Lydia looked directly at me, smirked, and deliberately threw the bouquet in the opposite direction. A twenty-four-year-old named Chloe caught it while the crowd cheered. Lydia hugged her and announced, loud enough for everyone to hear, «Looks like Hannah will have to wait a little longer!»
The laughter that followed felt like glass scraping against my skin. I saw people looking at me with that mixture of pity and relief that comes from witnessing someone else’s humiliation. I retreated to my table, fighting back tears of rage and embarrassment.
This was supposed to be a celebration of love, but Lydia had turned it into a public execution of my self-esteem. That’s when I seriously considered leaving, just disappearing before anyone noticed I’d gone and before I gave Lydia the satisfaction of seeing me cry.
I was gathering my purse when a deep voice spoke quietly behind me. «Act like you’re with me.»
I turned around, startled, to see a man in an impeccably tailored charcoal suit. He was tall, probably six-foot-two, with dark hair and the kind of confident presence that made people notice him from across a room. His eyes were kind but determined, and there was something magnetic about the way he carried himself.
«Excuse me?» I whispered back.
«Your sister just spent ten minutes telling my business associate about how worried she is about you being alone,» he said, sliding into the chair next to me with fluid grace. «I’m guessing you didn’t ask her to share your personal life with strangers.»
He was right. I could see Lydia across the room, gesturing in my direction while talking to a group of Richard’s colleagues, probably explaining how sad it was that I couldn’t find anyone to love me.
«You don’t mind, do you?» he asked, though his tone suggested he was already committed to whatever plan he had in mind. I shook my head, too surprised to speak. For the first time all evening, I didn’t feel invisible.
«I’m William,» he said, extending his hand with a warm smile. «Richard’s cousin from Boston. And you’re Hannah, the sister who apparently needs saving from eternal spinsterhood.»
Despite everything, I laughed. «That’s me. The family charity case.»
«Well, not anymore,» he said with a smile that was both reassuring and slightly mischievous. William draped his arm casually along the back of my chair and leaned in to speak to me like we’d known each other for years.
Almost immediately, I noticed heads turning in our direction. Lydia, mid-conversation with the wedding planner, did a double-take when she saw us. Her smile faltered for just a moment before she excused herself and started walking toward our table, her train trailing behind her like a weapon.
«Hannah,» she called out, her voice an octave higher than usual. «I didn’t know you knew William.»
«Old friends,» William said smoothly, his hand touching mine on the table. «We lost touch for a while, but you know how these things go.»
Lydia’s eyes narrowed slightly, her perfect wedding composure cracking just enough to show her confusion. «Really? Hannah never mentioned you.»
«I try to keep my private life private,» I said, finally finding my voice and some of my confidence. «You know how I am about work-life balance.»
The irony wasn’t lost on me. Lydia had spent the entire evening broadcasting my lack of a love life, and now she was fishing for details about a relationship that didn’t exist.
«How wonderful,» Lydia said, though her tone suggested it was anything but. «How long have you two been… reconnecting?»
«Long enough,» William said with a smile that gave away nothing and everything.
As Lydia walked away, clearly frustrated by the lack of information, William turned to me with a conspiratorial whisper. «She looks like she just bit into a lemon,» he said.
I couldn’t help but smile. «She’s not used to not knowing everything about my life or having me upstage her in any way.»
«Good,» he said. «Let’s keep her guessing.»
For the next hour, William played the part perfectly. He brought me drinks from the bar, laughed at my jokes, and touched my hand just enough to make our connection believable. But more than that, he actually listened when I talked. He asked about my work in marketing, my love of hiking, and my recent trip to Ireland.
«You’re not what I expected,» he said during a quiet moment between songs.
«What did you expect? Based on your sister’s description?»
«Someone desperate and pathetic,» he said bluntly. «Instead, I’m sitting with someone intelligent, funny, and honestly, I can’t figure out why you’re single.»
«Because I have standards,» I said without thinking.
He laughed, a genuine, warm sound that made something inside my chest loosen. «Good for you.»
By this point, Lydia was openly staring at our table. I could see her whispering to Marion, who kept glancing over at us with obvious curiosity. Richard’s family members who had pitied me earlier were now looking at William with interest and approval, clearly recognizing his social status and wondering how I’d managed to land someone so obviously successful. The revenge was already sweeter than I’d imagined.
But William wasn’t done. When the band started playing slow songs, he stood up and extended his hand with a confident smile. «Dance with me,» he said. It wasn’t a question.
On the dance floor, with his hand on my waist and mine on his shoulder, I felt the eyes of every guest who had offered me unsolicited dating advice. But instead of feeling exposed, I felt protected. William moved with the kind of natural rhythm that suggested he’d grown up taking dancing lessons, and being in his arms felt surprisingly natural.