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“I can feel your eyes on my ass. Make sure you keep your focus on the bride and groom out there, yeah? I know you’ll want to keep checking me out, but we’re here to celebrate our friends. Keep your priorities straight, Cupcake.”
And with that, he exits the guest room and leaves me in stunned silence.
“Fucker,” I mutter, a wave of annoyance washing through me.
I give myself a few minutes to calm down from our exchange before grabbing my phone and duffel bag and exiting the bedroom. I take my personal belongings to my vehicle, and as I’m getting ready to go back inside, I see Blair and my brother, Gabe, pull into the driveway, so I hang back and wait for them.
“Is this not the best day for a wedding?” Blair asks, sliding out of the passenger seat of Gabe’s truck.
“It is, and my goodness, you are smokin’ in that dress, Blair,” I state, fanning my face as she heads my way.
Blair pauses and does a little spin, showing off her light blue dress, a similar color as mine but in a halter top style. Where mine sits just above my knees, her hits just below hers. When we went shopping together early last month, we were able to secure Ellie’s wedding dress and our bridesmaid dresses at the same place, which was a huge relief to get that crossed off the to-do list.
“Stay back. This beauty is all mine,” Gabe announces, wrapping his arms around Blair’s waist and pulling her into his chest. They make out like the cute, completely in love couple they are.
“Eww, gross. Stop, please. I just ate and the last thing I want to do is have my lunch return because my brother is making out with his girlfriend in front of me,” I mutter, sticking my tongue out and closing my eyes.
“Fiancée.”
“What?” I ask, eyes flying open as I look at the two people in front of me. “Seriously?”
Blair holds up her hand and flashes a large solitaire diamond, and my heart sings with happiness. Blair was my best friend growing up, and even though she moved away right before our senior year of high school, we remained close and in contact. Three winters ago, she came to Pine Village for a visit and ended up hooking up with my big brother. It was for one night, but when she returned to town that next summer to help her dad at his medical practice, that one night turned into love. Now, she’s going to be my sister, and I couldn’t be happier.
“We’re not telling anyone though. Today is Ellie and TD’s day,” she insists, a smile on her lips as she gazes down at her ring.
“I’m so proud of you, big brother. You finally got off your ass,” I josh. I knew this day was coming, I just didn’t know when. “When’s the big day?”
“I’d marry her tomorrow if she’d let me,” Gabe states, peering down at his fiancée with so much love it makes my heart skip a beat to witness.
“Soon,” Blair says. “We’ve been talking about starting a family.”
“Yay!” I bellow, throwing my arms around them both and squeezing. “I’m going to be the best aunt ever.”
“You will,” Gabe agrees.
“I was going to take off the ring for today,” Blair says, a look of concern in her eyes. And I get it. She doesn’t want to take away from Ellie by announcing her engagement on their wedding day.
“You better not!”
We all look over at the window at the far left of the house. The very window Ellie is standing in front of, without a care of who might see her.
“Seriously! Get in here so I can see that ring,” Ellie hollers through the open window.
“Come on. Let’s not keep the bride waiting,” I say, reaching for my best friend’s hand. Even though she places hers inside mine, she pauses and turns to kiss Gabe. “Eww, stop,” I mumble. “We don’t have time to suck face.”
“There’s always time to suck face, Hal,” my disgusting brother proclaims before locking lips with my bestie once more.
With a groan, I turn and enter the house. Before I can close the door, my brother is there, escorting Blair inside. She slips her arm in mine and as my brother heads toward the opposite end of the house where the two smaller bedrooms are located, Blair and I go in search of the bride in the master suite.
The door opens as soon as we approach. “Get in here,” Ellie proclaims, reaching for Blair’s hand and zeroing in on the ring on her finger. “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe you’re engaged. Finally!”
Blair rolls her eyes playfully. “We weren’t in a hurry. Between my dad’s health, moving into Gabe’s house, and then finishing the remodel, we’ve had our hands full.”
“How is your dad?” Ellie asks, still ogling the ring on Blair’s finger.
“Much better. He’s spending all his free time with Aggie and Patience,” she says, referring to her eight-year-old sister, Agnes, and her stepmom, who just so happens to be about seven years older than our thirty-six years.
“Aggie is going to be so excited to help plan a wedding,” I say. Blair spends a lot of time with her young half sister, as well as rebuilding her relationship with her father, Frank, and stepmom. It hasn’t been easy, considering Blair was seventeen when her father’s affair with his nurse, Patience, came to light, breaking up their home. But over time, she’s forgiven them both and has relocated back to Pine Village with my brother and joined him in taking over Frank’s medical practice.
