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“I have a meeting with my realtor this evening,” I said as I pulled my cover-up on. “I think I’m going to make an offer on a house, but I’m free anytime tomorrow, if you want to get together.”
“Wow, congratulations, I hope you get it,” Laurel said with a friendly smile. “How about lunch at the diner, say eleven thirty?”
“I’ll be there,” I replied happily, then said my goodbyes to everyone and started out toward my car.
“Hey, Mom,” Christopher called out, stopping me at the tree line.
“Yeah?”
“I thought I’d come with you, and, you know, go with you to meet the realtor, then we can have dinner after.”
My body warmed and I nodded with a smile, then watched as he bounded back to get his stuff and say goodbye to Gabe and Zoey.
“I’ll meet you at the car,” I called, then walked away, happy that he’d reached out and wanted to spend some time with me. I’d been trying to be understanding, and not make him feel guilty about wanting to get to know Gabe better, but it felt really good to know that maybe he was missing me too.
“Chloe?”
I opened my trunk and threw my bag inside, leaving it open for Chris’s stuff, then looked over my shoulder to see Reardon walking up behind me.
“Hey,” I said, keeping my smile easy. Friendly. “Sorry we didn’t get a chance to talk back there.”
“Yeah,” he replied, something flashing across his face before he grinned back at me. “Sometimes it’s hard when there are so many of us.” Reardon cleared his throat, and added, “We’ve got our tux fittings next week; this weddings coming up a lot faster than I anticipated … Anyway, being the best man, I asked Gabe about a bachelor party, and he said that he and Zoey were thinking of doing something combined, rather than separate,. Has she talked to you about it at all?”
I leaned back against my car and shook my head.
“No, not yet, but to be honest, I haven’t asked her. I know, terrible maid of honor. Things have just been so crazy,” I admitted sheepishly. “We have an appointment with the bridal shop this week too. I’ll be sure to ask her about it.”
“Great, I was thinking maybe we could get together and discuss it, maybe plan it together?”
Reardon looked so hopeful that I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Sure, that sounds good. I’ll call you after our appointment.”
“Perfect,” he replied, then said, “See you later, Chris,” when my son came jogging to the car.
“Later, Rear,” my son replied with his lopsided grin, then threw his bag in the trunk and got in the car.
“Bye,” I said, lifting my hand in a small wave.
Reardon nodded, and as I pulled away and looked in the rearview mirror, I noticed that he was still standing in the same place, watching us drive away.
Chapter Thirteen ~ Reardon
“Not trying to sound conceited here, but, damn, we look good.”
I turned my head slightly to smile at Dillon, who was checking himself out in the full-length mirror.
“I never had a doubt,” Gabe replied with a grin, putting his hand out to ruffle Christopher’s hair as he looked us over, checking the fit of our tuxes.
They’d decided to keep the wedding relatively small, with Dillon and Chris standing up as groomsmen, and me as the best man, while Chloe was Zoey’s maid of honor, and Jasmine and Serena were her bridesmaids.
That got me thinking… “Hey,” I began as I straightened my bow tie. “When is Rena supposed to get into town?”
“Jazzy said she should be here for the fitting on Wednesday, and she’ll stay until the wedding,” Dillon replied.
“Have you heard anything more about her moving back here permanently?” Gabe asked as he helped Chris secure his cummerbund.
“No, not yet,” Dillon said, running his fingers through his red hair before picking up his coffee cup and looking at me with a smirk. “But … I did hear a little something about you having the hots for a certain someone.”
