Page 29 of If the Stars Align
But only when we’re alone. And I don’t know what that means.
Cocktail hour is outdoors at a beautiful winery, and the sun is just setting beneath the hills, bathing us in peachy pastel light. Dex comes from the bar with two glasses of champagne and hands one to me.
I still can’t get over him in his tux. He could be the next James Bond.
For the first time in my life, I’m a little starstruck.
“To summer,” he says as we clink glasses.
To summer, I think.And what happens next?It’s late August, and summer will be over soon.
“You look so damn beautiful,” he says as my mind begins to wander.
“Not too shiny?” I ask, wiping my brow.
He slowly shakes his head without taking his eyes off me. “You’re radiant.”
I smile and look down at my dress. I’m wearing a vintage silver embroidered piece I found in my mom’s closet. She wore it in the seventies. It’s sleeveless and floor-length, with a deep V-neck that makes me feel very glamorous. I usually opt for warmer tones, but I like the way the silver threads glint in the light.
Standing next to Dex, I can’t help but feel insecure at times. But tonight, I know I’m beautiful.
We head inside for dinner and dancing. The dining room is dreamy and romantic, with gossamer drapes and wildflower centerpieces, tea candles gleaming in glass holders, and golden starburst chandeliers hanging from the vaulted wooden ceiling. We’re seated at a table with Dex’s parents, his Aunt Jane and Uncle Rich. The wine is flowing—Aunt Jane tells us she’s enjoying a rare night away from her young kids, and she wants Dex’s mom to join in her merriment. The two sisters laugh and reminisce while sipping glass after glass, mixing reds with whites and getting livelier as the night wears on. Despite being a little more effusive than usual, Mrs. Dexter is still mostly holding it together, but by the time dinner is served, Aunt Jane is three sheets to the wind and loving every minute of it.
Occasionally Dex looks over at me and gives me a secret wink, or rests his hand on my knee under the table where no one can see. Normally that would be enough to make my heart flutter with joy but, for some reason, tonight it’s not.
Maybe it’s because we’re seated mere feet away from the newlyweds, kissing to the whoops and yells of friends and family. Not to mention the maid of honor, whose husband keeps lovingly rubbing her shoulder. And the bridesmaid seated to their left, whose boyfriend’s arm rests casually on the back of her chair, as if to say,This woman right here? I love the hell out of her. And I don’t care who knows it.
No, a surreptitious wink and a stolen squeeze, here and there, aren’t enough for me tonight. They feel like consolation prizes. Like I’ve spent months waiting to be reunited with my soulmate but, instead of any grand gestures of love, allIget is felt up.
Or maybe, like Aunt Jane, I’ve had too much to drink (there’s an open bar, and no one’s carding) but the alcohol’s having the opposite effect on me. And rather than feeling bubbly and carefree, I’m insecure and anxious.
After the main course, Uncle Rich asks his wife to dance, and Mr. Dexter excuses himself to find the restroom, leaving Dex and me with just his mom, who moves to sit beside me.
“Sunny, you are so beautiful,” she says, squeezing my hand.
“Thanks,” I say, squeezing hers back. “Andyouare gorgeous as always.”
“Oh, honey,” Mrs. Dexter says with a dismissive grin. But it’s no secret that Dex got his stunning eyes and radiant smile from his mom. “Thank you,” she says more seriously now, and I watch as those stunning eyes start to glisten, and that radiant smile begins to fade into a thin, straight line. She tilts her head and slowly exhales. “We just love you so much,” she says, her eyes fixed on me. “I hope you know…you’ve always been like a daughter to us.” Then she looks over at Dex, and I think I see her lips quiver.
“Okay, Mom,” he says, reaching across me to grab her wine glass. “Time to get you some coffee, I think?” He chuckles and turns his gaze to me. “You know how it is—my mom always gets sappy when she’s had too much to drink.”
“Well, you can blame your Aunt Jane,” she tells him, shaking her head and smiling at me as she wipes a single tear from her eye. “That baby sister of mine is always getting me into trouble,” she jokes.
I laugh, my head spinning as Dex and his mom excuse themselves to find coffee, leaving me alone at the table. I haveabsolutely no clue what’s happening, but it feels like Mrs. Dexter just broke up with me. Does she know something I don’t? As far as I know, Dexstillhasn’t told his parents what’s going on between us. But they’re not idiots.
Suddenly,Ifeel like the fool. And the more time I spend alone at the table, the more self-conscious I become, so I get up to find the restroom.
I’ve just entered a stall when I hear the door to the ladies’ room swing open followed by giggling and the loud clacking of high heels. Two women start talking. They sound like they’re about my age.
“Can I borrow your lipstick?” one asks the other. “That’s such a pretty shade.”
“Yeah, go for it.”
“Thanks. Oh my god—Ben’s cousin isthehottest guy I haveeverseen.”
My heart leaps into my throat. I stand frozen in the stall and listen.
“Yeah, too bad he’s here with a date.”
