She finally looked at me.
“I don’t care what Lauren thinks of me.”
Her eyes searched mine.
“I know.”
“I care what you think.”
That frightened her more than anything Evan had said.
She looked away.
The wedding began two hours later.
For most of the ceremony, we behaved perfectly.
We sat beside each other.
We smiled at the right moments.
I did not touch her unless someone was looking.
The problem was that eventually I stopped knowing which touches were for the audience.
At the reception, Clare danced with relatives.
I talked to her mother.
Lauren avoided me.
Evan attempted to look happy with his girlfriend while repeatedly checking where Clare was.
Then the band slowed.
Clare walked toward me.
“Dance with me.”
“Is this an emergency?”
She looked toward Evan.
He was watching.
“There’s a smirk.”
“Boundary rules are boundary rules.”
I took her hand.
We moved onto the dance floor.
At first, Clare kept the same respectable distance we had maintained all weekend.
Then she stepped closer.
Her hand slid behind my shoulder.
“He stopped smirking,” I said.
“I noticed.”
“We can stop now.”
“I noticed that too.”
She did not step away.
Neither did I.
Near the end of the song, I saw Lauren standing alone beside the bar.
Our eyes met.
She looked at Clare against my chest and then at me.
For once, there was no superiority in her expression.
Only understanding.
Later, she found me outside the ballroom.
“You love her,” Lauren said.
I did not answer.
She gave a humorless smile.
“You always were terrible at lying.”
“Apparently not terrible enough.”
She looked through the open doors toward Clare.
“Does she know?”
“No.”
Lauren was quiet for a moment.
Then she said something I did not expect.
“Don’t let her think she has to earn it.
Evan did enough damage there.”
I studied her face.
“That might be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
