Honey looked horrified, but I had to stifle back a laugh.
“Oh my God—” Honey breathed desperately.
Mom came closer, her biker chick walk in check. Her eyes glittered up and down Honey, her expression pure poker faced.
“Relax, if my reputation hadn’t preceded me then I would worry I was losing my touch.” She offered Honey her hand. “I’m Ronnie, Caleb’s scary mother.”
Honey took it and shook it rigorously. “I’m Honey, Caleb’s disgraceful plus one.”
The two women smiled at one another and something about the moment resonated through me. And it took me a while to understand what I was feeling. But then it hit me with absolute clarity. Honey belonged here. With us. With me.
My mom turned her attention to me.
“I’m going to steal your date away. Tully needs you over at the bar for some best man duties or something. I’m thinking it’s probably shots. Although, considering the bar is currently holding him up, I’m not sure if that’s such a good idea.” She smiled but I knew she was up to something. “So while you take care of your groom, I’m going to take your date over to meet a few of the ladies. Don’t worry, she’ll be safe. I promise I will be on my best behavior.”
She said the words sweetly. But my mom didn’t do sweet, so she was lying. Mom was taking this opportunity to find out what she could about my date.
I gave her a raised eyebrow, but Honey brushed a reassuring hand across mine as she passed by. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
Watching my mom lead Honey away, I couldn’t help but smile. Something very real was happening inside of me. Something I’d never felt. Never known.
“She’s beautiful,” Cade said, joining me.
I couldn’t drag my eyes off her. “Yes, she is.”
“You know Mom’s going to know everything there is to know about her in the next five minutes.”
“Yep.”
“And if she finds out you’ve been keeping her a secret, there’ll be hell to pay.”
“Yep.”
My brother chuckled and tapped me on the arm, finally dragging my attention away from Honey. “Come on, Tully wants us at the bar. He wants to celebrate with his groomsmen.”
Tully was hammered already. While his bride was outside on the veranda smoking cigarettes and a joint with her bridesmaids, he was inside getting plastered. He was a mess and already had a liquor stain down the front of his ruffled shirt.
He was also at the I love you stage and slung an arm over my shoulder.
“You gotta find yourself a good woman and let her make an honest man outta you. Because it’s the best feeling in the world.” He slumped against me and I had to hold him up. Something told me his bride was going to be doing all the work later. “You gotta find a nice girl—or a bad one— and settle down.”
“I’ll take that under consideration,” I said to him with a grin.
“There’s no feeling like that smooth, warm body of your hot old lady filling the bed next to you,” he slurred, his eyes hooded. He struggled to focus on his wife out on the veranda. “Tonight, I’m going to give her a baby.”
I couldn’t help my chuckle. I doubted he was going to give her anything in his state.
“In fact, I’m gonna go give her one right . . . right, now.” He released me and stumbled out onto the veranda and into the arms of his brand new wife. I turned away just as Cade slid another shot along the bar. I shook my head.
“No more,” I said. After two shots of Patrón, I was done. I ordered a bourbon. I wasn’t going to get hammered, not when Honey was with me.
I watched her from the bar across the room, my bones aching to touch her and claim her as mine. My heart bloomed with pride because that beautiful woman over there talking to my sister-in-law was carrying my baby in her belly.
Fuck it. I didn’t want to be over here at the bar. I wanted to be out on that dance floor with her in my arms. Because dancing with her was the only way it was going to happen.
I put down my glass, wandered over to her, and extended my hand. She looked up at me, grinned, and accepted it, then followed me out onto the dance floor. Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Mary Had A Little Lamb” filled the room and everyone on the dance floor danced away to the bluesy number like they didn’t have a care in the world. And as I danced with her, we laughed and enjoyed the night, and it felt good. It had been a good night. Hell, it had been an amazing night. Being with her. Seeing her relax and be at ease in my world; watching her talk and laugh with the old ladies like she was one of them.