“Mrs. McCord, may I introduce you to my date, Ward Breaux?” Meredith moved a little sideways to pull Ward into the conversation.
“Oh—my.” The older woman looked like she might attempt a swoon after taking her time to drag her gaze up Ward’s striking figure to his handsome face.
“Ward, this is Mrs. McCord, first lady of Bonneterre.”
He shook the woman’s hand and answered her questions about his family and what he did for a living. As it turned out, Mrs. McCord and Ward’s mother had been in the same sorority together in college.
Mrs. McCord turned to Meredith. “That means your mother would know Ward’s mother as well, Meredith, as Mairee and I pledged Tri-Delt together our freshman year. If I recall, Ward, your mother was two years ahead of us.”
“Really?” Meredith exchanged a raised-brow look with Ward. “I’ll have to ask her later if she remembers Ward’s mom.”
“You do that.” Mrs. McCord waved at someone beyond Meredith. “I’ve got to run—oh, but I will be calling you Monday to set up a time to come in and talk about Easter in the Park. It’s time we get in the hunt on that.” Her laughter trailed behind her after she walked away.
“Was that supposed to be funny?” Jenn asked when Meredith and Ward turned to rejoin the group.
“Hunt—the Easter egg hunt. Get it?”
“Oh. Ha-ha.” Jenn smirked. “So, Ward, Meredith hasn’t told us much about you.” Even hanging on to Henry’s arm, Jenn seemed to have no shame in flirting with someone else.
Ward talked a little about his family and his business. Meredith allowed her gaze to wander around the room, catching details that most attendees at this soiree would never notice—Lori talking to the DJ, the number of black-and-white-clad servers walking around with the trays of hot hors d’oeuvres, the little knot of servers gathered at the mouth of the hall leading to the kitchen.
Without really thinking about what she was doing, Meredith excused herself and crossed the room to the service hallway. By the time she got over there, the servers had dispersed. But now that she was this close to the kitchen, she might as well stick her head in and see how everything was going.
She’d barely pushed the door open when the nearest person yelled, “Civilian in the kitchen.”
Though on a smaller scale, the frenetic pace of the kitchen was very much like what it had been on Valentine’s Day.
“May I help—oh, it’s you.” Major wiped his hands on a towel and draped it over his shoulder. “You look beautiful, Meredith.”
She was pretty sure even her shoulders were blushing. “Thanks. How’s everything going in here?”
“Is it my imagination, or are you supposed to be not working tonight?” The dimple appeared in his left cheek, though he tried to keep his expression stern.
“I just...” She shrugged. “Busted.”
“Since you are a guest and not part of the staff tonight, I have to order you out of the kitchen.” He pressed his fingertips to his earpiece. “Especially since I just got the five-minute warning until salad service. So,” he reached behind her and pushed the door open, “please vacate the service area of the premises.”
She caught the tip of her tongue between her teeth—he was so close to her. All she had to do was raise up on her toes and she’d be within a millimeter of kissing him.
She took a deep breath and swallowed hard. “Yes, Chef.” Her voice squeaked, and she turned and fled the kitchen.
She was halfway through her Chateaubriand before her heart returned to a normal rate and she stopped imagining what would have happened if she hadn’t backed away and practically run from the kitchen. Major would have been mortified if she’d kissed him in front of his staff, and possibly offended.
Mrs. McCord’s words had wrecked Meredith’s ability to ignore her romantic thoughts about Major. And even if Major did feel something for her, she couldn’t do anything until she had a conversation with Ward to tell him the truth about her feelings toward him.
“And now, the bride and groom will share their first dance.”
George led Anne out to the open space in the middle of the room to the guests’ soft applause. Out of the three songs Anne had narrowed the choices to, “True Love” had been Meredith’s favorite. And she was really glad that Anne had been able to find the recording of Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly singing it, because it was a little slower, more romantic, than the Dean Martin version Anne had played for her a few weeks ago.
As soon as that song ended, the DJ invited Errol, Maggie, and the attendants to join Anne and George on the dance floor. When the first notes of “That’s Amore” started playing, Meredith giggled, nerves pressing at her throat. Even though Anne had taught her several different steps, Meredith was by no means comfortable with the task of dancing, especially since Henry was so graceful it made her feel like an elephant trying to balance on a tightrope.
Thankfully, it was a short song. Meredith was just about to escape when Ward stopped her.
“May I?” He extended his hand.
She shook her head. “I’m not really a dancer.”
“You looked wonderful out there.” He took her hand and led her back onto the dance floor. “If you’re truly awful, we’ll stop, I promise.”
Not only was Ward good, but he also softly sang along with “It Had to Be You” as he whisked Meredith around the floor. But two dances were enough for Meredith. She went and sat down with Forbes while Ward partnered up with Jenn.
“Do you think Jenn’s seriously interested in Henry, or is it just because he’s new and different?” Forbes asked.
“New and different. She’s got her eye on Ward now, too.” And from the way Ward was looking at Jenn while they slow-danced to a song Meredith had never heard before, he might not mind spending some time with Jenn.
“You don’t think she’d try to steal him away from you?” Forbes leaned forward, concern evident in his slate blue eyes.
“It won’t be stealing.” She leaned across the table to retrieve her glass of tea.
“I see.” Forbes resumed his more relaxed posture. “You’ve already told Jenn that?”
“Yeah. But I need to tell Ward.”
“Best do it now.” Forbes nodded at the two of them coming toward the table together.
She’d hoped to put it off as long as possible, but she could see the struggle in Ward’s eyes when he sat down beside her.
Forbes sighed and stood. “Come on, Jenn. Dance with your decrepit old brother.”
Ward reached over and took Meredith’s hand. “You don’t look like you’re enjoying yourself.”
“Ward ... there’s something I need to tell you.”
“Sounds serious.” He rubbed his thumb against the palm of her hand.
“It is.” She pulled her hand out of his and rested it on her lap. “It’s something I should have told you awhile back, but I’ve been putting it off, hoping things would change.”
He leaned forward and braced his hands on his knees. “Hoping things would change—as in the way you feel about me?”
“Yeah.” She drew the word out. “I have had so much fun going out with you, and I have never felt more cherished and admired than I have since I met you.”
“But you aren’t falling in love with me.” Kindness permeated his voice and soft smile. “Would it surprise you to learn that I’m not in love with you either?”
Breathing came a little easier. “A little. Why keep asking me out if...?”
“Because I wanted to fall in love with you. On paper, Meredith Guidry is the perfect woman for me.”
“But I’m not the same person in real life that I am on paper?”
“No, that’s not what I mean. I mean that every quality that I’ve ever dreamed of finding in a woman, I found in you.”
“But the spark isn’t there.” She began to relax, understanding that he really did feel the same way she did.
“Exactly.”
“I was seeing definite sparks between you and Jenn.” She grinned at his surprise. “Henry leaves day after tomorrow, and while she’s having fun flirting with him, when I told her I was going to break up with you, she wanted to know if that meant you were fair game. So I’m giving you the same blessing I gave her: go for it.”