Decker (Torey Hope: The Later Years #1) (15 page)

“I’m not sure I’d go through with bathroom sex, especially at your cousin’s wedding, but I’m already looking forward to our own little after party when the reception winds down.” Katie wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered in his ear. “Just to give you something to anticipate throughout the evening, I’m not wearing anything under my dress.” She licked her lips and laughed at his exaggerated groan as she walked away with an extra sway in her hips.

**********

Katie couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going on. Sawyer and Decker had been trading whispered comments for the thirty minutes they’d been at the reception. Grandma kept walking by and tsking Katie while ogling Decker’s ass. And there was just an undercurrent in the air, like someone was watching her.

Decker had gone to do a couple shots with his brother and cousins, and Katie had taken the moment to stop by the ladies’ room. Leaving the facility, she started toward Decker and the guys, but she practically ran into a woman she’d never seen before who stepped right into her path.

“Hi, you’re Kate, right?” The woman stuck her hand out as if to shake, but Kate was instantly wary; she knew most people in town and this woman was not a local. Trying to remind herself that Beckett and Kenja had friends from school, Katie extended her hand to shake.

“Yes, I’m Kate, and you are?” The cold hand in hers was not comforting, and she couldn’t fight the feeling that this woman in front of her wasn’t here for good reasons.

“Oh, how rude of me. I’m Angela, Decker Morgan’s girlfriend.” Angela sneered her words.

Katie took a deep breath, understanding in that moment that she was dealing with a jealous ex-lover. She had heard the guys speak of Angela a couple of times. The woman in front of her was beautiful in a very severe way; she couldn’t picture Decker, who was currently smiling and laughing with the guys over drinks, with this angry person in front of her. Knowing that Angela was hoping for a reaction, Kate just smiled.

“Nice to meet you, Angela. Decker has spoken very little of his
ex
-girlfriend, but I recognize your name from the jokes his cousins and brother have told me.” Katie couldn’t help but get a couple little jabs in with her reply.

Choosing to ignore the barbs, Angela sniffed and spoke condescendingly. “Decker and I parted ways amicably with every intention of rekindling our romance when we were settled with our business ventures.”

“Oh? And where exactly is your business venture? Have you gotten yourself all settled? I’m sure Decker will be just
thrilled
to see you’ve shown up in town for the rekindling.” Katie had never had a bitchy or catty bone in her body, but it was obvious they had just been in hiding all of these years.

“You silly little dear. I’m not here for Decker just yet; I’m building a name for myself at a very prestigious company and climbing the ladders quite successfully. I’m simply here to enjoy the wedding. Decker and I will be together when it’s right.” Angela’s voice dripped venom as she spoke down her nose at Katie.

“So, you’re here with…who exactly?” Katie racked her brain trying to determine how in the world Angela had landed an invitation to a very small event in a town Katie would guess she’d never even stepped foot in.

“An old friend of mine was a classmate of the groom’s; he needed a date, so I did him a favor and accompanied him to this
lovely
little town.” Katie didn’t miss the nasty emphasis Angela placed on her words.

“Well, if I’ve got a limited amount of time with Decker, I think I’ll go enjoy our evening. So
great
to meet you, Angela.” Katie started to back away when she sensed him behind her. She didn’t want to look like a simpering female, but her heart kicked up a couple notches when she realized he was there to step in and protect her.

“Angela, what the hell are you doing here?” Decker’s jaw ticked rapidly as he waited on an answer. His arms moved Kate from in front of him to behind him.

“Decker, so good to see you; you look great as usual baby. I was just telling your friend here that an old friend of mine was classmates with the groom and he invited me to the wedding. Such a quaint little affair. We should definitely grab a coffee this weekend and catch up.” Angela’s voice had taken on a sickening sweet tone and Katie fought the urge to gesture with her finger down her throat. She turned her head and caught the guys watching the whole scene go down; when Kendrick
did
put his finger down his throat and pretend to gag, she laughed out loud and knew she’d love that guy and his crass ass forever.

“We won’t be getting together for coffee or catching up, Angela. I’d like to say it’s been good to see you, but since you seemed to be harassing my girlfriend, I’m going to just have to say goodbye. Come on, Kate, let’s go dance.” Decker started to grab her hand, but Angela’s cackle stopped him short.

“Oh, that’s rich, Decker! If you want me to think you’re over me, you need to do better than pretending you’re going to dance with the poor girl. Don’t forget, I dated you for a long time; I know you don’t dance. Ever.” Angela spoke as if she’d just revealed the biggest secret every kept.

“Well, you obviously don’t know a damn thing about me now, because I learned to dance just for Kate, and I intend on spending the rest of the night with her in my arms.” Decker did grab Kate’s hand then and stalked away, leaving Angela standing gaping like a fish out of water.

“Decker? Decker, slow down. There was no reason to lie, you could have just told her to get lost.” Katie found herself almost running to keep up with him. “Decker!”

“Sorry, Bug. I just got angry when I saw her corner you and start giving you a rough time.” Decker slowed down and cupped her cheek, running a thumb along her bottom lip. “Are you okay? I’m sorry about that. I had no idea she was coming here this weekend.”

She started to speak, but the guys walked up and everyone started talking at once.

“Damn, Katie-girl, where did that little hissy spunk come from? Mee-ow!” Sawyer hugged her. “That was great. I told Deck you didn’t need him, you were holding your own just fine.”

“Dude, there’s something fishy going on here. I call bullshit on her having a date here tonight. I’ll keep an eye on her; I think she’s up to something. It doesn’t make sense that she would travel all this way just to attend a wedding with an old friend.” Kendrick narrowed his eyes as he contemplated Angela.

“She said she was basically just counting the days until the time was right for her and Decker to ‘rekindle’ their romance. Maybe she came with the date just as an excuse to see Decker?” Katie had never really been jealous and she wasn’t feeling the emotion as she spoke, but she did feel like something was off.

“Come on, we’ll sort of pull together and keep everyone close for the rest of the reception. That way she can’t get close to Decker or Katie and we can keep an eye on her.” Zach led the group back to the reception tent. Grabbing Zoey’s hand, he explained the situation and had her find Aly and Asher.

“Come on, Bug, let’s dance.” Decker held his hand out for her.

Laughing, Katie rolled her eyes, “Yeah, right. It’s okay, I don’t think she’s looking, you can stop pretending.” She sat down on one of the soft cushioned chairs.

Crouching down to rest his elbows on his knees, Decker spoke softly. “Kate, this isn’t the way I wanted to surprise you, and damn Angela for making me blurt it out like that, but I
did
learn to dance for you, and I want to spend the rest of my evening with you in my arms. Now, if I know Sawyer, he’s asking the DJ to play a special song just for us right now. So, Kate, will you do me the honor and dance with me?” He held out his hand again and smiled when she reached for him.

Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” came through the speakers. “This isn’t the song I want to call
ours
, but it will do for now.” Decker rested his right arm around her waist and pulled her close to him; grasping her hand in his. “For my debut performance, I plan on doing this right.” He smiled and glided her around their small space on the dance floor.

Katie couldn’t take her eyes off of his face; he learned to dance. For her. Just for her. Her heart caught in her throat as he leaned in and kissed her softly.

Decker glanced around at the other wedding attendees; he saw his parents dancing and caught the tears sparkling in his mother’s eyes when she saw he was dancing with Katie. His mom had tried for years to get Decker to dance, with no success; she smiled at him through her tears, and he knew she understood why it took Kate to get him to dance when his mom couldn’t get through to him all those years.

When the song ended, Sawyer swooped in to steal Katie away for just one dance. It was a fast song; Decker wasn’t feeling confident enough for a fast routine just yet, so he let Sawyer take his girl and headed to the restroom.

“Decker, can we talk?” Angela tried grabbing his hand as he exited the restroom.

“No, Angela, we can’t talk. We broke up, I have no clue why you’re here, I’m in love with Kate; we have nothing to talk about.” Decker knew he sounded harsh, but he was not happy with Angela being here or her treatment of Kate earlier.

“You can’t love her; she’s not good for you. I took a little time from my job so you and I can reconnect; I just want us to give our relationship another chance.” Her voice shook and he took a good look at her for the first time. She was shaky and sweaty, her face was pale and she had lost weight. It was not a good look for her.

“Angela, I’m sorry if I wasn’t clear when we left school. We are over. I came here to build my life; you went your separate way to start your own life. We weren’t meant to be together. I don’t want to be hurtful, but I never felt for you what I feel for Kate; she’s my perfect match; we just click. Now, I need you to leave us alone, leave town, and go on with your life.” Decker walked away, trying to ignore the nagging feeling that jabbed at his brain.

Swinging past the DJ station, Decker asked the man if he could play a certain song. Once the song was found, Decker requested the microphone.

“Good evening. I wanted to start by saying congrats to Beckett and Kenja. You two are truly perfect together, and I wish you much happiness. Now, without stealing the spotlight for too long, I want to dedicate a song to someone special. This song is old, I’m pretty sure my grandparents were fans of it years ago. My brother, a music aficionado, suggested it was the perfect song to describe what this girl has done for me and what she means for me; he was completely right. This song is perfect. Kate, this song is for you; this is our song. Before you, my world was black and white; when I met you, you brought color into my life. I never knew what I was missing until you showed me how to live. So, thank you; I love you.” He handed the mic back as the song floated from the speakers.

Wrapping Kate in his arms, he held her close and nuzzled her neck. “Listen closely to the lyrics. It’s called ‘You Decorated My Life’ by Kenny Rogers. That’s what you did, Bug, you came along and added your spark and flare to my life; you balance me perfectly. This is our song, forever. I love you, Kate.”

Katie’s heart was full-to-bursting wrapped in Decker’s arms listening to beautiful lyrics. She didn’t think she could get any happier…until Sawyer dragged her out on the dance floor with Decker, Zach, Kendrick, Zoey, and Aly and made them dance to a couple fast numbers. Watching Decker let loose, laugh and have fun with his family and friends touched her heart in a deep way; knowing that he was having fun because he learned to dance just for her was overwhelming.

Decker really played it up during both songs. “Shut Up and Dance” by Walk the Moon was a lot of fun; Katie got to pull some attitude on him and get a little sassy. “Dance With Me Tonight” by Olly Murs was just sweet, silly, fun; they all got into the moment by acting out the video. By the end of both songs, everyone was sweaty and laughing and having the time of their lives.

Heading over to grab drinks for Kate and himself, Decker was waylaid by Grandma. “Is it true that you’d never danced before tonight?” Her rheumy old eyes squinted at him as if trying to gauge his answer for truth.

“Yes, ma’am, it’s true. I’ve never been a dancer; never felt the need. But, Kate wanted me to dance with her one night, and I felt bad saying no. So I had my brother teach me so I could dance with her tonight.” Decker drank from a bottle of water while he waited on their drinks to be prepared.

“So, let me get this straight. You learned to dance just so you could come here tonight and make an absolute fool of yourself shaking your ass all over the dance floor, and you did it all for my granddaughter?” She spoke unbelievingly.

“Well, I didn’t plan on making a fool of myself, but if I did, so be it. Yes, I did it all for Kate.” He smiled as he realized what he’d said was true, he
didn’t
care if he’d looked like a complete idiot out there. The smile on her face had been worth it.

“Well then,
boy
, I think I may have misjudged you. My Stanley learned to dance just for me, and he was the best man I’ve ever met. So, I’m willing to give you a chance with my Katie. But, so help me God, if you hurt her, you’ll answer to me. It will be awfully hard to dance or run a business with your cock-n-balls missing.” Water spewed from Decker’s mouth and nose. She had turned and walked away before he could dry himself off and stop coughing. Turning around, she walked back to him. “If you want to shake that sweet ass of yours later, come find me when they play The Cha-Cha Slide.” She winked as she smacked his ass and shuffled away.