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“It’s a little surreal, honestly. I always thought he’d never get married, but I guess he was just waiting for the right one,” said Sebastian, rubbing a hand over his mouth. His eyebrows were pinched, a thoughtful expression on his face.
“Yeah, waiting for her to be old enough,” cracked Theo, and they all chuckled. Given that Lucian was almost twenty years older than his bride, Kayla couldn’t help but wonder if there was a grain of truth to Theo’s joke.
“Or maybe he was just too busy babysitting my sorry ass,” said Sebastian, the crease between his eyebrows deepening. Kayla reached over and laid a hand on his knee, giving him a reassuring squeeze. Coming back to the city always brought up complicated emotions for Sebastian. It was where he’d grown up, and therefore home in a sense, but also the site of his biggest failures and regrets, and he was reminded of them every single time they came.
“Lucian looked after all of us,” Max said quietly. “He was the father figure we all desperately needed and never had. He’s not perfect, but he tried his best.”
Theo nodded. “He did. Aerin, too.” A silence fell over the group and he leaned forward, his forearms. “So…did we ever figure out if he’s in the mafia?”
Kayla saw Sebastian shift in his seat and he glanced away. “I don’t know that it’s any of our business,” he said, shaking his head.
Max narrowed his eyes at Sebastian. “You know something, don’t you?”
Sebastian shrugged. “I know a bit. But he swore me to secrecy, and I’m not going to betray him.”
“He once told me that he was mafia-adjacent,” said Lauren with a little shrug. “Whatever that means.”
“I think it means it’s better to have him in your corner than not,” said Willa lightly. She turned her attention to Sebastian. “So, do you have your speech ready to go?”
Sebastian nodded. “Yeah. I’m still tweaking it, but I’m ready.” He turned to Max. “Sorry I couldn’t make it to the bachelor party. Thanks for taking over best man duties in Vegas.”
Max just nodded, no judgment or recrimination in his eyes. “Happy to. You know, we would’ve planned something else. I get that you didn’t want to come to Vegas, but we missed you.”
“But Vegas was what Lucian wanted, and I didn’t want to take that away from him. Truly, I appreciate the offer, but it’s all good, man.”
“I assume the cousins are coming, too, right?” asked Lauren, twirling a lock of her red hair around her finger.
Max nodded. “Yeah, and they’re actually bringing dates. Well, not Hudson, I don’t think, but Levi—you met his girlfriend Madison last time you guys were in town—and Noah’s got a girlfriend now, too.”
Theo’s mouth fell open. “What? I thought he was too busy saving lives to date.”
Willa grinned. “Her name’s Felicity and she’s a high school teacher. We had dinner with them not long ago, and I gotta say, she’s perfect for him.”
“Oh yeah. That guy’s so in love,” agreed Max.
“Aw, that’s really sweet,” said Kayla, sipping her drink. She’d always thought Noah was the nicest guy, and she was glad he had someone in his life. “Do you think it bothers Hudson that he’s the only single one?”
Theo shook his head. “Nah. He swore off relationships after what’s her name…”
“Jessica,” supplied Max, his lip curling slightly as he said the name.
“Right. Jessica.”
“Oh, I remember her!” said Lauren. Given that she and Theo had been friends since college, she knew the ins and outs of the Prescott family well. “It was so shitty the way she waited for the night before the wedding to break up with him.”
“Whoa, that is shitty,” said Kayla.
“True, the timing was bad, but better to not go through with the wedding than get married when you know it’s wrong,” said Sebastian, and Kayla couldn’t stop herself from glancing over at him. Did he think marrying Kayla was the wrong thing? Was that why he hadn’t proposed yet? And what if she was pregnant?
She took a sip of her water, trying to get her churning stomach to calm the hell down. She wished this whole thing weren’t stressing her out so much. She just wanted to enjoy being with everyone, enjoy the wedding and the rehearsal dinner tonight.
Willa glanced at her delicate watch and set her drink down. “I have a treat for us,” she said, indicating Lauren and Kayla with her eyes.
“Ooh, what did you do?” asked Lauren.
“I have a makeup artist, a manicurist, and a hairstylist coming to get us ready for the rehearsal dinner, and then again tomorrow before the wedding. In fact, they should be here in about half an hour, so if you want to grab a shower before they get here, now’s a good time.”
Lauren stood and grabbed Kayla’s hand, pulling her to her feet, chattering excitedly as the three of them headed back inside the penthouse.
Well. So much for sneaking off to the drugstore.
