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“What?” Alice cut in, clearly catching only the naked part.
“I saw this super cute post-wedding photography idea,” Raven gushed immediately. “It was this little intimate photo shoot between the wedding couple… a little sexy, a little sweet… dark lighting. I want it.”
“I’ve seen those,” she said. A wide smile curled her lips as she stared at Declan. Oh, that poor fucker. She was about to piss him off. I knew that look.“Have you seen the weddin’ boudoir ones? With the couple?”
Declan choked on his water while Raven gasped.
“We should do that!” Raven turned to him.
“No!” He shook his head adamantly. “We aren’t doing that!”
“And I’m not singing to you all day long,” I chimed in.
“But the bride wants it…” She pouted, and I looked away, focusing hard on my brother. I refused to stare at her and her witchy magic skills.
“If the bride wants it, you got to do it, boy,” Cole told him with a laugh.
“You should let him wear flannel for it,” Finn offered up loud enough for everyone to hear. Fuck me. I should’ve thought of that.
Declan groaned, and his head dropped to her shoulder as yet another round of lumbersnack chanting rose through the bar. I joined in enthusiastically because why the fuck not. He’d get his payback later—I had no doubt of that. But I was determined to live it up now.
Chapter 30
Killian
It took us another thirty minutes to even get to the karaoke competition. There was another round of lumbersnack chanting much to Declan’s dismay—only made better by the fact that Raven fucking started it—another round of drinks, more pirate jokes coupled with a drunken sea shanty, and then Brady and Mom decided to check the mics for us by doing the worst rendition of ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’. Cute but they both sucked at singing. Granted, we all took videos of Mom getting Brady to dance around on the stage with her.
Of course, Cole took the stage to kick off the official competition. He did every fucking year. And just like every fucking year—and probably even the last few games I’d skipped—he’d carted his whole fucking band with him. We playfully fucking booed him as he pulled off a perfect rendition of ‘Sounds Like Something I’d Do’ complete with hip movements to make Elvis jealous. The fucking man was talented. Why he stuck around a biker bar when he could’ve been bigger was beyond me. To each his fucking own, right?
Poor fucking Declan had to follow him—a slot the rest of us were glad we didn’t have to take. Singing after Cole had become something of a cursed slot. Bad shit always happened. I swear to fuck I saw Declan glancing around the stage as he took his place like he’d find a fucking snake or something hiding.
With the curse, it wouldn’t have surprised me.
“Can you even hear me?” Declan said into the mic, a little too close and a little too loud. I cringed but didn’t say shit. He shoved his hands in his pockets and just stood there. Yeah, Declan wasn’t a fucking performer. And he didn’t have the swagger or flair our younger brothers had. To top it all off, he was stone-cold sober. This whole performance was going to be a tad painful. “So, this year I wanted to sing something for my fiancé—”
“No!” Roan booed. “Stop being so cute! We don’t want it!”
“Hey! Shut your mouth!” Raven snapped, her tone sharp. “That’s my fiancé up there. Keep going, baby! I love you!”
And while Declan gave some adorable as fuck sugary speech to Raven, I watched the way Lucas and Finn giggled like fucking morons.
“What the fuck did you two do?” I asked quietly.
“We changed his song,” Finn whispered. That stupid grin on his face looked ready to break his cheeks.
“To what?” And then fucking ‘Baby Shark’ blared through every goddamn speaker in the place. We all fucking lost it. But Declan? Declan just fucking rolled with it—props to him. He stumbled his way horribly through the fucking song while Raven did the same from the table with him. Jesus Christ, if anyone needed convincing those two were made for each other, this moment right here was fucking it.
“I liked grumpy Declan more,” Lucas commented under his breath. Clearly, their adorable antics defeated the point of the prank.
“Eh, she’s good for him,” Sam said. “Though, it means we need to up our game.”
“You just have to know the right buttons to push. And now you’ve got me for that shit.” If anyone was good at getting a fucking rise out of Declan, it was me. So challenge accepted, new Declan.
When the song ended, Declan got off the stage. He wasn’t even halfway to the table before Raven met him—and Jesus fucking Christ, that woman climbed him like a tree. God, if she got that grateful over fucking ‘Baby Shark’, Declan would have no problem keeping that woman happy.
My turn followed. I had no problems taking the fucking stage. I was no Cole Stone, but I was damn good with a guitar and my voice went over with crowds damn well. Country was my go-to. I had the fucking voice for it, but I dabbled in rock from time to time. Country music had always been Mom’s thing. Learning to play songs she loved was something I enjoyed doing.
Mom liked a lot of songs—always had—but there was one song she kept close to her heart. Any time it came on, she’d just stop and listen. I always told myself I’d learn it and sing it for her but then life happened. All the bad shit happened and just kept happening.
