His gaze met hers. “Sure I did.
Today is a big day for me, too.”
“Freedom from alimony?” she said drily.
For the first time in a long time her father’s smile was real and reached his eyes. “Exactly.”
“She seems really happy.”
That had her father pausing and glancing toward her mother. “Yeah, she does. Good for her.”
“What about you? Where is your wife?”
He shrugged. “At home, I imagine.”
He excused himself and went and joined the conversation with Lance and the blonde. No doubt he’d have the blonde cornered in just a few minutes.
He must have because Lance walked up shortly afterward to where McKenzie stood.
“You look very beautiful,” he said quietly.
Okay, so a smart girl wouldn’t let him see how his words warmed her insides. A smart girl would play it cool. McKenzie tried. “Cecilia works wonders.”
“She is indeed talented.”
Their conversation was stilted, awkward. The conversation of former lovers who didn’t know what to say to each other.
“I see you met my father,” she said to fill the silence.
Shock registered on Lance’s face. “That was your father?”
McKenzie laughed at his surprise. “Yes. Sorry he moved in on Yves’s cousin while you were talking her up.”
“I wasn’t talking her up,” he replied. “And, for the record, had I been interested in her no one would have moved in, including your father.” He glanced around until his gaze lit on where her father still chatted with the blonde, who laughed a little too flirtatiously. “Isn’t he married?”
She nodded. “Fidelity isn’t his thing. I’ve mentioned that before.”
Lance’s expression wasn’t pleasant. “Seems odd for him to be here, at your mother’s wedding.”
“I thought the same thing, but my mother invited him and he came. They are a bit weird that way. Something else I’ve mentioned.”
Lance’s gaze met McKenzie’s and locked for a few long seconds before he glanced at his watch as if pressed for time. “Sorry to rush off, but I’ve got to head out to help with the Valentine’s Day dance tonight.”
“Oh. I forgot.” Had her disappointment that he wasn’t going to stay for a while shown? Of course it had.
He reached out, touched her cheek. “McKenzie, there’s so much I could say to you.”
“But?”
“But you already know everything I’d say.”
“Not everything.”
His brow rose and she shook her head. Now wasn’t the time to ask him about Shelby. That time had come and gone.
Apparently he agreed because he said, “It’s been fun.”
She nodded, hoping the tears she felt prickling her eyes didn’t burst free.