Page 97 of Sweet Surrender
The knock on the door had them pulling apart and Justine’s head poked in.
“Taylor? It’s speech time.”
Taylor groaned, anxiety bubbling in her throat again. “Oh God!”
She grabbed a glass of champagne, her notes and made her way through the crowd to the stage. Her heart pounded in her chest, ready to crack her ribs and escape as she looked out over the faces filling the bar. Christy and Dean were right at the front, their arms around each other, still beaming and Taylor’s nerves increased all the more. She raised her notes and began reading, her voice shaky.
“Love. William Shakespeare once wrote that love…” she trailed off. She couldn’t bring herself to read this speech full of quotes by famous people and bland, unfeeling,un-Taylorwords. Not after what she witnessed, what she felt today.
Christy and Dean looked at her expectantly, but she watched Beau, her eyes latching on to his and giving her everything she needed.
“Love is a funny thing. You can’t see it, you can’t hold it, so how do you know it exists? You have to trust and have faith. Then you see the signs, the symptoms of love. The lingering looks, the affectionate touches, the willingness to put another person’s needs first and then you realize love snuck inside you. Youcanfeel it, youcansee it, it’s there and when it’s gone you’re just…empty.”
Beau’s eyebrows winged up, that crease forming between them, and a small smile quirked at his lips.
“Love is about being there, truly turning up for the other person, every day, no matter what. Not abandoning them when things get hard, when they’re pissing you off or hell, in a life-or-death situation.”
The crowd chuckled and Beau’s smile widened, bringing about her own.
“It’s your soul finding its counterpart, its other half in that person and pulling you back together to make a whole. So perfect, it’ll fulfill you both for life with more to go around to your friends and family, and maybe one day, children. It’s giving up everything to protect that one person. It’s having the courage to take the risk, to trust once more, toloveonce more.”
Beau looked away and into the crowd and when he met her eyes again, his expression was unreadable, and she faltered. She turned her attention back to Christy and Dean to get through the rest of the speech.
“And when you meet your love that you want to spend the rest of your life with, you hang on to them tight with both hands. And the rest of your life can’t come quick enough.”
Christy and Dean grinned at each other.
“Watching you both today, something became crystal clear. The rest of your lives are going to be full of love, respect, adoration and friendship, and we should all be so lucky. To Christy and Dean!” Taylor finished, raising her glass. The crowd repeated the words back to her followed by raucous applause.
Taylor stepped down from the stage on shaky legs and was rushed by Christy and Dean. After hugs and kisses she finally begged for a break. She immediately scanned the crowd, looking for Beau, eager to speak to him. Then she spotted him in the corner talking to a gorgeous woman who was standing too close for Taylor’s comfort and jealousy snapped at her. Maybe she was reading too much into it, they were only talking, for God’s sake.
She met Beau’s eye and waved at him. Even though he definitely saw her, he didn’t return the wave and turned back to the woman, laughing at something she said. Taylor’s heart plummeted, embarrassment heated her cheeks and she turned away. Although Kayleigh and Ben were working the bar, Taylor jumped in to help them out and to give herself something to do.
A couple of hours later she found herself face to face with the woman Beau had been talking to the entire time.
“Hi,” she said softly.
“What can I get you?” Taylor asked, trying to keep theunfriendlyout of her voice.
“White wine, please.”
Taylor moved away to get the drink, cataloging the woman’s completely fictional faults to make herself feel better. When she placed the drink in front of her, the woman smiled again.
“Can I ask…so you dated him, right? Any advice to help a sister out?” she asked shyly.
Taylor grinned shrewdly. “I thought you’d never ask…” A thousand fake insults flooded her mind that she had used to chase off his previous dates. Lies about his manhood –perfect.Lies about his breath –perfect.Lies about him being a criminal… but they all died on her tongue.
She loved him; she could never say those things about him knowing how amazing he was. Even if he wasn’therman, he was still her best friend. She wanted him to be happy, even if that meant she had to witness it and hear about it for the rest of her life.
“He’s…a really great guy, you’re very lucky,” she choked out, giving the woman her most sincere smile and escaping to her office before another round of the weepies hit her.
Chapter 26
Beau came back from the bathroom to find Elizabeth waiting for him. She smiled at him and headed his way.
What the fuck? Why is she still here?
“Would you like another drink?” she asked, sidling up next to him.
