“Here’s to that. God, I need a drink. These shoes are killing me. I have no idea what I was thinking, they just looked so cute with this dress.”
Her shoes matched her dress perfectly. But they were also at least 7 inches tall. “They are really cute.”
She laughed. “Thank you. Can I get you something?”
“No, I’m good.” Ever since James had kicked me out, my stomach had felt uneasy. I knew it was probably just nerves now, but I didn’t want to add alcohol to the mix.
“Penny! Come over here for a second,” my mom said and waved her arm toward the caterer. She had been very insistent on hiring the catering staff by herself. Whoever she had chosen, it smelled amazing. I walked over toward her and James.
“Remember La Patisserie? Your favorite restaurant in Philly?”
“Of course.”
“This is Rory, he used to work there.”
“Oh yeah? You’re an amazing chef.” I tried not to look directly at him. I used to love going to La Patisserie because he was as mouth watering as his food. I had never even had a boyfriend in high school. I may have daydreamed quite a lot about Rory. It had been a few years since I had seen him, but he looked exactly the same.
“Thank you. It’s nice to meet you, Penny,” he said and stuck out his hand for me.
I quickly shook it.
“James, this is a funny story,” my mom said and lightly touched his arm. “In high school, Penny always wanted to go to that restaurant. The food was really good. But I have to say, I was completely convinced that she had a crush on Rory.”
“Oh my God. Mom.” I was completely mortified. “That’s not… the food was just…”
Rory and James both laughed.
“I never really thought about it before, but I guess she’s always had a thing for older men.” My mom shrugged. “But, either way, you did love his food, so… here he is. The chef himself! And James, you’ve had his food before too. The first time you came to our house. You know, when you told us who you really were. Oh, Peter was so angry that day.” She laughed. “Anyway, I’m going to go try some of the appetizers.” She walked toward one of the servers.
“I am so sorry,” I said to Rory and James.
James laughed and put his arm around my shoulders. “Such great memories.”
“Geez, parents can be so embarrassing sometimes,” Rory said with a smile.
“You have no idea,” I said.
Rory laughed.
“So, you started your own catering company?”
“Yeah. We only just opened a couple weeks ago, but your mom sought us out. I actually just have my friends helping me out tonight because I haven’t had time to find staff.” He pointed them out to us. “Connor, Jackson, and my wife, Keira.”
Keira glanced over and smiled at Rory when she heard her name. She was arranging some delicious looking appetizers on a serving tray.
“Well, everything looks amazing,” James said. “Hopefully tonight will go better than the first time I ate at her parents’ house. Because that was pretty much a disaster.”
Rory laughed. “If not, hopefully it won’t be due to a mistake on my part. Actually, if you’ll excuse me for one second. I promise they’ll all be professional by the time the rest of the guests get here.” Rory rushed past us to go talk to his friends.
I glanced over my shoulder. It looked like Jackson and Justin were arguing heatedly over decorations. And Conner was sitting down across from Melissa at one of the tables talking to her. I laughed.
“So, you had a crush on him, huh?” James asked.
“That was a long time ago.”
“Any traces of that remaining?”
“No,” I said and placed my fingers behind his neck. “Not one lingering trace.”
“Why did we invite all these people over to our house again?” he whispered in my ear.
“Wishing we were alone right now?”
“So badly. About not sharing a room tonight… I think we should discuss that.”
“You’re not excited to have a slumber party with all your friends tonight?”
He laughed. “Not in the least.”
“Talk about an upgrade,” someone said from behind us. I hadn’t even realized that guests had started arriving. “She’s stunning.”
James let go of my waist. “Luke. Geez, how many years has it been?”
Luke embraced him in a huge bear hug. “Too many, man.”
“So, you must be Penny,” he said and put his hand out for me.
I recognized him from the one picture James had of him and his frat brothers. “It’s so nice to meet you.”
“The pleasure is all mine,” he said.
“You knew James in college, huh? I would love to hear some stories.”
“Just you wait till Benny and Mike get here and the beers start flowing. There will be plenty of stories.”
I couldn’t help but notice that James looked a little uncomfortable. “I can’t wait,” I said.
“Definitely a keeper,” he said to James as he pointed at me. “Are any of the guys here yet?”
“Mason is here somewhere.” James looked around the room.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw one of my oldest friends walk in. “If you’ll excuse me, it was great meeting you,” I said to Luke and gravitated toward the door. “Mila!”
“Penny! It’s so great to see you!” She gave me a huge hug. “Oh my God, this place is amazing. Do you seriously live here?”
“We just moved in, yeah.”
“Geez, I’m so sorry, I’m being incredibly rude. This is my boyfriend, J. J.,” she said and gestured to the guy smiling beside her. He was so tan it looked like he spent all his time on the beach. “J. J., this is Penny.”
“It’s so nice to meet you,” I said and shook his hand. “It’s so funny, Mila, the last time I saw you, we were both boyfriend-less. It was actually your going away party. Before you left me and moved to Cali.”
“I know. I’m sorry I’ve been missing in action that last few years. Geez, time flies, doesn’t it?”
“It does. I’m just really, really glad you could make it.”
“I wouldn’t have missed your wedding for anything in the world. I’m so happy for you, Penny. I’ve really missed you.”