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“You know, son, they say you should never mix business and pleasure,” Dad quipped. He set his plate down so he could release a deep belly laugh without dropping his food.
“Luke,” Mom said, “this isn’t funny. This is our only son’s future.”
“Are you having fun, son?” Dad asked.
“Inventing things?” Gabe intentionally left out what those things were and nodded. “Yeah, I’m having a ton of fun.”
“And do you feel challenged by your work? Do you feel passionate about it?” Dad pressed. Though he’d recently retired, he was clearly wearing his college advisory professor hat at the moment.
“Absolutely.”
“And do you honestly think this venture can financially support your new family?”
Gabe glanced at Melanie and smiled. “I do.”
“Then I’m proud,” Dad said.
Mom reached forward to pat Gabe’s knee. “I’m proud too, but I’ll crow about your success quietly to myself, if you don’t mind.”
Gabe laughed. “I don’t mind.”
“What exactly are you tangled up in, Melanie?” Mark asked his daughter.
“It’s just a business, Dad. You know how much I’ve always wanted to run my own business. I just never had a pro
duct worth producing and selling. And well . . . Now I do.”
“Kids these days,” Mark said, shaking his head, but the subject shifted to the weather, and Gabe felt an immense sense of relief.
His parents claimed to be proud of him even though they knew all about—well, maybe not all about—his new business venture, and Mark hadn’t hog-tied Melanie, thrown her in the trunk of his car, and hauled her back to Kansas, so all was right in his world. Well, almost everything was perfect. His band was still a mess, but if they never got back together, he could have a long and satisfying, truly happy and blessed life with Melanie at his side.
A tall figure moved into his peripheral vision, and Gabe glanced up into a pair of mirrored sunglasses. Jacob crouched beside him.
“So a little birdy told me that you were in need of my services,” Jacob said. He peered around Gabe and waved at Melanie. “Hello there, little birdy.”
Gabe looked from Melanie, who was positively beaming, to Jacob.
“Your services?” Gabe asked.
“As your best man.” Jacob lifted his hands. “If I heard wrong, I’ll quietly back away and you can pretend this never happened.”
“You’re not getting off that easy,” Gabe said, the kernel of hope that Sole Regret would reconcile bursting into full bloom. Jacob had come. He did still care. “Jacob, will you do me the honor of being my best man at my wedding?”
“Dude, that sounded like a marriage proposal.”
Jacob shoved him, but Gabe was too damned happy to flash his man card and slip into caveman mode to save face. “Well? Will you?”
“How can I say no to you, Banner? I’ll be there.”
“Go grab some food,” Melanie said. She scooted over to pat the grass between herself and Gabe. “I saved a spot for you.”
“I can’t stay. Tina doesn’t know I’m here, but I did want to make an appearance. Congratulations, by the way. You’ll have to send all the wedding info to my secret email account unless you want Tina as up in your business as she is in mine.”
“Why don’t you just get rid of her?” Gabe asked. Problem solved.
“I’ll never get rid of her,” Jacob said, “until she wants to get rid of me.”
Gabe frowned. Apparently the guy was still off his rocker.
“I also heard that Adam is getting married,” Jacob said. “True?”
“Yeah. I don’t think they’re in the same rush that me and Melanie are in though.”
“Why are you in a rush?” Jacob asked. He leaned around Gabe to look at Melanie. “Did he go and knock you up already?”
Her cheeks went delightfully pink. “Well . . . this isn’t exactly how I wanted to tell him . . .”
Gabe’s heart skipped a beat and started thudding at a tempo even the fastest drummer alive couldn’t hope to match.
“Wait,” he said, breathlessly. “Does that mean . . .”
Melanie nodded. “According to the little stick I peed on this morning, you’re going to be a daddy.”
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her with every shred of passion he possessed. His world had never been so thoroughly rocked, and he was one hundred percent ready to roll with his sweet Melanie forever, no matter what challenges life might bring their way.
