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“Are you serious?” Adelia heard Gus say just as they came into the foyer.
He set Merritt down, and she nodded up at him with a big smile on her face.
Gus’s hands went to her waist, his thumbs rubbing her belly. “A baby?”
“A baby.” Merritt was beaming.
“Mer …” Gus choked up, and his chin began to quiver as tears sprung to his eyes and spilled down his cheeks.
Merritt took him in her arms, and they stood there, holding onto each other.
Adelia’s heart ached in the best way as she witnessed this moment. Gus had struggled for so long to change the bad boy ways of his twenties, and finding Merritt was the best thing that had ever happened to him. To see him so happy and soon to become a father filled Adelia with pride. He was going to be such a great dad.
When Gus and Merritt finally let go, he rubbed the tears from his face and glanced around the room, his gaze meeting Adelia’s.
“Deals! Did you hear our news?” She’d never seen a bigger smile on his face.
“I did. Congratulations!” She opened her arms to him, and he hugged her tight.
“Auntie Adelia has a nice ring to it.”
Adelia laughed. “I like the sound of that.”
Word traveled fast, and soon the whole family was showering them with hugs and congratulations.
As the guests funneled through the foyer on their way to the reception, Adelia caught sight of Oliver coming through the double doors in her direction.
“Hi,” she said as he leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek.
“Hi. You look beautiful.”
She turned around in her floor-length emerald green chiffon dress. “This old thing.” She gave him a wink but didn’t get so much as a smile in return.
She looked him over, checking out his nice suit and tie, his hair smoothed back.
“You’re not so bad yourself,” she said.
“Nice ceremony,” he remarked, not reacting in any way to her flirty comments.
“It was. Almost makes me want a wedding of my own someday.”
“Almost?” he asked.
She waved it off. That was a conversation for another time. “I have to go have pictures taken with the bridal party. Do you want to come with us?”
“I think I’ll just meet you at the reception.”
“Okay.” She was a little disappointed that he didn’t want to stay, especially after how standoffish he was acting. “I’ll see you there.”
When she leaned in to kiss his lips, he tilted to the side and kissed her cheek again instead. “See you there.”
There was definitely something going on with Oliver. She could’ve dismissed it as him not liking to show public affection, but deep down, she knew it was something more.
Once they arrived at the reception, it only got worse. The bridal party was seated together with their dates, and Oliver seemed withdrawn and quiet, like he was having no fun at all. Maybe it was because of the conversation about marriage they’d had the other night. She wasn’t sure, but she didn’t like the sudden distance she felt between them.
Adelia tried not to worry over Oliver’s strange demeanor and focused on the happy occasion instead.
“You know what I just realized?” Merritt said. “All the crazy things I’ve been eating lately have probably been pregnancy cravings.”