Beyond nice, obviously. It reminds me a bit of the farm, just a little smaller and with a more beachy vibe. The colours are completely different, too, but the architecture is similar. The ceilings are high, with exposed beams and big windows. Everything is white, blue, and beige, like the typical lakehouse you’d see on TV. The rooms on the first floor are enormous and open-concept, blending into one another, with furniture that looks as if it were plucked right out of a magazine.
And what am I focused on? The way Ariana’s eyes light up as she takes in the design.
Everyone is doing tours, finding their rooms, or signing their paperwork—and then there is Ari. She walks around the house with slow, calculated steps, eyes trailing over every inch and corner, hand gliding over different pieces of furniture and fabrics. I can practically see the ideas running through her mind. How she would make this place her own.
I force myself to look away. She’s particularly beautiful when that mind is doing its thing and I’m not supposed to notice that.
I eventually find the room that I’ll be sharing with Fork. It’s a modest size, clean and bright. I don’t really care about sleeping arrangements, I’m just here to spend time with Lowesy. We have a king-sized bed, too, so the sleep shouldn’t be awful. Arden and Ari will be sharing the room beside ours. I don’t know what I did in a past life to deserve always having her so close during witching hours, but I’m starting to wonder if this whole week is a fucking test.
When I get back into the kitchen, EJ is already on cocktail duty. He was the first to sign the papers. There wasn’t a moment of hesitancy. The rest of them have moved on from shock and refusal to acceptance to excitement. It’s the tangible kind of happiness that you can feel in the air.
I have a feeling these next three days are going to be a blast.
Lowesy wraps his arms around Penny from behind, watching Avery and Seth look over the documents and sign where they have to. He smiles as his best friend etches his name on the papers, those hazel eyes brimming with pure joy.
There are things in this life that are more important than money. This is one of those things. He’s giving his friends a place to make memories that will last a lifetime. He would have paid double for this if he had to. It’s Lowesy. He’d do anything for his people. He’d do anything and more for that girl in his arms.
Caulfield stands back, away from the fanfare, his eyes locked on the table. Saltzy is at his side, sipping on a bottle of water as they watch each person take their turn with the pen.
I approach, placing my hand on Wyatt’s shoulder. “You give them your autograph yet?”
His jaw ticks. He offers a curt shake of the head. “No.”
I cock a brow. “No?”
“Not going to.”
“Wyatt,” Saltzy says gently, but Caulfield is already shaking his head.
“They wouldn’t do this if they didn’t want to,” I remind him. I saw that look on Penny’s face. At some point, this became a dream of hers, and it’ll break both of their hearts if this moves forward without every single one of them.
“It doesn’t matter,” he grumbles, arms across his chest. “It’s too much, and who knows where I’ll be in a couple of years, anyway.”
My brow furrows, and Saltzy’s eyes snap to his face—full of unvoiced worry.
“Where the hell are you going?” I ask Wyatt.
He just shrugs. “I live in Pittsburgh now.”
I glance at Saltzy, who is studying his boyfriend’s facesocarefully. Caulfield, Lowesy, and Penny typically come home every Christmas and for a majority of the summer. The only exception this year was the wedding, where Penny was too busy to spend the entirety of those months here, so they went back and forth instead.
Caulfield stayed in Pittsburgh because… Well, I think it was because he didn’t want to be away from Saltzy for as long as he had been the year before. I never asked, and I’m not going to now. Not my business.
“You won’t be coming back anymore?” I ask.
“What?” he snaps, finally tearing his eyes from the table to glance at me. “No. Of course, I will. But I’d be the one using this place the least, and it doesn’t feel right to take equity away from the rest of them if I’ll barely be a part of it.”
“I don’t think that’s the point, Wy,” Callum murmurs.
“It’s not.”
We whirl toward that voice. Penny strides toward us, eyes locked on Wyatt’s face. His throat bobs, but he maintains a hard and unrelenting stance, as if he isn’t afraid of shooting her down to her face. He is. It’s obvious.
She marches right up to him and grabs his arm.
“Come with me.”
He goes without question, not even a moment of hesitancy.
