Page 267 of Barinov

DING-DONG.

Lex snaps his head toward the front door, instantly on high alert. “Who the hell?” He pushes out of his stool and heads for the door, peeking through the peephole before pulling it open.

Ellie stands on the welcome mat, looking like she just stepped off of a runway in a silk Gucci floral sundress and gold heels. She’s clutching a pink and white bakery box like a shield. Behind her, Caleb stands with his hands tucked into his jeans, looking just as anxious as the rest of us.

“Tell me he hasn’t called yet,” Ellie says without even saying hello.

Lex steps back to let them in. “Not yet, El.”

“Thank God,” she breathes, marching straight into the kitchen. “We were going crazy at our place waiting for news. Caleb couldn’t stop pacing—”

Caleb clears his throat.

“Okay fine,” Ellie corrects, laying the box on the counter. “I couldn’t stop pacing. So we bought Cade’s favorite turtle cheesecake and drove over.”

“Turtle is your favorite, El,” I say, laughing as I slide off the barstool and make my way over to the cabinet to pull out some plates. “Cade’s is raspberry.”

“So sue me,” Ellie grits out. “But don’t lie, babe, you were just as nervous as I was.”

“I was not,” Caleb chuckles, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead as he passes.

“You totally were.”

Lex looks up from his phone, a slow smirk cutting through his nervous tension. “Look at you two, not even married yet and already bickering like an old married couple.”

“Lex, be a doll and pop a bottle of something expensive,” Ellie chirps. “My nerves are shot.”

“You’d think you’re the one with the life altering interview tonight,” Lex snorts, but he sets his phone down anyway and moves toward the wine rack.

“Shut it,” she says, grabbing four forks from the drawer like she owns the place. “My favorite brother’s future is on the line here.” She places a slice of cheesecake onto a plate and slides it toward me. “Eat, babe. It helps with the dread.”

Caleb leans against the counter next to Lex as the cork pops. “How was he when he left?”

“Spiraling,” Lex admits, pouring four glasses of a sweet red wine that Knox and Haley gave to us when we moved back into our apartment. “Re-tied his damn tie about forty times.”

“Sounds like Cade,” Caleb laughs, taking a glass from Lex.

Ellie takes a huge bite of cheesecake, leaning over the counter toward me with a glint in her eyes. “Okay, so while we wait for Mr. Artist to become famous, we need to talk wedding colors. We’re thinking fall. Burnt oranges, deep maroons, rich espresso wood… what do you think? Like a rustic chic to go with our Gucci and the cowboy brand we’ve got going here.”

“Wait, fall?” I nearly choke on a sip of wine. “Like this fall? El, that’s only a few—”

“Good God, no!” she shrieks. “Next fall. There’s no way in hell we could pull that off that soon.”

I laugh, the sudden burst of normal domestic chatter cutting right through the tight knot in my chest.

“I like maroon and burnt orange. I think those colors will pop really well against a cream or white gown.”

“Right?!” Ellie beams, pointing her fork at me. “That’s what I said! Oh and don’t freak but we’re thinking about having it at—”

BRRRRRRRING.

The vibration of Lex’s phone buzzing on the countertop cuts Ellie off mid-sentence.

Lex snatches it off the counter and hits speaker before holding it out between us all. “Hey babe,” he says, his voice deceptively calm despite how white his knuckles are as they grip the phone. “You’re on speaker. El and Briggs are here.”

There’s a tad bit of static on the line. The sound of background chatter and clinking of champagne glasses echoes over the speaker.

Then Cade’s voice comes through.