Page 59 of The Wedding Fake
We stood shoulder-to-shoulder as we watched each dance, and Hudson threaded his fingers between mine. Once more, Dan had found a spot directly across the dance floor from me, forcing me to look at him as I watched first Ethan and Nora, then my dad with Nora while Ethan danced with Agatha.
I glanced up at Hudson, wondering if his eyes would also be on Dan, but they weren’t, and I remembered Hudson didn’t know what he looked like. That seemed somehow impossible, that Dan, who’d played such a large role in my life, could be an unknown. I tried to watch Nora and Dad, who were swaying awkwardly, but again my gaze was pulled back to Dan, feeling his eyes on me. He smiled as our eyes met, and it was the soft, sweet smile I’d always loved. It was the smile I pictured him making as I walked down the aisle.
Dammit.
I jerked my eyes away from his, tightening my hold on Hudson’s hand, just as the song ended and the DJ invited everyone out. He began with a slow song, and Hudson looked down at me, a question in his eyes.
“Sure,” I agreed, letting him pull me out onto the dance floor and wrap an arm around my waist.
“Hey,” he whispered, his lips nearly pressed to my ear.
“Hmm?” I turned my face closer to his, away from the lingering perfume stink and into the spot at his neck that smelled uniquely like Hudson. I had the urge to kiss that spot, but I kept our dance chaste, knowing how much he loved when I kissed his neck.
“You’re not okay,” he said.
I froze, looking at the tanned skin above his collar.
“All you have to do is tell me what you need, and I’ll make it happen, Claire.”
I hesitated, because what I really needed was unrealistic. I needed Hudson to say he wanted me and only me. I needed Hudson to be someone I could trust.
“I came here to run interference for you. It’s what I’m here for,” he added, and my heart sank. He’d come to run interference. Nothing more. But I always knew that. I just let my stupid heart forget for a while.
“I know,” I replied, and we swayed until the song was done. “I’m going to get a drink and find Emily,” I said.
Hudson gestured behind me. “Looks like they dropped off my piece of cake. I’ll catch up with you.”
31
HUDSON
She was pulling away from me. I could see it clear as day, but I couldn’t stop it. I watched her walk away toward the bar, knowing she needed space. She needed her sisters. She needed something I couldn’t give her, and as badly as I wanted to scrabble after her and beg her to need me, I was sure it would only push her further away.
Cassandra sat at our table, eating her slice of cake. She’d come as the date of one of the groomsmen—I didn’t know which, and it didn’t matter anyway. They all were useless pricks as far as I could tell. Cassandra had spent most of dinner flirting, and I’d done my best to be polite without showing too much interest.
My slice of cake sat untouched in the seat next to her, but I grabbed a piece from the next table as I walked, winging around to sit across from Cassandra. “Hi, Hud,” she said, smiling brightly. It had taken only moments for Cassandra to begin calling me “Hud,” but the word on her lips didn’t have even a fraction of the effect as those moments Claire said it shyly. “Did your date ditch you, too?” she asked, a grin tilting her lips.
I found Claire easily across the crowd. She was holding a drink and looking around the reception area. I doubted she was looking for me, but I waved her over anyway, and was pleased when she began to cross the distance to me.
“Who’s this?” Claire asked as she reached the table, looping to stand next to where I sat. Her fingers found the hair at the back of my head, running through it possessively. I’d dated women who thought jealousy was a love language, but that wasn’t Claire. This was more evidence her mind was in a bad place.
“I’m Cassandra,” Cassandra replied before I had the chance. “I’m Billy’s date, not that you’d know it.” She gestured with her chin to the dance floor, where all of Ethan’s friends were singing along with a song I only vaguely recognized. “You must be Claire,” Cassandra continued, slicing off a bite of cake. “Hudson couldn’t stop talking about you all through dinner.”
“Nice to meet you,” Claire replied, the chill melting from her expression and her fingers stilling on my neck.
Cassandra swallowed her bite of cake with a smile. “My friend Kelsey and I were debating whether Hud gushing over you was sweet or annoying.”
“Which won?” Claire asked, and the question surprised me, coming from Claire. I offered her a bite of cake, but she shook her head.
“Annoying, of course,” Cassandra answered brightly. “But mostly because my date doesn’t remember I’m here.”
Claire sat down next to me, pulling an untouched piece of cake from the spot to her left. “Billy walked with Alexandra, right?” she asked, slicing a bite of cake off with her fork. “He seemed nice enough, just a little shy. Are you two dating?”
Cassandra glanced back at where Billy stood. “No. We’re friends, that’s all. He just needed a plus one.” I snorted, doubting the truth in Cassandra’s version, even if she believed it.
Claire’s eyes widened, and she sat forward in her seat, the start of a smile tilting her lips. She was stunning. “You know that’s bullshit, right?” she asked. Cassandra looked shocked, and Claire turned to me. “It’s bullshit, right, Hud?”
I draped an arm over the back of Claire’s chair, letting my fingers settle on the bare skin of her upper back. “It’s bullshit,” I confirmed. “He wouldn’t have invited you if he wasn’t interested.”