Arden shakes her head, chewing on the side of her cheek. “She’ll be fine once she’s with the crew.”
“I got this, Sweets. Anything else?” Carter asks calmly, shutting the trunk. He gestures toward the car, telling us to get in.
Arden and I both glance at each other before we take the hell off.
This has been a thing since their relationship started—fighting for the back seat so that the other can take the front. I’m faster, and I launch myself into the back and slam the door shut behind me, watching her glare at me through the tinted window.
She storms to the front and gets inside, whirling on me. “It would really make me happy if we started alternating.”
“You’re his girlfriend, you get the front.” We’ve had this conversation five hundred times by this point.
“You’re his sister.”
It goes the same way every single time.
“I can assure you, he’d rather have you up there.”
Carter opens the door and slides inside the car, phone still at his ear. “Let me talk to Lowesy, alright?”
There’s a pause as he starts the ignition.
“Hey, man. Take me off speaker,” he says. There’s another beat of silence. “Get her a fucking cinnamon bun at the next exit. Don’t let her touch another coffee unless she actually needs it. I’m going to get the kids’ shit right now, and I got your text. Where are the rings?”
Arden and I gasp at the same time. He holds up his hand to shut us up.
I cover my mouth, shock running through me.
He didn’t!
“The collars might be by the…bowl by the entryway. Got it.” Declan must be speaking in code, since the bride’s ear is only a few feet away from the groom’s balls. “Don’t worry. Don’t tell her. If she asks about them, tell her they’re packed away somewhere safe. If she wants to see them when you get home, say that you gave them to Seth for safekeeping.”
Hedid!
Carter stares out the window for a second. “Don’t freak out. She’s going to fucking smell it on you, man. I’ll sort it all out.”
Arden is wide-eyed, staring at the side of his face. This is the next-level type of bad. The rings are the worst things that you can forget, second maybe to the dress and the dress alone.
“I’ll see you in a few hours. Relax and drive safe, alright? If you think of anything else, let me know. Our flight leaves in three and half hours.”
Another pause.
“Love you, too, Handsome.”
Carter hangs up and lets out a long breath, resting his head against the seat, his eyes shutting behind his black sunglasses.
“He forgot the rings?” Arden whispers, terror woven through every syllable.
“He forgot the fucking rings,” Carter confirms, sitting upright and pushing the vehicle into drive. He shakes out his shoulders a bit. “But we’ll get them. It’s all going to be just fine. Nothing is ruining this wedding.”
“Oh my god,” Arden says, covering her mouth with her hands.
We get the dog collars and the rings. Carter says nothing when he returns with Declan’s shoes, too, which he also forgot near the door. Clearly, the anxiety is going both ways betweenthe bride and the groom. I’m surprised all three dogs made it into the car at all.
The rest of the trip is effortless. Our flight is on time, our layover is short, and we touch down on Canadian soil, exit the small airport, and step into the sweetest little city. I smile, glancing around at a new place, excited to discover a part of Declan and Penny’s history. Their home. They talk about this city like it’s infused with magic.
A black SUV waits at the curb, its hazards on. Carter waves his hand.
A handsome, long-haired man with darling green eyes hops out and heads back to the trunk. He blows a bright pink bubble, a little smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
