes my left hand in his and begins the dance.
A brand new hush falls over the room, making me acutely aware of how closely everyone is watching us. I catch a glimpse of Jamie’s mom, who has tears in her eyes. I feel queasy.
“You’re shaking,” Jamie says. “Just relax. It’ll be over before you know it. And I promise not to step on your toes.”
“It’s not that. Jamie, your mom looks like she’s about to cry.”
He smiles, and I see tiny crows’ feet crinkling around his eyes.
“She worries about me,” he says. “She’s just happy to see me doing something so normal.”
I squeeze his hand. “By the way, you look very handsome.”
He grins. “Thank you.”
And I could swear he’s blushing.
I work hard to maintain the smile on my face for the sake of all the onlookers, as we’re still very much the center of attention. Knowing everyone’s eyes are on us is nerve wracking. I don’t know how long I can do this.
His arm across my back is warm and solid, and he grips my hand firmly, using it to steer us in the right direction.
“Warn me if we’re on a collision course,” he says, laughing.
But I don’t think there’s any danger. We have the whole floor to ourselves, with plenty of room to maneuver. Jamie dances perfectly, leading me across the room with confidence. He keeps his face on me, and I enjoy seeing him without his glasses.
I glance up at Jamie and tease myself, for just a moment, by thinking that we could have something special. He’s extraordinary, and he doesn’t do things in half measures. But I honestly don’t know if I can let go enough to trust someone with my heart – more specifically, with my body. I did that once, and it didn’t turn out well. My husband betrayed me – the one who had pledged to forsake all others. I don’t think Jamie would ever betray me – it’s just not in him to do something like that. But the idea of trusting someone, risking my heart again, terrifies me. Jamie deserves someone as courageous as he is, and I feel like a fraud standing here with him. He deserves someone whole, someone brave.
When the song comes to an end, I go up on my toes to kiss his cheek. “Thank you for the dance.”
And, before I turn into a blubbering fool in front of everyone, I walk out of the room without looking back. If I look back and see Jamie’s expression, I’ll lose it for sure.