“Delusion isn’t a good look on you, Chuckles.” She sashays off and as she reaches Deacon, he wraps her up in a warm hug and drops a kiss to her cheek. His daughter, Olive, runs up to him in a flash of dusky pink and glitter, her nanny chasing behind, and all three break out in fits of giggles as Olive slips and slides into Deacon, nearly knocking him over. She is the clumsiest kid I’ve ever known, will fall over air and blame you for it, and of course you will say sorry because she has these ridiculously huge, round brown eyes that you can’t be mad at.
“Oh, Olive’s here.” Ro squirms in my arms and I put her back down. “Come on, Ev, let’s go play with Olive.” Ria places Evelyn back down, and the pair rush off in a manic swirl of color and sparkles. Watching the girls has my thoughts wandering to a place I’ve only ever dreamed about. Sneaking a quick glance at Ria, my stomach flips. Her features have softened as she watches with such love as her nieces collide with Olive and dart through the adults’ legs, causing everyone to jump out of their way as they chase each other in fits of giggles. She never takes her eyes off them, the corners of her lips tugging up in a small, dreamy smile.
“And I thought you were chaotic.” Thomas clamps his hand on my shoulder, snapping me out of my trance. “Can I have a word?”
Flicking my eyes to Ria and noticing she’s now in an animated conversation with her mom, Lily, and Marcus, I let out a long breath and answer, “Sure.” As I follow Thomas through the crowd of wedding guests, he swipes two tumblers of scotch from a passing server, and we exit the hotel into the bright garden. Feeling sweat trickle down my spine, I try to regulate my breathing as I stand next to him, the sounds of laughter streaming in from the wedding party behind us. Thomas doesn’t say anything—just passes me a tumbler and takes a sip from his. Too nervous to say anything, I take a large gulp of my scotch and pray I’m not sweating through my shirt.
“So you and Ria.” He pauses, staring out at the twins running around the gardens with Olive hot on their tails. “You’re now a real thing.”
Okay, so Hunter has spoken with him. Jesus, I thought I was the gossip.
“Yes, and I’m sorry you had to find out from Hunter. God, I can’t believe he told you. But look—”
He holds his hand up, stopping me. “Hunter didn’t say a word.”
“Huh? But then how did you know?”
“Anyone with eyes can tell how you look at my daughter. And it’s about damn time she saw it.” Looking over at me, he gives me a warm smile. “You’ve been in love with Ria for a long time, Leo. I’m just glad you’re finally taking that leap.”
I just stare, my jaw hanging slack as he huffs out a laugh.
“You knew?”
“When you’ve been on this planet as long as I have, you learn to read people. And my boy, your dad and I have been waiting for you to wake up. But you’ve had this ridiculous idea in yourhead that you aren’t good enough. Even as a boy, you would hold back, letting others gain the glory. You hide how fucking intelligent you are with this mask of humor, but Leo, know this—you are worth so much.”
“My head is just messy and loud all the time, and I cause so much drama and she doesn’t deserve that.” At that moment, Ria appears with Jade and the girls from the other side of the patio, Kenya ushering them to gather around a whimsical oak. My eyes track her movements. She’s fluid and graceful, just floating across the space, and I get lost watching her. She’s so relaxed, so happy, that it kicks me in the gut.
“Tell me, how loud is your head when she’s near you?”
Sipping my scotch, I answer, “It’s silent.”
“I thought so.” He’s quiet for a beat, but when he finally turns to me, his expression is kind as he continues. “That calm and peace you can find with that one person—your other half—is unmatched. It’s what we all chase. It isn’t material things; it isn’t power. It's that sense of belonging, the undeniable feeling of home. If you have found that with my Ria, you fight for her. You don’t let that voice in your head tell you that you aren’t good enough for her. Only she can decide that. You’re only fighting with yourself, and only you stand in your own way of happiness. Ignore the doubt and run with the possibilities. You know more than most what it is like to have loved and lost and how the heart is never truly the same after.”
“He’s right, son.” Dad sidles next to me on my other side. As he has been a massive part of the Stone family for years, it was only right that he was here to share Hunter and Jade’s special day. “I’ve watched you for years hide your feelings for that girl. Each time a part of you cracked when you saw her with someone else, a part of me broke with you. I saw you mask it, bury it deep down, and I hated that for you. Loving someone when they don’tknow it is a special kind of torture, and you’ve endured enough pain.”
“But what if I lose her, Dad?”
“But what if you don’t?” he counters. “She’s right here.” His voice wobbles slightly before he composes himself. “Don’t let my story hold you back, and don’t let your head talk you out of it. Ria is a strong woman, and she knows you. If she’s with you, it’s because she wants to be. God knows no one could tell her what to do.”
“God knows I’ve tried.” Thomas huffs out a laugh.
“Take a chance, son.”
“You sure know how to throw a party, Mrs. Stone.” I swing Jade around the dance floor, and she hasn’t stopped smiling since I saw her walking down the aisle.
“God, that sounds so good.”
“Looks good on you too.”
“Marriage looks good on you too,” she says softly. “I always wondered if I was just making up the idea in my romantic head that you were crushing on Ria, but it turns out I wasn’t.”
“It’s taken me a while for me to say it out loud, but yeah, I’ve been crushing on her for a long time.”
I spin her as the beat picks up. “A long time or forever?” She beams up at me, her hand resting on my shoulder.
“Very perceptive of you, Mrs. Stone.”
“She’s changed since you’ve been married, you know?”
