Page 5 of Pierced Pages
They finished their food, then Danielle stood and took both of their empty plates and forks.
“I’ll get rid of these,” she said. “I’m gonna wait a bit on dessert, though.”
“Me too.” Gerri stood with her and pointed at some people a few tables down. “I’m going to say hi to the rest of your English department over there.”
Danielle looked at the table filled with four of her colleagues, none of whom she particularly wanted to visit with. She didn’t outright dislike them, but they had little use for her either. They were polite in the hallways. That was about it. Melanie was the only person in her department that she clicked with.
She found a trash can and stood by it for a few moments, surveying the reception hall. The crowd on the dance floor had grown, and half of the guests were now doing a line dance to a song Danielle didn’t recognize.
A table up front and to the right near the stage caught her eye. It was empty except for one woman sitting at the end. Danielle had glimpsed her earlier when they went for food, and she’d been sitting alone then, too.
She was hard to miss. Even sitting in a folding chair, Danielle could tell she was tall, and her sleeveless green top showed off gorgeously toned biceps. Even in the dim lighting, she could see the glint of multiple piercings across her ears and face, and her nearly black hair was cut short, with the ends dangling over the shaved sides and back of her head.
Bottom line: the woman was stunning.
Not that it mattered. Danielle’s stance on dating, specifically on not engaging in the activity, still stood. No matter how stunning a woman might be.
But the woman was alone. And she looked uncomfortable about it. What kind of person would Danielle be if she let her sit alone like that? Not the kind of person she wanted to be.
Danielle ran her fingers through her hair and smoothed the ends over her shoulders before heading toward the front of the room.
Chapter 3
Morgan
As she finished the last sip of her champagne, Morgan realized she was out of activities to occupy her hands and brain. She probably should have taken Jen up on her offer to come along, but it seemed silly to have Jen get dressed up just to keep her company for an hour or so. Especially knowing her friend’s back was bothering her.
Now that the official bits of the event were over—the renewing of their vows, their special dance, and a few other sweet moments—Morgan was now just waiting for an opportunity to find Kim alone long enough to congratulate her. Then, she could slip out and get back to Reginald and her bed.
The happy couple was still on the dance floor together, bouncing around in the middle of a crowd doing an upbeat line dance. At least watching them look so happy was a pleasant enough activity.
“Mind if I sit here?”
Morgan had been so enamored with her cousin’s rekindled relationship that she hadn’t noticed someone approach her table.
And she was someone Morgan shouldnothave missed.
The woman was short and curvy with long blonde hair in the most perfectly sculpted waves Morgan had ever seen, and her soft, flawless features accented her rounded face. She wore a cute blue wrap dress and looked equally comfortable in her outfit as she was at this event.
“Yeah, sure.” Morgan sat up a little straighter. “If you want to.”
The woman sat in the chair across the table and extended a tanned hand. She raised her voice above the music. “Danielle.”
“Morgan,” she said, shaking her hand. “I’m sorry, do I know you?”
Danielle smiled, a warm, welcoming smile, and shook her head. “I just didn’t like seeing you sitting alone over here.” Her expression quickly shifted to one of concern. “Unless you would prefer to be alone. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable or anything.”
“No, it’s fine.”
Was it?
She wasn’t a talk-to-strangers-at-formal-events kind of person. Not anymore, as much as she could help it. Those days of being expected to smile and mingle and play pretend were long behind her.
But something about this woman put her at ease.
The music switched to an even louder dance tune, and Danielle raised her voice again, leaning in to be heard. “So how do you know the couple?”
Morgan reflexively glanced at the dance floor again. Kim and Melanie were holding one hand and each swinging their other in the air.
