Caught on Camera

Chapter 16, Part 28

Chapter 16

Only You

I wanna be loved by you, by you and nobody else but you... Mickey whistled the tune while adjusting his freshly pressed cravat before a large mirror.

Shaved, showered, and presentable once again, he, Wade, Halden and Garth waited for the bridesmaids in the foyer at the entrance to the dining room. They'd been informed that Candy insisted on a procession to the head table once the majority of the guests were seated, with the bride and groom leading the way. A grim Halden stood off to the side, intently texting on his smartphone.

"You're awfully chipper, Mick," Wade said over Mickey's shoulder to his reflection, "considering it's been a hell of a day so far."

Mickey cocked his head and winked. "I've been thinking about a beautiful bridesmaid."

Garth, big shoulders slumped, lamented, "Yeah, me too. Tiffany still won't let me in her room. She's probably too embarrassed."

Ever cynical, Wade snorted. "Did you manage to empty the restocked mini-bar in her room before she kicked you out?"

Garth paled under his tan. "No. But she wouldn't -- I mean, the paramedic expressly told her no alcohol. I left instructions with Room Service. Food but no alcohol." He straightened. "I should go check on her."

"Too late." Halden laid a firm restraining hand on Garth's bicep. "Here come my lovely bride and the girls."

***

Contrary to Asta's dire prediction that Candy'd ordered vegetarian for the wedding banquet, the guests were offered three main course options: fresh linguini with vegetables and pesto sauce; tiny, succulent quail on a bed of wild rice and a side of baby carrots flavored with Canadian maple syrup; or shelled lobster accompanied by asparagus and tiny purple potatoes.

Not that Mickey paid much attention to the meal with Candy's lovely, quirky cousin seated on his left at the head table. He entertained Rachel with Hollywood gossip. She asked intelligent questions about the movie biz. Seriously impressed by her encyclopedic knowledge of films and those who made them, he enjoyed trying to stump her. A woman with that much passion for film-making belonged in Hollywood.

And, fingers crossed, in his bed after the reception.

When Garth pushed back his chair beside the bride and stood to assume his Master of Ceremony duties, Mickey entwined his fingers with Rachel's. Under his thumb on her wrist, her pulse beat a rapid tattoo. Anticipation, his experience with women suggested. His groin stirred.

The toasts to the bride and groom didn't take long. Asta filled in for the missing Maid of Honor with a sweet welcome to the Armstrong family for Candy, and a toast to her brother's happiness. Glasses clinked. Halden obligingly rose, bent Candy back in a romantic embrace, and soundly kissed his bride.

Garth read his Best Man's speech off of a couple of crinkled sheets of paper. Mickey, Halden's first agent before he jumped to a more prestigious agency, had contributed a humorous anecdote to Garth's speech. Mickey was pleased when Halden chuckled at Garth's retelling of how an early screen test went horribly wrong when the actress kissed Halden and promptly forgot her lines.

Candy, exquisite but paler than usual, had regained her regal composure. Her tinkling laugh rang off key after several guest tributes to Halden's prowess as an actor and producer ignored her completely. The outpouring of warmth from those Halden left behind in Wisconsin and the many new friends he made on his rise to stardom raised the positive energy in the room, lightening Halden's mood.