“Oh. Yeah. I guess you were right, then.” I couldn’t remember the ending of Game of Thrones, or even having this conversation with him. Neither did I care.

I eyed his arm in front of me again. He’d been working out since we’d ended things. I felt light-headed.

“Anyway, it was just a funny thing I remembered about us and, well, you know, the way things were.” He removed his arm from the wall and took a step closer to me. Close enough that I could smell his aftershave. It wasn’t his usual Polo Blue by Ralph Lauren that I used to buy him, but some other alien scent. It threw me more than his closeness. Maybe even more than this whole wedding. How much of him had changed? The question echoed in my mind yet again. How much had stayed the same?

“I’d better let you go, Ams. Don’t want to keep you away from your party.”

And he turned and left, leaving me there feeling like I had to piece myself back together all over again. No one has ever had this much power over me. No one ever would; I’d make sure of that.

I leaned against the wall—the same wall that Spencer had casually leaned on just moments ago—and tried to steady my breathing.

“You okay?” It was Tehani this time, impeccably balanced on a pair of the highest, pointiest heels I’ve ever seen. I plastered on something that resembled a smile.

“Yes, of course. Thank you.”

“You look like you’ve just seen someone die or something.”

Not someone. Just me. Just me over and over again.

I forced a little laugh, trying to come up with an excuse. I was about to reply when the tall redhead I had seen at the cocktail party raced past both of us.

“Excuse me, ladies,” she called, not looking over as she made her way into the bathroom.

“God, what a bitch.” Tehani giggled before turning back to me. “You sure you’re all right?”

“You know, I think the champagne went straight to my head.”

Tehani rolled her eyes. “It’s the Moët, I’m telling you. Always gives me a headache too. I told Amma not to be ridiculous and to serve the Veuve instead, or at least some Dom, you know? But they wanted to save the cases for the actual wedding.” She sighed dramatically.

I just nodded like I knew what she was talking about, the politics of expensive champagne the last thing on my mind.

“Shall I get you some water or something?”

“I’m fine, really.”

“Want to head back inside, then? I have a secret stash of Cristal behind the bar. You should stick to that from now on.”

We made it back to the crowd and Tehani dissolved into it while I continued to float around looking very much like I didn’t belong.

And then, finally, as the orange sunset faded away into an inky purple sky, Kaavi took the microphone and announced that the crowd was making its way down to the beach for the after-party. She bade a pointed good night to her mother—making it clear that the older generation was not welcome anymore—and then half the party took off their heels and traipsed, already unsteady after the many glasses of bubbly, across the hotel to the old wing.