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"So, you're getting married?" I divert. I have no idea what he can do. It's not that easy.
Baby steps, a voice I don't want to hear whispers in my mind. I squeeze my eyes shut.
Why won't she leave me alone?
I count to five and blink. My…friends—yes, friends; this is my first stride in rebuilding and forgiving—study me with confused looks. I lift my brows, prompting them to answer my question.
Lilly stretches out her hand, and I whistle, peering at Rhys. "Dude, did you sell the R8 for that thing?"
Thanks to D and the countless fashion magazines she always carries with her, I've learned more about women's jewelry than I want to know. Lilly has a French Pavé diamond the size of a freaking hubcap on her ring finger.
Rhys smirks, his shoulders relaxing. "I got lucky with an investment. Marcus has been teaching me."
My brow hitches. Marcus? "He has more talents than protecting your future wife?" I remark, arching my mouth up.
"The dude is wicked smart. He could do so much with his life, but he refuses to leaveme."
Lilly rolls her eyes. "The two are so obnoxious."
I chuckle at the exchange, then I notice Den next to me is stiff as a board. She has her drink in a white-knuckling grip, and it instantly triggers my protectiveness. Seeing her this way… I what to choke the answers out of Marcus, demand to know why he acts the way he does and why D is this rattled by it. Lilly and Rhys are oblivious or don't acknowledge it—I can't decipher which. Either way, I take that as my cue to change the subject—again. "Where is the wedding?" I'm making small talk, who would've thought.
I knew you could do it, the voice says.
Shut up, shut up, shut up.Jesus fuck, I'm losing my freaking mind. That's what I get for staying sober for almost five days.
"We were thinking of Stonebriar," Lilly says, eyeing me warily, and my jaw drops.
"Uh…" It takes me a second to collect myself. "You want to get married in Montana? Why?" I frown.
"We're kinda tired of the endless summer. I don't want to die of heatstroke in a suit because it's freaking a hundred degrees out," Rhys remarks dryly, but I see right through him.
"They do have something like air-conditioning, you know?"
"Okay, fine. It's supposed to be an olive branch, asshole." Rhys pouts, crossing his arms over his chest.
I can't hold back the laugh bursting out of me, and it feels…good.
"There is a chance of snow in April," I tell him.
"So you did look at the date on the invitation," the smug fuck exclaims.
"Right before I burned it." Two can play that game. Then, I see the hurt on Lilly's face. Shit. "I'm sorry, Lil. I—"
"It's fine." She genuinely waves me off, and tension I didn't realize I was holding releases. I draw in a deep breath. It feels…goodto be here with them. Grouchily, I admit to myself that what the unwanted voice in my head said was true: baby steps.
I peer to the side at Den, who's been quietly following the exchange. "What do you think, D? Should we let Kai lose on McGuire here?" I wink at her, and it does the trick.
She feigns outrage. "Don't you dare introduce the two without me." I wrap my arm around her shoulder and pull her close. We have a long road ahead of us to get back to where the four of us used to be, but who knows? If I've learned one thing, it's that the future is never set in stone.
I didn't seeRhys or Lilly again. They left to meet up with friends in Colorado the next day. I wasn't too broken up about it, though. Magnolia's was the first step. I didn't regret meeting them, but it also brought a lot of old shit back to the surface—stuff I thought I had moved past. For whatever reason, the day Rhys let me in on their family secret—and his—kept replaying in my head. It was the first time I felt betrayed by him. He had lied to me since we met. That memory fucked with me more than him bribing my way into an elite school, and the craving for a drink became stronger by the day.
Den and I hung out a few more times, and then it was time to get back on the plane. Saying goodbye to my parents was harder than I expected. Mom blinked franticly when she hugged me during drop-off. I promised I'd be back over the summer, which made the tears spill over.
Placing a kiss on her cheek, I said, "I'm sorry."
She peered up at me, wiping under her nose. "For what?"
"For being a selfish dick and not coming home for two and a half years." I swallowed hard, guilt constricting my throat.
