“Exactly,” she says, leaning forward. She pats my shoulder again. “It’s just a bump, Forker. She’s not going anywhere. Why don’t you finish your drink, call her, and ask her if she’d like some chicken nuggets delivered to her house, since she just finished an exceptionally long shift.”
Chicken fucking nuggets. The ultimate Arden Doll cheat code.
I glance at her, a smile tugging at my lips. “You playing cupid, Sweets?”
She beams up at me, her head rolling against my arm. “Paying back the favour.”
I’m at her door with chicken nuggets within the hour.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
carter
Boston leans against the railing,sips his Jack and Coke, and stares out toward the water at the back of the Lowes and Sweeten property. It’s gorgeous here. Peaceful. With all the greenery enclosing the place, and the water that seems to silence the world, I’d spend forever on this balcony if I lived in this house.
I mirror his position, peering out at the outskirts of the life Lowesy has made for himself.
This technically isn’t my day of the week, but Arden jumped at the chance to be here. I mean, who wouldn’t have? This isthenight. For two of the best people in the world.
Lowesy called me two days ago to let me know what he was about to do, and she was my very first call the second I hung up the phone.
I wonder if Boston is having the same thoughts as I am right now. We’re here. Celebrating love. We’ve watched this love story unfold, battled through the trenches with Dec,justto get to tonight. We’re here, we’re happy for them, and we have none of it ourselves.
My throat tightens when I think about it.
Lowesy has it all. The house. The job. The girl. The kids, in whatever way that looks for him.
Now, he’s going to have a wife.
I envy him in a lot of ways. He didn’t want a relationship, but he wanted her. He had no intention of settling down, but he couldn’t live without her. It’s the shit you watch in movies, the moments you read about in books. It’s a rarity. An eclipse. A story that people refer to when they want proof that love still exists.
There are a lot of people inside that house right now who are waiting for them to come home from dinner so that we can celebrate. So many people who have come all the way from Canada and are chomping at the bit to congratulate them on the next step of their love story.
And I’m out here. Wondering if this ever happens for me.
“You good?”
I glance beside me and nod, bringing my beer to my lips.
“How are things with Arden?”
I shrug. “They’re fine.”
“Just fine?”
I look right into his dark green eyes. Right into that stupid face that studies me with way too much care for someone who acts like he hates the world.
“It’s new.”
“It’s fucking bullshit, that’s what it is,” he says bluntly, blowing a pink bubble with his gum.
I blink, startled, but he stands up straighter and turns to face me.
“You going to keep lying to my face or can we move on from this?”
I’m shocked for two reasons. One, that he knows, and two, that he’d question me about it at all.
Boston is a quiet guy. He values his privacy more than anyone I’ve ever met. He comes from a very long line of disappointments and would prefer nobody knows about all of those sore spots. He understands better than most that if someone doesn’t offer you information, it’s probably because they don’t want you to know.
