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Oh my goodness.
They were doing this.
Getting married after five days of a fake engagement.
She couldn’t wait.
Then Brick turned around in her arms and the heat in the bathroom turned even hotter until she couldn’t feel the pain in her head, only the love surrounding her.
* * *
Brick shiftedthe tie to the right a fraction and frowned. It still didn’t look even.
Jaxson swiped at his hand and chuckled. “Stop messing with it. It was fine until you kept swinging it back and forth.” Jaxson moved it back to the spot he had it, securing it a bit more.
It felt too tight.
Or was it the prospect he was getting married today?
No, it was just the tie was too tight.
Before he could adjust it again, Jaxson cocked a brow with an expression that said he’d handcuff him until the ceremony if he didn’t stop touching it.
Dane stood to the side, leaning against the conference table, his face glued to his phone. He didn’t look up once as he spoke. “What happened to this being all pretend? Five days ago you were acting as a fiancé.”
“Dane makes a very good point.”
Brick’s frown increased, especially when Dane still hadn’t looked up from his phone. He knew the man was a workaholic. Since meeting Gabby, it had tamed somewhat, but apparently only after he had his full shift at the office. Here Brick was pulling him out of the office before noon and not getting his full attention.
“Brick?” Jaxson coaxed, wanting him to say more.
What could he say that they’d understand? He loved Jezebelle. He had since the moment he clapped eyes on her. If not love, definitely extreme lust. Her beauty had knocked him off his feet. Her sweetness had shot an arrow of happiness into his heart. He couldn’t describe it. All he knew was when she jokingly mentioned marriage this morning, he took it to heart. She was his and waiting around for a ceremony down the road wasn’t going to change how he felt.
“How long did you love Mia before she finally became yours?”
Jaxson’s expression suddenly mirrored his own. “Nine damn years.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t intend to wait that long.”
Dane looked up from his phone. “But five days? You sure you know what you’re doing?”
Why were his friends talking him out of this? Because that’s what it felt like. When he called them this morning after he and Jezebelle finished getting ready—after another hot round of sex in bed—he felt energized and excited. Now he felt worried and nervous. Like he was making a big mistake.
But he loved her.
He wished his brother were here. He had called Corey and gotten his voicemail. Leaving a message hadn’t felt like the right thing to do, especially with something so important, but he didn’t want to not tell his brother. He wanted Corey here. He left the specifics on the message: time and place. He could only hope Corey showed up in time.
“You know how long it took me to open the bar once the idea popped in my head?”
Jaxson eyed him patiently, and thankfully, Dane lowered his phone as he waited for him to continue.
“My brother and I had a loan set up within less than a month. The day before the idea to open a bar popped in my head, I saw this place waiting to be rented out, and I knew right away it would be the perfect spot. I put a deposit down on it before I even had the loan because I knew, no matter what, that place would be where I put my bar. When I want something, I don’t sit around waiting for it. I get shit done. Within a year of renting the place, I bought it. Now that bar, that building is mine because I told myself it would be. I love Jezebelle. Waiting to marry her, having a long engagement isn’t going to change the fact I love her. Why wait?”
Dane nodded. “Makes sense when you put it like that. What about her mother?”
“Yeah, what about that?” Jaxson chimed in, the worry clear as day.
Brick shrugged. “She doesn’t like me anyway. Nothing I do will change that fact. I worry about Jezebelle and how this will affect her relationship with her mother, but I think it’s been broken for a long time anyway. She’s finally doing what she wants instead of bowing to her mother’s tune.”
