“Why wouldn’t we use every excuse to celebrate?” Charlie pulled herself out of her conversation with Lila to chime in.
“And you just let her run your life?” I asked, not intending to come across as an asshole. But, judging from Oliver’s sharp elbow digging into my side and the dirty look Lila shot me, I probably had.
Nathan didn’t look offended. He just shrugged and said, “Basically.”
Charlie beamed up at him and shook her head slightly. “Please, you’re insanely stubborn.”
“I think you’re thinking of you.”
They continued to banter back and forth. Even though they were just talking, it felt like I was eavesdropping on some intimate moment, so I turned away.
I guess, theoretically, Nathan had a point. There were probably worse things in life than letting a beautiful, intelligent, strong-willed woman take control. Personally, it wasn’t for me. I couldn’t even fathom what that would be like. A seriousrelationship that lasted more than a couple of months had never found me—or, more accurately, I guess I had never sought one out. As far as I was concerned, you could pry my independence out of my cold, dead hands.
“Did you two have a big wedding?” Oliver asked Ben and Skylar.
Ben shrugged. “Just over a hundred people. It was back when we were still in San Diego, so we did it at a venue right on the water.”
“It was perfect,” Skylar added.
“That sounds amazing,” Lila said next to me, her voice far away, as if she were drifting in and out of a daydream.
“I thought the whole wedding thing was stupid, to tell you the truth. But it turned out to be a fucking blast. It was one of the best days of my life.” Ben lifted the fork he was holding to point at Nathan. “Nathan was there. Although I’m pretty sure he managed to dip out before the reception even got started.”
Nathan shrugged. “I saw the ceremony. I left a card. What more was there to do?”
Ben’s head shook with laughter. “So heartfelt. Damn, this guy never changes. I hope you aren’t writing your own vows.”
Oliver tilted his head back and laughed. “Could you even imagine? No way Charlie puts him through that.”
“I don’t know. I’d kind of like to see what he’d come up with,” Charlie teased.
“We’re just doing something small,” Nathan insisted. “We talked about just eloping.”
“If I’m not there, I’ll hold a grudge until the day I die,” Oliver said. “And Mom will hold one even longer than that.”
Nathan glared at his brother. “Good thing she still has you to throw a big spectacle of a celebration.”
Oliver rubbed his hands together. “Oh, you better believe it’ll be a spectacle whenever I get married. I’m thinking at least threehundred guests. We’ll do it somewhere in the mountains with a sick-ass view. Maybe I’ll even parachute into the ceremony. Or snowboard in, if it’s in the winter.”
I snorted. “Parachuting and snowboarding? Might be kind of tough when you’re finally ready to settle down at sixty.”
That got a laugh out of the rest of the table, but most noticeably from Lila. Her laugh was almost sickeningly sweet and contagious, the kind that drew you in and made you want to be a part of the joke. Usually, her laughter was something I only experienced at a distance.
“He’s got you there, Ollie,” she said.
“Hey! I could meet the right girl tomorrow. You never know.”
Oliver was a huge flirt. He liked women, and certainly saw enough of them, but he’d never been serious about anyone in his entire life. He had—what did they call it—Peter Pan syndrome. He was like a kid trapped in a twenty-seven-year old’s body. I highly doubted he’d be walking down the aisle in the next decade.
Lila and I shared a knowing look, maybe the first one in our entire relationship. I tore my eyes away quickly and threw my hackles back up.
“What about you, Harrison?” Ben asked.
“What about me?” I asked gruffly.
“Do you want a big wedding?”
“Doubt I’ll ever get married.” Marriage was something I had given absolutely zero thought to. My parents had been happily married for thirty years, so I had no reason to be outright against it, but I couldn’t fathom ever meeting a girl who would make me want to commit to her like that. The guard I had built around myself was an impenetrable fortress. The only person I had ever really let past it was Oliver, and that was only because he’d gotten through when I was six and I’d only had a few crumbling bricks up at the time.
