This better not be a joke.
He smirks, shrugging. “Open it.”
I glance beside me. Penny is digging her fork into her cinnamon roll, a knowing smile on her face. I think she’s exceptionally satisfied that I grovelled for her man’s forgiveness.
I flip open the box and almost die of relief.
Thankgod.
My name stares up at me, etched into the side of an expensive flask. There is a wrapped cigar on one side of the box. Gold cufflinks, cologne, a bottle of Jager, and a new pair of Raybans. But I don’t care about any of that. I lift up the small, black card and slip it from its envelope.
Suit Up, Fork.
I let out a breath and drop my head between my shoulders. “I’m a groomsman?”
“If you want to be,” Declan says.
“Of course, I fucking want to be,” I mutter. I stand from the table and beeline right for him. He has a smug but pleased look on his face. He’s happy he taught me a lesson, even happier than I begged him in a dog costume. “It’ll be an honour, man.”
I smack my hand into his and pull him to my chest.
“Anything for my biggest fan.”
I groan. I’m never living this down. “Can’t we just have a nice moment?”
When I pull away, he squeezes me tighter, not letting me go. He looks me right in the eye. “You know that you were always going to be up there with me, right?”
I swallow. I hoped, but I wasn’t sure for a second there.
“Youalsoknow that we have a camera out front, and that performance is going to live on for eternity,” Penny chimes in.
Arden breaks into the most beautiful, melodic laughter in the world, and I can’t even muster up a morsel of anger when Penny brings up the video and we all gather around her phone to watch me humiliate myself.
I’m a fucking groomsman.
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
arden
I dropmy phone after texting Carter the update. I’m here to visit Wanton, and when I walked into the building this morning, bright-eyed and excited to visit, Shelly was rushing around the desk and pulling me into a hug I wasn’t expecting.
It was as I handed her the tea I’d brought on Carter’s behalf that she told me every dog but Wanton had been adopted.
Carter’s money had successfully gotten all the current canine residents into homes. Tears burn behind my eyes as I round the corner and find Wanton sleeping on his bed. I smile, so relieved for the other dogs, but so heartbroken for him. His ears perk up as I crouch beside the kennel.
“Your time will come,” I whisper, placing my hand on the door. “Your soulmate is just around the corner, buddy.”
He lifts his head to look at me.
I smile, pulling my book from my bag. By the time I’m done reading two chapters, Wanton is curled up next to the door, eyes on me, listening as I read him a story he can’t understand. It doesn’t matter, though. He wants to hear it.
“I’m glad that my celibacy is making you so happy.”
I grin, bringing my coffee to my lips. It’s mid-afternoon, Carter is at my place after practice. I gave him hard copies of some of the leftover bills from November, like I usually do, but he barely even looked at them. He’s lounging on my couch, feet up on the table, pretending not to be ecstatic that those dogs are all in warm, loving homes now.
All but Wanton.
“For the greater good,” I remind him.
