“December third,” Dec says, and this time, I see the warning in those golden eyes. Don’t miss this one. I miss it, and that’s my last shot gone right out the window. I fish my phone out of my pocket and enter it into my calendar before I forget. “We rented outIcebox. Fully catered. You don’t have to do anything besides show up.”
A party just for us atIcebox? Legendary. It’s probably because Sweets has finally managed to convince Elliot and Cole to put Long Island’s on the menu, and has forced them to make them just the way she likes.
“Why are you doing it here?” Boston asks, popping a few olives in his mouth. “I’d go to buttfuck nowhere, Canada to celebrate. As long as it’s not the buttfuck nowhere where I’m from.”
“I know,” Dec says with a sigh, running his hand over his face. “Since we’re going to have the wedding at home, wefigured we’d have the engagement party here. That way, those who can’t make it to both can hopefully make it to one.”
“I’m guessing we’re going to both?” Saltzy asks, reaching forward to snatch an almond. He glances beside him at Wyatt.
I blink, realizing what was just said. Said openly. In front of all of us.
Dec pauses, his lips at the rim of his beer bottle. His brow furrows just a tad, eyes flickering over to the small couch where our captain sits beside his best friend.
Cap’s looking at Wy, too. Expectantly.
I don’t know if it was a slip of the tongue or if this thing between them isn’t as much of a secret as I thought it was, but I feel like I need to push through it and act like thatwasn’ta big deal—though by the look on Caulfield’s face, he’s just as stunned as the rest of us.
“We’d go to both, right, Boss?” I ask, glancing across the little fire pit.
Boston is looking back and forth between Wyatt and Saltzy, and I watch a brief wave of realization sweep over his face before he glances at me and shrugs a shoulder, digging back into the charcuterie board like Penny made it specifically for him.
“I mean,Iwould,” he says, “but, I’m a groomsman. I don’t know whatyou’resupposed to do.”
Declan starts laughing again, and when I look back at him, I catch Saltzy winding his arm around the back of the couch where Wyatt sits. He places his hand on Wy’s neck, a soft smile touching his typically expressionless lips. Both of them take an extra second to look at each other. It’s that kind of look that tells me all I need to know. This isn’t just athing.They’re in love. Big time.
I glance at Declan, who is watching me intently, knowing exactly what I’ve caught onto. He waits for my reaction,praying that he doesn’t have to cut me out of the wedding party for a second time (I know he hasn’t asked yet, but he will. I know he will).
I know the game. I hurt one of his own, someone in his beloved crew, and there is no room for me in his life.
But he knows me well enough to know he doesn’t have to worry. I don’t give a shit who loves who. The only thing I can think about when I look at Cap and Caulfield, to be very honest with you, is how hard would it be to convince Wyatt to introduce me to Gene Saltzman?
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
arden
I yawn,glancing over at Carter. He’s hyper-focused on his game, headset half on his head so he can still hear me. I was adamant that he play since I basically begged to spend the weekend with him. I’m sore and tired after a string of night shifts, and I wanted nothing more than to move myself into his guest room and melt inside the bathtub.
He said yes before I even finished my sentence.
It’s Friday night, and I have a few days off coming up. I’ll be spending them with my fake boyfriend in his obnoxiously nice condo while he playsCall of Dutywith his friends and yells at them for hours on end. He has a game tomorrow afternoon, but he promised it would be okay if I missed it, and showed me how to pull it up on the TV instead.
I was upstairs for a bit, reading my book and sleeping on and off, but after a few hours, I snuck down here and curled up on the couch next to him like a cat. He already had a glass of red waiting for me on the coffee table.
I stretch out my legs, popping my feet onto his lap. The corner of his lip twitches upward, but he’s yelling at someoneto cover him, too focused to turn his attention on me. For one small second, he drops one hand from the controller and gives my foot a squeeze, and it’s a gesture that makes the coldest parts of me fill with warmth.
Serena sent me the medical documents yesterday. Dad’s getting worse, but I don’t think it’s as bad as she believes it to be. She’s worried, I get that, but based on everything I read—he’s just in a really, really bad flare-up. Who is to say how bad he’ll be when it’s over? Only time will tell. But, thankfully, I see no reason I have to jump on a plane just yet.
It’s quite the relief. Selfish relief.
“Give me fifteen, boys,” Carter says shortly after, pulling his headset off his head. He glances at me, squeezing my feet with both hands now. “How’s it going over there?”
I flash him a smile, leaning against the armrest. “Having the time of my life.”
Worry etches across his face. “Are you bored? Shit, sorry, we can?—”
“—Carter, I’m kidding. I crashed your party. I’m just happy to be here.”
“You didn’t crash shit,” he tells me, pushing his thumbs into the soles of my feet. I resist the urge to moan, swallowing it before it escapes. “Open door policy, Red. You know that.”
