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“Uh.” I glance around the room. Alex would hate taking away from Zoey’s special day. “Nah.”
Ty pulls out a container of fresh Dungeness crab and a bunch of ingredients from his crazy-huge commercial refrigerator. “I’m sure Zoey wouldn’t care. I mean if we’re all in town.” He shrugs.
“See!” Zane claps me on the back. “Married life is awesome. Join us. Join us.” He waggles his fingers at me like he’s casting a magic spell.
“I don’t think a double wedding’s the way to go for us.” I tap out a rhythm on the counter. “Maybe we’ll just elope.”
Ty warms up the crab mixture he’s just put together. “You’ll be at our wedding though?”
“Of course, dude. I wouldn’t miss it,” I assure him.
“Why would you elope? We hated missing Connor’s wedding.” Zane scrunches up his nose.
I’m getting a little exasperated at being put on the spot when Alex and I haven’t talked about what we’re going to do.
“Uh, Jace? You there?” Zane waves his hand two inches from my eyes.
“It’s just an idea. Let me work out the details with Poppy and you guys will be first to know.” I decide to change the subject. “How’s the restaurant coming? Is Fiona close to opening?”
“Fuck, no.” Zane sighs heavily. “Between contractors bailing on us and failed inspections, it’s been a nightmare. Neither of us have any experience with construction. Luckily, Connor’s brother is on the job now. We should have brought McLoughlin Construction in from the very beginning.”
Ty places the most delectable buttery crab rolls on the placemats. “Here you go.”
“Fuuuuck. Ty. Be warned, Fiona’s threatening to recruit you. She’s having a hell of a time staffing up.” Zane shakes his head and closes his eyes. “These are orgasmic.”
I lick sauce off my fingers and tease our singer. “You could just wear a wig. No one will recognize you. We all have some time on our hands now.”
Ty rolls his eyes and stops to take a call from Zoey. We retreat into the living room to continue catching up until she gets home. The minute Zoey unlocks the door, Ty swoops over to her and shoves his tongue down her throat. PDAs have always been their MO.
“Jesus,” I can’t help but scoff. “You two never stop.”
Zoey’s narrowed eyes catch mine and she wags her finger at me. “Are you being serious right now? Last time I was over at your house I literally caught you going down on my best friend in the horse barn. I’ll never unsee that.”
Ah. True that. All I can do is shrug. Luckily, I’m saved by my phone buzzing in my pocket. “Poppy, I’m still at Ty and Zoey’s, you’re on speaker. Say hello.”
“Hey, everyone.” Alex’s jubilant voice permeates the room. “Send my man home, will you? I need his help for our expanding family. Oh, and Zoey? We’re making a date for you to come over. No excuses.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Zoey answers in a singsong voice. “Remember I’m meeting you for lunch downtown after your appointment next week.”
Of course, Ty is clueless. “Holy shit! Is Alex pregnant?”
“Fuckno,” I snarl at him and can’t help but laugh at our perpetually distracted singer. “We just added two new horses to the ranch. Do you ever listen to anything I say?”
Ty winces but recovers in an instant. Zane comes to his rescue, as always. You’d think they were real brothers. “Don’t sweat it. You zoned out earlier when he told us the story.”
Zoey snuggles up to him and brushes the hair from his eyes. He gazes at her adoringly. I take this as my cue to head out. As much as the reunion with my bandmates was needed, I’d much rather be with my own family. “Welp, I’ve got to head out to catch the ferry.” I get up and say my goodbyes.
On my drive to catch the boat back to the island, I call Alex. “Good news. LTZ is taking time off. Oh, and Ty and Zoey are getting married in the next couple of weeks.”
“I already knew about the wedding, silly.” Alex sounds out of breath. “So, not to cut you off but Lena’s down for a nap. Can I just see you at home? I have a miniscule window of opportunity to straighten up the house.”
I can’t help but laugh. “Are you wearing your French maid uniform?”
“Ohmygawd.” She snorts. “Get off that train of thought. Never. Going. To. Happen.”
“You’re a sucker for costumes. Itwillhappen, Poppy,” I say with confidence.
Alex laughs. “You’re probably right. I’m a sucker for a costume. Get your ass home. Stat.”
