Page 77 of Man Cuffed
We are interrupted by a very loud cat whistle. Both of us look up at the deck of the party boat, where my sister is standing in her wedding dress, two fingers in her mouth. “Get on the boat, Mac! Let’s get this party started.”
That’s when I realize that everyone else has boarded already. And so many people are standing up there watching Meg and me that the boat might actually list from their efforts. Fuck. I hate attention.
Meg, however, does not. She holds up one finger in the universal sign forwait a second. Then she stands on her toes and kisses me deeply.
I forget all about the boat for a nice long moment, as Meg’s kiss shifts my mind to other thoughts. Namely—all the fun things we can do after the stupid party is over. I’m going to unzip her silky dress and let it fall to my bedroom floor. I’m going to find out if she was teasing me about going commando under there. Is that really true? Or just a trick to make me wonder…
Before I’ve sorted it out, she steps back. “Let’s go, Copper. Boat’s waiting.”
I follow her on board like a hungry dog. Just like she knew I would.
23Weird Silence
Meg
Okay. I have been to a lot of weddings. Sometimes as a guest, sometimes as a performer, but mostly as a server. But I have never been cruising around Grand Haven on a giant paddle boat that’s festooned with flowers, mylar balloons, and sparkling disco balls. This has Aubrey written all over it. She’s like some kind of unicorn pixie, sprinkling love dust and magic everywhere she goes...which is funny because her own love life is a disaster.
Anyway.
Tucked among the flowers and sparkling streamers are tiny white lights, as if we’ve stepped into a small floral universe under twinkling stars. I’m not lying when I breathe, “This is amazing!” I squeeze Mac’s arm for emphasis.
I can feel his muscles flex. Damn his muscles. I sort of wish we could skip the reception and head straight to bed. Actually, I don’t even need a bed with him. Just a dark corner where he can push me up against a wall, hoist my dress and leg up, and…
Mac kills the mood a little when he whispers, “This may sound paranoid. But I think Rosie put her reception on a boat entirely so that I can’t escape.”
At that moment, I catch Rosie’s eye in the receiving line. Both she and her husband give us matching cheesy thumbs up. First of all, this confirms they’re soul mates. And secondly, I realize Mac is totally right. Rosie did plan this boat reception as a way to force the family together.
Rosie is an evil genius.
She’s fucking fantastic.
We make our way through the receiving line. “You are a beautiful bride!” I tell Rosie. Because it’s true.
“As will you be someday!” she sings. The girl is clearly high on wedding-day exhilaration. Or maybe she inhaled some of the helium in the balloons. Either way, I wait while her brother gives her a squeeze. And then Mac and I go up to the top deck, where the dining tables are beautifully set. There will be dinner and then dancing. If we’re lucky, we’ll get a spectacular sunset too. This whole reception-on-a-boat thing is starting to really grow on me. Not that I’ll ever get married. But if I did...
At the sound of Mac’s sigh, I turn my attention to the table in front of us. I don’t even have to read the names on the place cards to know what’s coming. Family drama. But that’s okay, because I know my role. This is what Mac brought me here for, after all: to be the girlfriend buffer.
Serve it up, Maguire family! This girl is ready.
Our table is just in front of the wedding party, and with a view of Lake Michigan sparkling over the railing. It’s the Family Table, and it’s just me, Mac, Mac’s parents, and Morris and Julie.
“How cozy!” I say with a smile, while Mac scowls.
We’re not the first to arrive at our table, though. Mac’s parents are already seated. His dad, God bless him, is wearing a red crocheted sweater vest over his shirt and tie. And either Bob has really odd shoulders, or Mac’s mom has incorporated shoulder pads into her design. Bob gives me a little finger wave and a smile. I finger wave back. And then I wait. Mac is frozen about two paces from the table.
So. This is awkward.
After a moment or two of weird silence, Eleanor, Mac’s mom, says, “For Pete’s sake, kiddo, pull out her chair!”
Mac shakes himself. “Sorry, darling,” he says.
For a second I wonder who the darling is. Then I realize it’s me. So Mac is in full-on This Is My Girlfriend mode.
I have to admit, I sort of like it.
After he pulls out the chair for me, I feel his hand trail down to the small of my back. I shiver and then slide into the seat.
Okay, fine. I don’t just sort of like it. I love it. So much. It’s a subtle way of telling everyone that you’re a couple. I wonder if he even knows he’s doing that. I hope it’s just a reflex. Maybe that means I’m growing on him.
