“Dance with me.”
Tove set her fork down and looked at Patrick’s extended hand. Why not? It was time to enjoy every last minute of their dwindling time together. She took it and rose from her chair, dropping her napkin by her plate. The band, a group of Hayley’s musician friends who’d teamed up to play together as her wedding present, slid into a slinky groove as Patrick turned to her and pulled her close. It was less dancing and more of a gentle sway, a reminder of their earlier lovemaking.
It almost made Tove want to cry.
“So…” Patrick bit his lip, looking down at her with what looked like apprehension. “I’m about to do something I’ve never done before.”
“What’s that?”
“I’m going to refund your money.”
“What? Why?” Tove’s pulse fluttered, wondering if she’d done something wrong.
His arm around her waist tightened and his other hand squeezed her fingers. “Because when this is all over, I’d like to court you. Also something I’ve never done before, in case you’re interested.”
Tove blinked up at him. “I know what all of those words mean and yet I can’t understand anything.”
“Is that a no?”
“You want to…”
He leaned over to murmur directly into her ear. “Court you. Date you. Take you out then take you home and see how many ways I can make you come. See where this goes. Make both of us happy.”
Heat rushed to Tove’s face. “You do?”
“I really do. I want to be with you if you want to be with me.”
Say yes, her brain practically screamed. But there was a gap between her mouth and her mind and she merely looked at him.
“If you need some time to think about it, that’s okay,” he said, his warm eyes so sincere and vulnerable that she wanted to curl herself around him.
“No, I don’t need time,” she said, her voice finally coming online with a rush of emotion. “I want that too.”
His hand squeezed hers and he dipped her slightly, kissing her lips. Behind her, applause broke out and she heard her daughter’s voice yelling, “Go Mom!” Embarrassed, she pressed her forehead to his shoulder as he straightened and they continued to dance. The next thing she knew, both she and Patrick had two pairs of strong, young arms wrapped around them as the brides squeezed them both.
“Group hug!” Hayley trilled. “Welcome to the fam, Patrick.”
“And thanks for having my mom’s back,” Emily added. “I’m not glad Dad was a jerk, but I am glad Mom had support for once.”
Tove turned a little and looked at her daughter. “You heard?” Guilt speared through her. She had meant to explain to Emily why her father wasn’t there.
“Don’t look so tragic, Mom. I know what he’s like. When I realized I hadn’t seen him today, I asked Derrick and Andrea. They told me the whole story.”
Tove hoped they hadn’t told the whole story. She’d like to protect Emily from her father’s homophobia if she could.
But Em just beamed her usual sunny smile at Tove and took her new wife’s hand and tugged her back into the crowd, leaving her with Patrick on the dance floor.
“How’re you feeling?” Patrick asked as they began to sway again.
“A bit like I’ve been hit by a bus, but that’s not unusual with Emily,” Tove said. “How are you?”
“Me? I’ve literally never been better. It took me fifty-five years, but I think I’ve found the love of my life.”
“You do?” Tove hated how her voice squeaked, but Patrick didn’t seem to notice.
“As the young ladies just said in that ceremony: I do.”