Sigh

For the next ten minutes she smiled and chatted and asked questions about their bridesmaid dresses and shared her own bridesmaid-ing stories while Mike never let go of her hand.

Her shoulders relaxed when Josh's dad beckoned everyone to the tables, and Mike's hand moved up and down her bare arm.

"You see why I needed you?" he said in her ear as they sat down. She turned to him and nodded.

"You'd have a peanut butter and egg salad sandwich right about now. or a cheese burger?"

He made a gagging face and she laughed.

Luckily, the rest of the night was less fraught, mostly because they were sitting with two other groomsmen and their dates. As they lingered over dessert, Stella glanced at the time and sighed at how little sleep she'd be getting that night.

"Something wrong?" Mike asked her, turning from his conversation with one of the other guys about basketball.