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“Night, beautiful.” She closes the door, and I watch her until I can no longer see her. I sit here in the parking lot a hell of a lot longer than I should, but leaving her when she’s not feeling well seems wrong. My phone pings with a text.
Palmer:Thank you for the funnel cake. I’m settled. You can go home now.
I smile. She knows me too well.
Me:Anything for you. Feel better.
She doesn’t reply, and I don’t really expect her to. Knowing that I can’t sit out here all night like a creeper, I put my truck in Drive and head home. Instead of holding the woman I love and telling her so, I’m going to be sitting on my back porch nursing a beer all on my own. I’m disappointed, but I also want her better. Besides, we have forever.
At least I hope we do.
CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO
Palmer
“Sorry I’m late.” Piper comes rushing into the small area of the boutique that’s reserved for us today. She plops down on the couch next to me and exhales. “There was an accident that blocked the road. Heath said that everyone was okay.”
“Is he allowed to give you that information?” I ask her.
“He didn’t give me names or anything. Just said that everyone was okay.”
I nod. “He has a tough job.”
“Yeah,” she agrees. “What did I miss?”
“Nothing yet,” Carol Kincaid tells her. “She’s in trying on her first dress.”
Is it awkward to be sitting with Brooks’s mom while hiding the fact that I’ve been sleeping with her son for months and, oh yeah, that I’m in love with him? You bet your ass it is. I’m glad my sister finally showed up to be a buffer between us.
“Did she tell you that they finally picked a date?” Piper asks.
“She did. She insisted on picking me up. She told me all about it on our way to collect Carol.”
“So romantic,” Carol says.
“I’m still calling dibs on naming their firstborn after me.”
“What if it’s a boy?” Piper laughs.
“Palmer is a universal name. I can see it going either way,” I tell them, making them laugh.
“Are you ready?” Ramsey calls out.
“We’re ready,” the three of us call back.
Ramsey steps out from around the corner and up onto the small platform surrounded by mirrors. Instead of looking at the dress, I watch my best friend’s face as her lip quivers.
“Oh, Ramsey,” Carol sobs. “Sweetheart, you’re stunning.”
“This was my favorite one out of all of them, so I tried it first, and I” she pauses and turns on the platform to face us. “This is the one.”
“You know you have the right to be a bridezilla,” Piper teases her.
Ramsey laughs. “We’re getting married at Willow Park on the two-year anniversary of the day we met.” She looks down at herself in the dress. “This dress is everything I imagined when I think about our day.”
“It’s the classic A-line V-neck with a bodice of embroidered lace motifs atop a tulle floor-length skirt.” The boutique attendant rattles off the technical details of the dress.
“Deacon is going to be beside himself,” I say, feeling myself get choked up. “He loves you so much, Rams. I love you. I can’t believe my best friend is going to be my sister.”
