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“Hey, Clay.” Jamie smiled as I got closer and closer. I gave her a slight wave.
“Oh, hey.” Ophelia turned toward her, my reflection in her sunglasses. “Please tell me the staff brought the chairs because Madeline said—”
I brought my hands to her face, cupping her chin in my palms, and before she could say anything else, I kissed her. With a moan of surprise, Ophelia raised her hands to my wrists and puddled into me. She hummed into my mouth, her tongue finding mine with ease, and when she broke the kiss, her eyes fluttered open behind the tint of the sunglasses.
“I have so much I want to tell you,” I whispered.
“Me too.” She kissed me again, lightly this time, feathers on my lips, only making me crave her more. “But. . .”
“I know, after the wedding. I think Milo is losing his mind over there.” Keeping my hands on her face, I turned toward Milo, who in all honestly looked as cool as a cucumber. “Or maybe only Holly was. It was hard to tell.”
“Oh, look.” Jamie’s voice made me blink, standing up a bit straighter, lowering my hands to Ophelia’s arms. “Chairs!” She smiled at us and then ran up to the tent where all the tables and chairs sat folded up against the beams.
“Hey, chairs,” I repeated, turning back to Ophelia. “I’m on Holly duty, but if you need help, I’m sure she is stronger than she looks.”
Licking her lips, she smiled. “I think Jamie and I got it. Elliot, though, looks as if he’s going to kill that event planner.” Her head tilted, and her gaze trailed behind me.
Slipping my arms around her waist, I looked at Elliot, standing with his arms wide at the front of the tent, a look of frustration on his face as he said something to the woman in front of him.
“Nah, that’s just his everyday look. I’ve seen it a lot at the office while he’s talking to someone.”
“That gal he’s talking to looks like she can handle her own.”
We began to take small steps together toward the group, the weight of her arm hitting my back as she pulled me closer.
“I got a phone call,” I started, not wanting to wait until after the wedding to let her know my entire world was clearer now, that I had every step laid out and that everything made sense.
“Nope.” She shook her head, mumbling. She stepped in front of me and removed her sunglasses, the deep color of her eyes locking with mine. She inhaled. “Okay, I know you have some news, but I’m already half-convinced that news is going to break my heart, so right now, we need to focus on our best friends getting married tomorrow. We have a lot on our plate as best man and maid of honor. They are our top priorities. They deserve it, don't they?”
I heaved a sigh and nodded. “Right.”
“The moment they are married, we’ll talk. I promise.” She raised up on her tippy toes and kissed me, her hands trailing up my chest.
I breathed her in, wanting more of this, but I would wait.
For her, I’d wait another ten years.
“I’ve missed you,” I said breathlessly as she lowered herself back down.
“I missed you too.”
The look she gave me would send any man to his knees. Full of fire and passion with a calming effect, a look that was only for me. She ran her thumb along my stubble on my cheek before giving me one final kiss. Leaving me there with my hands frozen at my side, she walked up to Jamie and Elliot, began unfolding tables and chairs, and set up Madeline’s seating chart to a T.
“Uncle Clay.” Holly appeared in front of me, snapping me back to reality. A talent of hers, it seemed. “Can we go see if there are whales now?”
She reached out for my hand, her small palm vanishing in mine. I smiled at her.
“Sure thing, Holly-wood. Let’s go.”
The alarm clock went off way too early. Either that or the couch was more comfortable than I remember it being. I barely had time to turn over and grab my phone, silencing the evil buzz that came from the speakers.
“It’s today!” I heard Holly scream, then she was a blur as she ran past me into Milo’s room. “We’re getting married today! It’s today!”
I chuckled and sat up on the couch, watching as Milo was forced from his room.
“You need to shower and get ready, Dad.” She tugged and pulled him into the bathroom. “You just know that Madeline is going to be a princess. She needs to marry a prince, not a smelly dad.”
“Hey,” Milo grumbled. “I am not a smelly dad.”
