Hannah ...

The musicians played a fun, upbeat tune as all the reception guests crowded onto the dance floor. After Nick announced me as his dance partner, he took my hand and pulled me right into the center of the dance floor.

"We met at the wedding rehearsal," Nick said to me, "but we haven’t really had a chance to chat."

"No, we haven’t," I said to Nick. He was roguishly handsome and slender, with a cropped blond haircut. Roman had described him as the ’bad boy’ of their group of friends.

"What do you want to chat about, Nick?" I asked him.

"How Roman managed to shackle you to the old ball and chain of marriage," Nick said, and I laughed.

"She came willingly, Nick," Roman said, dancing up beside us with Lori.

I met Roman’s gaze and he winked at me.

"Can’t I get a moment’s dance alone with the bride?" Nick asked Roman teasingly.

"I’m not letting her out of my sight, Nick," Roman said.

"Especially not around you."

Nick shrugged. "You never know, I had to try and convince her she accepted the wrong marriage proposal." We all danced and laughed. I was happy to see Lori having fun and getting innocent attention from Roman’s friends. Nick switched to dancing with Lori, and I caught a quick kiss with Roman before one of the twins snagged me as his dance partner.

"Remember me, Mrs. Thaddeus?" Wade asked me, and I smiled.

"You’re Wade," I said. "You two may be twins, but you have distinct differences in personality."

"Roman," Wade called out over his shoulder where Roman and Lauren were dancing behind him. "She’s good, she can tell us apart."

Roman and Lauren moved closer to us. "You seem surprised that she’s observant," Roman said.

"I’m more surprised that she married you," Wade said.

"She’s too good for you, Roman."

"You’re probably right," Roman said, laughing.

"Where did you find these friends of yours, Roman?" I asked.

"They’re nothing but trouble."

"You have no idea, pretty lady," Gabe said as he cut in, nudging his brother aside to dance with me. "I know my brother and I have the same face, but I’m the better dancer of us two." I laughed as Gabe tried to guide me in a terrible salsa sequence. We danced and laughed as Roman’s friends tried to jokingly convince me to leave the reception with them and forget Roman. When I paused dancing to grab a flute of champagne, Roman was right there beside me.

"Don’t let my friends offend you, Hannah," Roman said to me.

"They’re good guys."

"I’m not offended," I said. "I only wish I had met them sooner, they’re hilarious." Roman and I laughed, stealing a quick dance together before other guests wanted a turn with each of us.

I met a few of Roman’s business colleagues and their wives, who were very kind and graciously invited Roman and me to a few of their outings in the near future.

I turned to say something to Roman, who had been nearby the entire time, but I stopped when I saw him talking to the blond woman that I had seen him with at many of my father’s parties.

He had called her Jessica Sullivan, and they weren’t dancing, but she had her hands on Roman’s arms, talking to him.

Roman looked like he was listening, but he didn’t look interested in the conversation. I moved toward Roman and Jessica when a man stepped into my path.

"Dance with me," the man said. His breath was strong with alcohol and I was appalled at the rough way he grabbed my arm to lead me back onto the dance floor.

"Who are you?" I asked him as he grabbed my waist and began dancing off-beat.

"I’m Bernard," he said, looking at me with an intensity that made me cringe. "Bernard Sullivan. Surely Roman has told you about

me."

I tried to lean away from him because he was too close to my face and his breath was strong with the scent of alcohol. Bernard tried pulling me closer and ended up tripping on my dress.

"You’re drunk, Bernard," I said to him, trying to push him away, but Bernard leaned in as if he were going to kiss me. His hands slid down my waist to grab my a*s as I tried to push him away from me. "Let go of me," I said loudly, and suddenly Bernard was being snatched by the collar of his shirt by Roman, who planted his fist directly in Bernard’s face, knocking him to the ground.

I covered my mouth with my hands as the crowd gasped and backed away from the drunken Bernard, who was now sprawled on the dance floor.

"What the hell, Roman?" Jessica yelled at him while she hurried over to help her brother up. Roman gently nudged me behind him with his arm.

"Are you OK?" Roman asked me over his shoulder. I could only nod as I watched Jessica attempt to help her half-conscious brother to his feet. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Why would you hit him, Roman?" Jessica shouted at Roman. "You’re supposed to be friends."

"He’s no friend of mine," Roman said. "He never was, and he certainly has no right to touch my wife like that."

Jessica was trying to help maneuver Bernard’s arm over her shoulder, but he wasn’t making it easy in his drunken and dazed state.

"You should help them, Roman," I said, feeling sorry for Jessica and Bernard. Roman moved to support Bernard but Bernard jerked his arm away from Roman, nearly knocking Jessica off balance.

"Don’t touch him, you son of a b*tch," Jessica shouted at Roman.

I stepped forward to confront Jessica. "You will not talk to my husband like that," I snapped at her. "I don’t know who invited you two here, but you need to leave." Roman stood by my side and his friends gathered around us.

Jessica was half dragging Bernard away from the dance floor while all eyes were on her and her drunken brother. "I don’t know why you married her, Roman," Jessica said. "You could have had a real woman."

"Get out," Roman said. "You’re embarrassing yourselves."

"You’ll regret what you did, Roman," Jessica said as she struggled to keep her brother upright. There was silence as Bernard limped out of the exit door with his sister.

Suddenly, Nick’s voice came over the microphone. "Who wants to see the bride and groom cut their cakes?" The guests clapped, and Roman offered Nick a silent "thank you" for his masterful distraction, keeping the reception on schedule.

I was glad to be by Roman’s side again as we walked to the dessert table. The staff carefully brought out the beautiful five-tiered wedding cake and placed it on the table before us. Each tier was artfully speckled with gold dust and hints of the wedding’s colors: seafoam green, turquoise, and blush pink.

Small bouquets of flowers wrapped around the cake from bottom to top where an elegant letter H and letter R had been decorated with more flowers. The groom’s cake was brought out next, and it was a small, three-tiered chocolate cake topped with chocolate-dipped strawberries.

Nick announced the official cake cutting as Roman handed me the knife and then placed his hand on top of mine. We cut a small slice together from the base and he held a small plate while I maneuvered the slice out of the cake and onto the plate.

It was a vanilla cake with beautiful swirls of strawberry marbling. Roman used a fork to separate a small piece of the slice, and he fed it to me, gazing into my eyes as the audience clapped. He handed me the fork, and I separated a small slice to feed him.

We smiled at one another while the guests clapped and cheered.

"Who wants cake?" Nick asked the guests over the microphone.

"Everyone grab a slice and cue the music!"

Roman and I joined his parents, aunt, and uncle at our table as the servers passed out slices of both cakes along with more wine and coffee. Some guests continued to dance while others sat at their tables to chat while eating their cake.

"That certainly was a dreadful display from Sullivan," Preston said as he took a bite of the chocolate cake. "I thought he had been raised better than that. I’ll have to have a talk with his father."

"No, Dad," Roman said. "It was just a show. Bernard is jealous and he’s trying to get back at me for not marrying his sister." I glanced at Roman and he met my gaze. "Is that what she was talking to you about?" I asked Roman.

"Before her brother tried to dance with me?"

Roman nodded. "She said I betrayed her," Roman said.

"Did you?" I asked Roman. He took my left hand and held it up between us, displaying my ringed finger.

"I never promised her anything," Roman said, his blue eyes intense as he stared at me. "I married you, not her as she had hoped. It was wrong of me to let her spread the rumor of us getting married, but I never promised her or anyone any such thing."

"Will she cause us trouble?" I asked Roman.

He shrugged, lowering my hand but continuing to hold it. "She may try, but she won’t do any damage." Roman picked up a chocolate-covered strawberry and held it up to me. I smiled, taking a bite of the sweet, delicious dessert. "Are you ready for our last dance so that we can get out of here and on to the honeymoon?" Roman asked me.

"I am ready to change out of this dress and relax," I said. The excitement and overwhelming emotions of the day were starting to seep into my body, making me feel tired. Roman stood and held his hand out to me. I took my husband’s hand and joined him on the dance floor for a final dance.