Katie started to turn to Dallas, but McKenzie swatted her with a pillow. “Don’t look at him. Look at me.”
“And me,” Jo demanded, narrowing her eyes at Katie.
Katie sighed, and a sheepish smile crept over her face. “We were going to tell you when we got back.”
“Holy shit,” Derek said, his eyes widening.
“Oh my God,” Jo shrieked, her voice a high-pitched dog whistle in my ear. “You’re getting married?”
Dallas held up his hands like he’d been caught stealing from the cookie jar. “We got the marriage license yesterday.”
“You sneaky bitches,” McKenzie said through a wide grin.
“Actually,” Katie began, swallowing hard. “We got married yesterday.”
“On your lunch break?” McKenzie asked, her mouth dropping open. “Geez, that only took an hour? They really need to make that more difficult.”
Jo’s face froze in horror.
“We decided we wanted to do it for the trip,” Katie explained. “It’s next to impossible to find times where everyone can be in town, and this trip came up last minute. We wanted to jump on the opportunity.”
Jo opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.
“I think you broke her,” McKenzie said, gesturing toward Jo with her thumb.
“Please don’t be mad,” Katie pleaded. “We were going to tell you as soon as we got back. We thought we’d plan a reception later this year so we can give plenty of lead time for everyone to clear their schedules.”
“Why didn’t you call me?” Jo squeaked. “I would have been at the courthouse.”
“You guys didn’t get back in town till today,” Katie reminded her before turning toward McKenzie. “And you had to hold down the fort at work.”
“And I’m chopped liver,” I teased as she shook her head and rolled her eyes. “But really, congratulations, you two. That’s—”
“I don’t accept this,” Jo said, rising to her feet.
Dallas scratched his temple. “It’s too late for—”
“I said I don’t accept.” Jo crossed her arms. “No. Did you write your own vows and say them at the courthouse?”
“No,” Katie said. “We were just so excited and living in the moment—”
“Katie, you always wanted that,” Jo said, cutting her off. “To write your own vows, have a champagne toast, and wear a pretty dress.”
“Yeah, but I also wanted the Italian honeymoon, and I don’t know…When this trip came up, it felt like a sign,” Katie said. “Then yesterday, I looked at Dallas and realized I didn’t want to spend another day not married to him.”
Dallas gazed at her, his eyes warm with emotion. “So, I asked her to make an honest man out of me, and she said yes.”
“The timeline just got jumbled a little,” Katie said with a soft laugh.
Jo’s lips pressed into a firm line. “I’m going to give you a wedding tomorrow.Weare.”
“What?” Katie’s brow furrowed. “You can’t do that, Jo. I appreciate the gesture, but there’s not enough time. Liv and Jax are on the road. There’s no way Ella and Cash or Grace can get here that fast. Or Antoni.”
“They’ll be here for the reception,” Jo said, already pacing the living room. “But you deserve to have a wedding, Katie. We’re here, and we want to celebrate you.”
She looked to McKenzie for backup, but McKenzie just shrugged. “I do, but I’m a lot less pushy about it.”
“Even if we wanted to, we have so much to do before we leave Sunday,” Dallas said. “We don’t have time to plan a wedding.”
