“A pleasure to meet you, Nicki.” Dad reached out and brought her knuckles to his lips for a moment.
Very smooth.
“It’s Nicole,” she said as she smiled at him. “I keep telling Dad that, but he still seems to think I’m ten instead of nearly eighteen.”
Dad laughed, and Sheriff Skye joined in.
“Teenagers, huh?” Dad continued to chuckle. “Well, Nicole, this is Tommy.”
Dad and the sheriff both laughed again.
“Very funny.” I nodded and looked at Rumple…er…Nicole…as I rolled my eyes. “No one’s called me Tommy since I was four.”
Her lips smashed together as she held in a grin. I watched as she bit into her lower lip as I took her hand and copied my father’s motions.
“A pleasure to meet you, Miss Skye,” I said with a smile. My lips brushed the back of her hand for a moment, and she apparently couldn’t hold in the laugh anymore. It literally exploded out of her, and her eyes went wide. Her hand quickly covered her mouth as a few other people looked over in her direction.
“Nicole…geez…” Her father patted her on the back. “You all right?”
“I’m fine, Dad,” she insisted. “It’s just…well, Thomas and I have biology class together. We’re partners on a project, so we already know each other.”
“Oh good!” my father said with a smile and some more beaming. “Thomas, why don’t you take Nicole over to the refreshments and maybe show her around a little?”
“My pleasure,” I responded, and I completely meant it. Nicole’s eyes widened again as my father put his hand on the sheriff’s shoulder and walked him toward another group of people. I held my arm out for Nicole. “Shall we?”
Her eyes narrowed a bit, but she accepted my offer.
“Would you like something to drink?” I asked as we walked over to the banquet tables. Nicole had her hand around my arm, loosely holding on to me. I felt giddy. “The iced tea is pretty good.”
“Sure,” she said. She looked up at me with slightly narrowed eyes. I poured two glasses and then led her over to one of the balconies. I held the door for her, and she walked through, still eyeing me kind of warily.
“You look exceptionally lovely this evening,” I told her.
Nicole’s eyes went wide for a second.
“Um…thank you,” she said. She gave me another strange look. “You look really good in a tux.”
I gave her a half-smile.
“Thanks,” I replied. “I only wear it to this banquet and the occasional wedding.”
“And a real bow tie?” she noticed. “Do you even know how to tie it?”
My mind flashed through my altercation with Dad before we got here. I allowed it to flow because sometimes trying to push it back wa
s just too hard.
“Yes, I do.”
“That’s kind of cool.”
“Mom insisted I know how to do it,” I heard myself blurt out and immediately wished I could take it back.
“So, is your mom here tonight?” Nicole asked. She took a sip of her tea.
I stiffened a second. My throat tightened up on me. I wasn’t used to anyone asking about her. We lived in such a small community, and everyone knew the story, so I was never questioned about it.
“Um…no…uh…my mom’s dead.”