“You will tomorrow at the wedding. Most of the town will be there.”
“That will be super fun.”
Can’t wait to get asked about the Kwik Trip for the millionth time.
Chapter Fifty-Three
WYATT
I’m trying to shake off the bad mood I’m in from not only getting pulled over, but from Nash’s comment:Liam is charming.
If Liam is charming at all, then I’m Prince Charming himself. The man has a mustache straight out of the seventies. He obviously doesn’t have a girlfriend, or he’d shave that thing off. He’s not going to get one with it either.
Nash and I walk hand in hand into Graze—the nicest steakhouse in a fifty-mile radius (read: notthatnice) and are immediately greeted by my various relatives. I try to keep hold of Nash’s hand while my Aunt Shirley hugs me, but it gets too awkward, and I have to let go. She holds me by my shoulders, “You’re a bit late, aren’t you?”
I am not going to admit to getting pulled over, so I say, “Just running a bit behind is all.” She winks at me and is going to say something I know will make me blush, but my cousin Matt steps in first. “He’s late cause he got pulled over on the way here.”
My eyes flash to him. “Where did you hear that?”
“My mom told me as soon as she got here. Said she drove right by you on her way over.” Matt’s mom is my aunt who lives literally one right turn from my parents. “I swear this town…”
Nash takes my hand again, pulling me out of my embarrassment. The look of amusement in her eyes is worth every barb. I’ll take getting caught breaking the law one-hundred more times if I can see her smile in such obvious appreciation of small-town gossip.Wait until she hears about the phone tree.
“Sorry for my rudeness,” I say to her as I turn back to my many family members gathered around us. “This is my girlfriend Nash.” She takes each family member’s hand, or hug, in turn.
“Have you guys been to the new Kwik Trip yet? I’ve been killing those mini tacos.” Matt talks about the gas station like a new five-star restaurant just opened up.
Nash’s smile is full of grace. “First place we stopped on the way in.” Matt beams back at her.
I decide to save us from more questions. “We’re going to go find our seats.”
I lead Nash through the room, heading for the front where the bride and groom are already standing by their table greeting their guests. The bridesmaids and groomsmen are all at one long table for the rehearsal dinner. Apparently, when the restaurant asked Hazel if they wanted a sweetheart table for just the two of them, she said ‘why? I eat dinner with him every night’.
Henry spots us first and rounds the table to greet us. “You clean up nice.”
I hug him back. “You’re not so bad yourself.” I turn to greet his wife-to-be. “Hazel, beautiful as always.”
Nash takes her turn, then we take our seats. I look at the dinner menu, the options are beef… or beef. That’s Wisconsin for you.
Nash leans over to me. “Are they really serving torte for dessert?”
“It’s a staple,” I say, looking at the item she’s referring to. Torte is like a dessert lasagna. A layer of cookies for the crust, a layer of ice cream, a layer of sweet sauce like chocolate or caramel, usually some kind of nut, then whipped cream. My personal favorite is Oreo cookie crust, vanilla ice cream, chocolate fudge, caramel, crushed peanuts, and Cool Whip.
“Hey, guys,” someone says behind us, and I turn to see who it is. “Hey, man! It’s good to see you.” I get up to greet Henry’s friend Grant. I introduce him to Nash. She stands and hugs him hello. I love that she’s a hugger when meeting new people. She’s hugged everyone I’ve hugged, but shook the hands of people I did as well, letting my familiarity with them steer her. I look at Nash. “We palled around in high school. Henry and Grant played baseball together.”
“Been to the new Kwik Trip yet,” he asks. It’s not his fault. He doesn’t know we’ve already had this conversation ten times. When not a lot happens in a town, something like this is a big deal.
“Wyatt,” a feminine voice calls and my stomach hits my feet. With fake dating Nash and going to all the Moons games, then being gone for the championship, I totally forgot that Grant is with…
“Layla,” I respond. “Been a long time.” She approaches me for a hug, and I hope she can’t tell how stiff I am.
“Years,” she answers as I look down at her. Way down. My high school sweetheart is only five-foot-two. Her dark hair is down around her shoulders, longer than she used to wear itwhen we were together. I can see Nash looking between us, catching onto the surprise in my voice, but not really understanding the connection.
I’m stunned a second too long because Layla reaches by me to offer Nash her hand. “Nash, right?” I watch as she nods. “Nice to meet you. Wyatt and I dated in high school.” She laughs a short, tinkling laugh. “Well, basically all of high school.”
“That was a long time ago,” I say, hand on my chain, twirling it between my fingers, the shape of the N poking me.
“Not that long. We just had our ten-year reunion. This guy didn’t even bother to come.” She thumbs at me but speaks to Nash.