“There’s the happy couple,” Leyla said, hugging us both as soon as we walked in. “Mike, I see you haven’t scared her off.”
Ren laughed and teased, “Not yet.”
Niko and Leyla laughed as we all walked into the kitchen, where Vicky was standing with open arms for Ren. “Mike, you better not mess this up if you know what’s good for you.”
“Why are your women ganging up on me?” I asked Niko and Miles.
Niko put his hands up, not willing to scold his wife even as a joke, and Miles did the same. “Big babies,” I muttered.
Ren had an arm slung around Vicky, and I wished it were me as I watched them laugh at something Leyla whispered. Leyla was trouble, that one.
“Listen. First thing you learn in husband school is ‘happy wife, happy life.’ You’ll find out soon enough,” Miles said, laying out plates for pizza.
“Dude, she looks pretty happy to me,” I said, bringing down glasses from the cabinet as I pointed to my fiancé.
“That’s because I’m about to eat pizza. Nothing to do with you,” she teased.
Feigning shock, I said, “Can’t believe you’re choosing pizza over me, Ms. Valenti.” I walked over and stood in front of her, my hands on my hips. She looked up at me with a wide grin.
“Do you mean to frighten me, Mr. Darcy, by coming in all your glory to hear me?” she asked, making the girls “ooooo” and high-five each other. “Do you have a long coat by any chance?” Her question made the girls whoop even louder.
“Oh, come on. Is it that Pride and Prejudice movie again?” I said, rolling my eyes and stepping away from her.
“Yup. But you, my goofy friend, arenoMr. Darcy,” Leyla said, pushing me away from Ren even further.
“Pfft. What’s he got that I don’t?” I groused.
“Plenty,” Vicky and Leyla said simultaneously.
“I can get a long coat and go walking in the mist for Ren, whatever that means,” I offered, making her howl with laughter.
Miles gave me a once-over, his eyebrow high, and said, “Huh. You’ve got the height for it. Yeah, you might be able to pull it off.”
Pointing to him, I said, “See,he’smy friend.”
“If you’re going to do a proper Mr. Darcy, Mike, you’re going to need to get the hand flex down,” Niko said, sneaking a carrot from the salad and doing something weird with his hand.
I frowned. “Hand flex? What’s with the hand flex?”
“Yes,” all three women crooned and pretended to swoon as the others caught them.
“I forgot about that part. Yeah, you’ll have to get that right or else the walking in the mist is useless,” Miles said, nodding. He was now also making some weird motion with his hand.
“Dude, got a cramp or something?” I asked, my eyes fixed on whatever they were doing. Leyla, Vicky, and Ren were watching them both with wide eyes.
“Stop that, you’re creeping me out,” I told them, confused, and a bit grossed out.
“Jealousy isn’t a good look on you, Walker,” Niko said smugly.
“How is it possible I’m the only one who doesn’t know about this movie? Niko, just remember I was the one who taught you about romcoms when you were trying to win over Leyla,” I said, watching Leyla’s eyes go wide as I returned the smug smile to my best friend.
“Are you seriously taking credit for my husband’s swoony moves?” she asked incredulously. Niko glared at me, so I let him off the hook. After all, he did help me out with this movie I apparently needed to watch soon.
“Nah, he had his own rad moves. All that Turkish stuff and whatnot. So, what kind of pizza we got?” I asked, redirecting the conversation. Luckily, Sofia and Luke rang the doorbell, and I was saved.
I winked at Niko, and he shook his head with a grin. Ren walked over to me and said, “I sure hope you’re better than Miles and Luke with their horrendous choice of pizza toppings I’ve heard about.”
“Hey, I just got here. Why amIbeing thrown under the bus?” Luke asked, washing his hands and grabbing a plate.
