Of all the weddings in all the world, she just had to be working this one. Beth took one look at Kevin in his tuxedo and knew it was going to be a very long night.
Tuxedo meant wedding party which meant he was not only going to be there for the entire event, but he was a VIP. That meant she had to smile and make nice with the pain in the ass whose fault it was—kind of—that she was manning an open bar from six in the evening until one in the morning instead of sitting with her feet up after a fairly mild day answering Derek’s phones and syncing his calendar.
She felt the hot flush spread across her chest as his blue eyes met hers. She’d been kind of bitchy the day they met and she felt bad about that. But mostly the hot flush came from the memory of what he’d done to her in her dreams last night.
This morning she’d blamed it on the microwave burritos she’d devoured too close to bedtime but now, with the man once again in arm’s reach, she had to reluctantly admit—but only to herself—she might be attracted to him. Just a little. Since, even if she was looking for a relationship, it wouldn’t be with a guy who collected numbers on napkins, she’d prefer to blame the hot and sweaty night on nuked pseudo-Mexican food.
“What can I get you, sir?” she asked, hoping he wouldn’t remember her.
The way his dimples flirted with the corners of his mouth said no such luck. “Sam Adams.”
She grabbed a chilled bottle and popped the cap. “Glass?”
“Bottle’s good.” Instead of letting her set it down, then picking it up, he took it out of her hand, which caused his fingers to brush hers and her to shiver. “Glad to see you found another job.”
She shrugged and tried not to make too big a deal about pulling her hand away. “Part-time and temporary, but better than nothing.”
“Gimme your cellphone for a sec.”
“Don’t have one.” Not that she’d hand it over to him. She didn’t need him punching his number into it because she wouldn’t be calling him.
“You don’t have—”
“Uncle Kevin!” A teenage boy in a tux rushed over and took hold of Kevin’s elbow. “If you’re not sitting down in ten seconds, Grammy said she’ll drag you over by your earlobe and make you cry.”
Kevin laughed, then winked at Beth. “I’ll be back.”
That’s what she was afraid of. Unfortunately, things would be slow at the bar until the toasts were done and people felt free to get up and move around, so she had plenty of time to watch the goings-on.
When the DJ announced it was time for the best man’s toast, she saw Kevin laugh, which made the groom look nervous. Intrigued, she stood tip-toe, trying to see around the guests jostling for videotaping space. Kevin accepted the microphone from his dad and a few people snickered when a guy she assumed, based on family resemblance, was another brother was handed one, too.
“Did I ever tell you you’re my hero?” Kevin asked Joe, and then he got down on one knee in front of him. The other brother stood behind him with his four sons—or so she assumed after watching them—gathered around.
Then they started to sing and laughter rippled through the crowd. It seemed that besides blue eyes and dimples, not being able to carry a tune was a strong family trait for the Kowalskis.
But watching Kevin sing the worst off-key rendition ever of “Wind Beneath My Wings” to his brother, with his other brother and nephews singing backup, Beth felt the first alarming stir of a bad case of the warm and fuzzies.
It just got worse watching him interact with his family, especially dancing with his mom and a teenage girl Beth thought might be his niece. It was a big, affectionate, loud family and their laughter was the soundtrack of the night.
Once the duty dances were over and then the dinner dishes cleared away, Beth lost track of time handing out mimosas to the women and mostly beer to the men. Once the older folks and kids went off to bed, the drinks would get stronger, but for now it was easy work.
“So you really don’t have a cellphone?”
Or it would be easy work if her body wasn’t tuned in like a quivering antenna to the vibe Kevin was broadcasting. “I really don’t. Another Sam Adams?”
He held up a half-full bottle. “I’m set. Mike grabbed me one.”
Then why are you over here? “Okay.”
“Even my mom has a cellphone and she can’t figure out how to check her email.”
“Why are you so hung up on my not having a cellphone?”
“Hung up?” He laughed. “Hung up. Cellphone. Get it?”
She rolled her eyes, but couldn’t stop herself from laughing with him. “That was bad. And I washed my cell with my jeans and haven’t gotten around to replacing it yet.”
“Got a phone at home?”
“Yup.” She turned away to make another mimosa for the beaming woman she’d figured out was the mother of the bride.
When she was done, Kevin slid a cocktail napkin toward her. “Got a pen?”