“Ugh, don’t remind me of those horrible times.” He scrunches up his face.
“Stop it, you guys. I’m sure it will be amazing.” She then turns to face me while handing me the phone. “Thank you, Shane. It looks delicious.” She pecks my lips, takes the plate from my hand, and walks away, not bothering to say goodbye to her parents. Food is clearly more important right now.
“We’ll let you guys eat. Bye, honey!” Nancy calls to her daughter who is already munching down on her plate with exaggerated moans. “Thank you for being patient with my daughter, Shane,” she whispers to me.
I smile, touched by her words. “I’d wait forever for her.”
Chapter twenty-seven
Shane
One crucial mistake.
~ Three Days Later ~
“Congratulations, old man! What is it they say? Second time’s the charm?” Jessie says, skipping up the steps to my home as I wait to greet him.
All our friends are coming over today to celebrate our engagement, and later on for dinner, a few of the parents will be joining us too. We thought it would be nice to have everyone over for a big family dinner.
“Actually, it’s ‘third time’s the charm’.” Jason’s gruff voice comes up behind him. “Congrats, brother.”
“Thanks, man,” I say, slapping his back as we hug. “And let’s leave it at two, please. I intend on keeping this one.” I smile at Jessie as he walks past me and into the house.
“Yes, please let it be the last.” Julian pulls on his suit jacket sleeves as he reaches the landing. “I would like to attend social events as little as possible.”
“Even your best friend’s wedding? That’s cold, Jules.” I take him into a hug, to which he stays stiff and simply taps me twice on the back in a very uncomfortable way. But I’m used to it, I know Julian isn’t very fond of affection.
When I feel he’s had enough, I let him go and step back. He fixes his suit once more as if I had suddenly wrinkled it by touching him. “What have I said about that name?” he warns me with a glare. But all I do is smile and drag him in.
“Come on, Aubrey’s excited to see you.”
He scoffs. “I hardly doubt that.”
“You’d be surprised. For some reason unknown, my fiancée likes you.” I chuckle. “I’m not sure what you did to her that night I visited her brother, but she’s suddenly excited to have you around.”
“Yes, well, I do seem to have that effect on women. The moment I show them any sign of affection, they suddenly cannot get enough.” He lets out one of those rare smirks. This is the Julian I tell people about when they ask why we’re friends. When he lets loose, he’s a really cool guy.
“Wow, look at you! Who knew pregnancy could make a woman even sexier?” Jessie’s voice rings out from the living room.
I turn just in time to see Aubrey’s eyes widen as her face flushes red. “Umm, thank you, Jessie.”
“Watch it, Jess. I don’t share,” I tell him as we reach them.
“Hi, sugar. You look beautiful.” Jason hugs my girl and kisses her cheek.
“Hi, Jason. Thank you. It feels like forever since we last saw you,” she says as they let go.
“Yeah, work has been keeping me busy.” He smiles apologetically.
She squeezes his arm, smiling, then turns to us. “Julian, there you are! I feel like you’ve been avoiding me.” She steps up to him and hugs him, not caring that he’s uncomfortable. And to my surprise, he hugs her back.
“Now why would I do such a thing?” he asks.
“Because comforting me made you uncomfortable.” She giggles.
Jessie suddenly chokes on his own saliva. “He comforted you!?”
“I thought we agreed we would not speak of this,” Julian hisses through his teeth, still holding on to Aubrey.
