Forker removes his hand from Dec’s body and slowly straightens in his seat, his jaw pulsing. I know the same thoughts are going through his head. If Lowesy runs, I’m not sure who will hurt him worse, Fork or Caulfield.
“Dec,” Seth whispers.
“I have never been nervous like this in my life,” he says, his voice shaking. Forker reaches across the island and grabs the water, twisting it open and handing it to him. Declan takes it with a trembling hand. “I couldn’t sleep. I can’t eat. I amsonauseous, I feel like I’m going to pass out.”
“Okay,” I say slowly. “We can go for a walk. Get some fresh air.”
EJ nods in agreement.
“Declan,” Seth says carefully, grabbing a stool. He pulls it up next to him, pushes his glasses higher up his nose and sits, reaching up to place his hand on his best friend’s shoulder. “I’m only going to ask you this once and I need you to be honest with me.”
Declan returns his head to his hands, but he dips his chin.
“Are you…” Seth starts, and he pauses, swallowing, as if this question breaks his heart. “Are you getting cold feet?”
Declan’s head snaps up so fast that I flinch backward. He reaches over without thinking and smacks Seth across the back of the head. The second his hand makes contact, he retracts it and blanches, realizing what he’s done.
Seth blinks slowly, head still at an angle. “Okay,ow.”
“Fuck, I’m sorry,” Declan whispers, eyes wide. He reaches for Seth, petting his head like a dog. A bit of colour comes back to hischeeks. “That was just the dumbest question I’ve ever heard. No.No.Never. I just want this day to go perfectly for her. I want her to finally be able to enjoy it without being so stressed. She was a wreck on the drive down here. I don’t want to fuck it up, and thesevows?—”
He groans in agony.
Forker hands him his water again, like he doesn’t know what else to do but hydrate him.
“I can’t memorize these fucking vows.”
I’m stunned to see tears burning in his eyes.
“You don’t have to memorize them,” Wyatt says calmly. “We got you that little book, remember? Copy them there. You’re allowed to hold it during the ceremony, D. The wedding planner isn’t going to take you out back and shoot you for reading them.”
Lowesy swallows, finally taking a sip of water. “I just want her to…believeme when I say them.”
The room goes quiet.
Seth smiles softly, like he finally understands.
EJ lets out a little laugh. “Aw, D.”
“I love her so fucking much,” he murmurs, his voice breaking. “And she’s put in so much work for this wedding and I’ve done next to nothing. This is theonething I want to get right andI can’t.”
Seth nods, placing his hand on Lowesy’s arm. “She loves you. You can’t mess this up, even if it’s not perfect. Perfection isn’t what this day is about.”
“And we’ll go over those vows, front to back, all fucking morning if we have to,” EJ says, biting into a croissant. “If you want to memorize them, we’ll work on them, but we’ll copy them down anyway, just in case.”
Declan’s breathing evens out a bit.
“And she believes you, man,” Wyatt says, a crooked smile on his mouth. He leans across the island and pats Dec on the head,letting his touch linger for comfort. “She believes you every single day. You have to stop worrying that she doesn’t.”
“I love her,” he whispers to himself, hiding his face. He’s overwhelmed and in tears, and it’s something only she can fix, but he won’t be allowed to see her for hours.
I feel an ache of sympathy for him. I wonder what that kind of love feels like.
“She loves you, too,” Fork murmurs, rubbing his back now. “And the moment you see her in whatever stunning dress she’s picked out, all of these worries are going to go right out the window.”
“Exactly,” Seth agrees.
“You’re going to see the exact same feelings in her eyes when she’s walking toward you,” I tell him, and I believe that. His hazel, tear-filled gaze flickers up to me. “And you’ll know she believes you.”
