“No.”
He searched my face.
“No?”
“I haven’t had dessert.”
My dad laughed behind us.
That was enough to loosen the room.
People started moving again. Chairs scraped. Conversations returned. Alicia waved the staff over and asked them to restart the music.
I sat down and took a bite of cheesecake.
Nick watched me.
“What?”
Nick watched me.
“I wasn’t sure you’d stay.”
“Neither was I.”
I touched the rough ends at my neck.
“I hate what she did.”
“I know.”
“I wasn’t sure you’d stay.”
“But I’m not giving her the rest of tonight too.”
Nick nodded.
“Then what do you want?”
I looked around the room.
“My wedding back.”
So I took it.
“Then what do you want?”
I finished dessert. I hugged Caroline when she quietly apologized for not realizing how often Martha had used Lydia’s name against me. I thanked Lydia for coming.
Then I walked back onto the dance floor.
Nick followed.
We danced.
Not because everything was fixed.
Nick followed.
Because I was done letting Martha decide what I got to enjoy.
***
Later, when the room had nearly emptied, Nick sat beside me.
“I should’ve stopped asking you to be patient with her.”
“You thought she’d stop.”
