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Holly dipped out from under me and moved into the bedroom. “Sorry. We’re having breakfast at your mom’s, then spending the day primping. I have to run over to the barn and make sure the decorations are in order, too.”
My stomach sank. I wouldn’t see her again until the ceremony, where she’d be standing up for Sarah, and I’d be next to Knox.
“Are you okay?” I asked, pulling on sweats and sitting on the side of the bed while she dressed.
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I don’t know.” It feels like you’re avoiding me? At night, we had just enough time to have sex and drift off with little to no conversation. We hadn’t had time to connect in the way I wanted to. I felt time slipping away from me. What if something was wrong, and she didn’t come to me to talk about it? What if she ran?
Holly stepped in front of me, and I pulled her between my legs. Holding on to the back of her thighs, I said, “I love you.”
She smiled down at me. “I love you, too.”
“I want some time with just us.”
“I want that, too,” Holly said, but her shoulders were stiff, and her eyes wouldn’t quite meet mine.
Something was going on with her, and I didn’t think it was just wedding preparations.
She kissed me softly, her hands resting on my shoulders. “We’ll have time together tonight.”
When she went to move away, I captured her wrist, stopping her. “I’ll hold you to that.”
She flashed me a smile. “I can’t wait.”
When she left, I took a shower, wondering what I’d do for the few hours leading up to the wedding. I scrambled some eggs and drank coffee. After I cleaned the dishes, there was a knock at the door.
“Come on. We’re getting out of here.” Emmett gestured toward his truck, where Knox was in the passenger side seat, and Heath, Sebastian, and Cole were sitting in the bed.
“What’s going on? Is Knox running from his wedding?” If I thought he was making a mistake, I would have been on board. But Sarah and Addy were the best thing that ever happened to him.
Knox opened the door and got out. “Get in. We’re holding a good old-fashioned bachelor party.”
“On the day of the wedding?” I asked as I stepped off the porch.
“We’ll keep the drinking to a minimum,” Heath yelled from the back of the truck.
“Speak for yourself,” Cole grumbled.
When I passed Knox, I said, “You better be marrying Sarah today. I want Addy more than I want you in the family.”
Knox punched my shoulder. “I’m marrying Sarah. Emmett thought I needed to let off some steam before the wedding.”
“He was pacing, and I couldn’t take it anymore,” Emmett said as he got in.
“You were tasked with babysitting him, and you couldn’t handle it?” I teased Emmett as I climbed into the back.
Emmett glared at me as he turned to back up the truck. “I thought we could have one last hurrah as brothers.”
The back window was open so we could still talk to them in the cab.
“We didn’t do that when you got married.”
“We’re making up for it today.” Everyone fell silent as he drove over the bumpy lane to the pond. He parked it at the end of the lane, and we piled out. Heath grabbed a cooler, probably filled with beers, and we set up camp by the water.
Emmett pulled out camp chairs while Heath started the fire.
When we were seated, a beer in our hands, Heath asked, “Are you going to fix the lights in the pond?”
