Fractured [SHAWN MENDES]

~76~

The kitchen was bustling with activity, and unsurprisingly, both Zack and Reagan were in there pitching in. All the cooks were preparing the entrees for the dinner which would be served family style at each table. There were options for all tastes and dietary preferences, and as Shawn watched them work, his stomach grumbled loudly enough that Taryn heard it.

"They've got this under control. Let's go back up and get you some food. The mushroom pastries are my favorite, though the smoked salmon canapes are really good, too," she said as she took him by the hand and led him to the elevator. When they got inside it, she chewed her lip as she stared up at him.

"Something on your mind?" he asked with a devilish grin.

"Is it terrible that I'm hoping you'll give me a kiss. I don't know why, but I really need one."

He scrunched his face as if he were giving her suggestion serious contemplation. "I guess one kiss wouldn't hurt." Then he leaned down and feathered his lips over hers. She let go of his hand so that she could wrap her arms around his neck, and they stood there for at least a minute lost in the delicious kiss.

"I guess we should press the button to go up," she said, her voice throaty and deep.

"Unfortunately," he murmured as he adjusted himself to hide his semi-erection.

They spent the rest of the evening glued to each other's sides. Tricia and Earl decided not to do a head table or assigned seating, so when dinner was announced, Shawn and Taryn found two seats together with the staff from The Good Luck Lounge and held hands under the table as they ate.

Once dinner was over, the tables were moved by the staff again to make room for the dance floor. This was Shawn's cue to perform a song for the couple's first dance. He went to the small stage and turned on the microphone. "Hello, everyone! I've been given the honor of playing a song or two for Patricia and Earl tonight," he said happily. "If the newlyweds would come out on the dance floor, they can share the traditional first dance."

Earl led his wife to the center of the cleared area and gave Shawn a thumbs up.

Look into my eyes
You will see
What you mean to me
Search your heart
Search your soul
And when you find me there
You'll search no more

Don't tell me it's not worth
tryin' for
You can't tell me it's not worth dyin' for
You know it's true
Everything I do
I do it for you

As he sang the bridge of the romantic 1990's song by Bryan Adams, he locked eyes with Taryn, singing each word to her since they all rang true for him.

There's no love
Like your love
And no other
Could give more love
There's nowhere
Unless you're there
All the time
All the way, yeah

When the song was over, people clapped enthusiastically, and Tricia and Earl rushed over to let him know how perfect the song choice had been. He specifically chose one from their youth because he knew Patricia was a fan of that era.

As the night went on, he played a few other songs, but the DJ provided most of the music. Shawn and Taryn danced together so many times that by the end of the night, she was barefoot because her feet hurt. The fun was worth a few blisters, of course.

It was hours past midnight when the last of the guests went home, leaving only Tricia, Earl, Shawn, Taryn, and a few of her employees on the upper level of Ford's. Shawn was eating a second piece of wedding cake while Taryn and her mom argued.