I saw Rory press some buttons on the sound system. First it got louder and then he successfully turned it off. He gave me a thumbs up.
“Honestly, you should get some better help,” Mrs. Hunter mumbled.
Rory’s friend that had been flirting with Melissa laughed. After getting a death stare from Mrs. Hunter, he grabbed Rory’s arm and they both retreated into the kitchen.
Mrs. Hunter cleared her throat and lifted her drink in the air. “I’d just like to make a toast to the happy couple. Clearly there is some kind of substance there since they’re actually going through with this whole thing. It’s definitely not the arrangement we would have hoped for.” She glanced at me. “Clearly. I admire a girl for marrying up, but how this young girl got her claws in…”
“What my wife is trying to say,” Mr. Hunter interrupted and grabbed the glass out of her hand, “is that we are very happy that the two of you found each other. Happiness is the most important thing in this world. Life is much too short. It goes by in a flash. So hold onto each other. Hold onto that feeling that you have right now. And, Penny, you seem like such a lovely girl. My wife and I are both excited to get to know you better. I’m just sorry it took so long. Welcome to the family. Cheers to the happy couple.” He raised the glass in the air.
Everyone clinked glasses.
“We’re happy for you, son,” he said and put his hand on James’ shoulder.
James looked down at his dad’s hand like it was a foreign object. “Thanks.” He said it more like a question than a statement.
“If you’ll excuse us for a second.” He grabbed his wife’s arm and pulled her toward the kitchen. A second later, the catering staff came running out.
“I think your father might be having a midlife crisis,” I said.
“Yeah. Or maybe he’s finally trying to be a good dad.”
“They both seem lovely,” my mom said cheerily. But I could tell by her face that she was shocked. Sometimes she was as bad as me at hiding her emotions.
“A little stuck up if you ask me,” my dad said under his breath.
“Dad!”
But James laughed. “You have no idea.”
My dad smiled. “And they’re the ones that convinced you to root for the Giants? I’ll make an Eagles fan out of you yet.”
“Good luck with that. I think it’s much more likely I’ll make a Giants fan out of Penny.”
“Not a chance,” my dad said.
They both laughed.
My dad had made a habit of coming up whenever the Eagles played the Giants. He’d watch the games with us. Rob, Mason, and Matt would all come over too and cheer on the Giants. It was just me and my dad rooting for the Eagles. Sometimes Bee would come over and cheer on the Eagles with us. I’m pretty sure it drove James crazy that he couldn’t convert me into a Giants fan. But I had grown up watching the Eagles with my dad. That was one thing James couldn’t get his way with. Besides, I’m pretty sure he enjoyed the ongoing bets we had on the games.
“Have any of you gotten dessert yet?” Rory’s friend Jackson asked. “It’s delightful on your palette. You simply have to try it.” He held up the tray of decadent chocolate pastries.
“Absolutely.” I grabbed one off the tray and took a bite. “Oh my God, this is amazing.” I took another huge bite.
“You really have been hungry,” James whispered in my ear. “Your declaration of love for that dessert was almost orgasmic.”
I laughed and elbowed him in the ribs. “It was not.”
He gave me a playful smile.
Someone pinching the side of my waist made me jump. I laughed when I looked up at Brendan.
“I’m glad I didn’t miss all the family drama,” Brendan said. “It’s always the best thing about weddings.”
James shook his head. “Laughing at my torture?”
“Always.” They clapped each other on the back. “Beautiful as always, Penny,” he said and gave me a swift kiss on the cheek.
“Thanks, Brendan.”
“Still can’t believe you’re marrying this clown. At least he’s not your professor anymore. It actually seems like his parents disapprove of you more than your parents disapprove of him. That’s pretty twisted.”
James laughed. Brendan and him had grown really close ever since James had calmed down about him kissing me. I was surprised that James was able to forget about that. Maybe he had repressed it like me. Either way, they were friends now. James loved talking to Brendan about his latest development projects.
“That’s actually incredibly accurate,” I said.
Brendan laughed. “My parents would have loved you, Penny.”
“And that’s why I didn’t ask you to be a groomsmen,” James said.
“What? If I had known my flirting with Penny was keeping me out of that race I would have stopped ages ago.”
“We both know that’s not true,” James said.
Brendan shrugged his shoulders. “I can’t help what I say around beautiful women.” He winked at me. “How do you like the new place? James and I had a blast designing it together.”
I looked at James. “You left that part out.”
James shrugged his shoulders. “It was mostly me.”
“Yeah, right,” Brendan said. “Without me, your plumbing and electricity would have been a fucking mess and you know it.”
“Fair enough. But aesthetically, I planned most of it.”
“Well, you both did a fantastic job,” I said.
“I’m pretty sure James designed it with the sole idea of how many places he could bang you,” Brendan said with a laugh.
“Inappropriate,” James said to Brendan. “And you would have made such a great groomsmen too.”
Brendan gave him an exaggerated frown.
“I’m going to leave you two alone to find more dessert,” I said. As I made my way toward the desserts, I saw Luke and Mason with two guys I hadn’t met yet. I was promised a few stories, and I was not going to miss out on this opportunity. I walked over to their group. “Hey, guys.”
“We were just talking about you,” Luke said. He seemed a little drunk.
“Yeah? Hi, I’m Penny,” I said to the two guys I hadn’t met yet. I recognized both of them from the picture of James’ frat brothers, though.