"Where are you moving to?"
Kace sounds angry. But since I know he has no reason to be angry, I chalk it up to concern once more. Everything is happening fast, but considering the clock is ticking in regard to my due date, I have to move fast. "The apartment above London's Lattes. It's only a one bedroom, but it's fine for now. Plenty of space for me and baby."
The guests quickly fall in line to offer their congratulations to the happy couple, and our conversation ends when we find ourselves drawn into hugs from the Babes, chatting with other members of Gabe's crew and eventually Zoey, who murmurs how happy she is to see how well I look now compared to before.
I quickly fill her in on my happy news, all too aware of Kace listening to every word and frowning at all of it.
The line moves and finally ends while the photographer gets us all back down the aisle to the gorgeous arch for photos. The pictures taken with me standing by Bronwyn are no big deal, but then Bronwyn insists on Kace taking a photo with "his girls" since they're all dressed up, and Dani immediately grabs my hand and says I have to be in the picture too.
Everyone goes still. Even Sully, who usually has a comment to make about everything. I open my mouth to make an excuse when Kace says, "One or two won't hurt. For old time's sake."
Old time's sake? I want to protest. I do. But I can't find the words, especially when, if I'm honest, I'd like a keepsake of our time together as well. Maybe it's stupid or silly or selfish. Maybe it's sadistic. But I do.
The photographer positions us but insists on taking more than one, rearranging us several times and using one of us to balance Kace so he can stand without his crutches.
The last position is of me standing, turned toward Kace with Dani to my right and Madi to his left. Photo snapped, I look up at Kace, and we lock gazes as the world disappears for several long seconds before I gently tug Dani back and place her beside her father. "Now you three."
Watching them pose without me should've been easier. Instead, it feels like practice for the goodbye I'm still not ready to make.
Chapter 36
Kace
I'm so cranky I take myself off to the table farthest away from everyone for the majority of the reception, even though I'm supposed to be sitting with the rest of the wedding party.
It's a gorgeous afternoon, with a cool breeze and enough shade from the buildings to keep the majority of the guests at the tables outside. They're filled with nonstop laughter and conversation, while I wallow in my dark mood.
I don't like the thought of Lindsey living on her own. Not when she's been so sick.
Admiring her from a distance has become a convenient excuse for staring at her the way I am. One that prevents me from having to decide whether I’m going to keep hiding behind my responsibilities or step up and fight for her.
"Those were some great pictures you took earlier," Sully says as he plants himself beside me. "My man, Lindsey looks hot in that dress."
"Watch it," I growl, sliding him a glare.
"Just stating the obvious."
That he is. I about swallowed my tongue when I first saw her in her maid-of-honor dress. And even knowing she's pregnant with someone else's kid, she knocked my socks off.
But chemistry has never been an issue when it comes to Lindsey. It's everything else that's in the way. She's been pregnant since day one of knowing her, so I've always thought of her as a package deal. I'm a single dad, so it's not like Lindsey or any other woman wouldn't be asked to accept a child that's not hers, and I am perfectly fine with doing the same.
If it was only about me, I'd go for it. Go for her. But I have the girls to consider in this, like everything else, and I'm jaded enough to worry about things not working out, having already failed at marriage once.
But that's where I am. What I'm thinking. Maybe it's the bride and groom staring so happily into each other's eyes or maybe it's the fact I haven't been able to take my eyes off Lindsey all afternoon, but I can see us as more. What I can't see is how we get there. "What are you doing later?"
"Nothing much. Why?" Sully asks.
Hudson Blackwell and Jameson Dean saunter over to where we sit and grab seats. "What about you two? What are you doing later?"
"Today? This is it," Hud says.
"Same. Maybe some surfing later if the wind keeps up," Jameson says.
I shake my head. "I've got something that needs doing, and it can't wait. You up for pitching in?"
Sully smirks. "Does this have anything to do with a certain gorgeous maid of honor?"
Hudson's head practically makes a full circle. "Does it?"
