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I lift a shoulder. “I have to do something to redirect that, er, earthy energy of yours.”
“Let’s do it.” She sets her empty glass on the bar and smacks her lips. “So he can do me.”
Riley and Joe are already on the patio. They stand at the railing overlooking the water. Its calm surface has caught fire, reflecting the vibrant colors of the setting sun: pink, amber, violet.
“So you’re telling me you found your thumb fully intact in his stomach,” Riley is saying, shaking his head. “Wow.”
Joe chuckles. “They had a time of it, sewing my thumb back on. Now I can’t really bend it, and I don’t have much sensation. But it’s better than nothing, which is what I would’ve had if I let that bastard win.”
Aunt Lady sidles up to the railing next to Joe. “Wrestled an alligator?”
Joe immediately perks up, his deeply tanned face lighting up with a smile. “Shark.”
“And you won?”
“I didn’t mean to get into it with him, but he wouldn’t leave me alone.”
Riley’s eyes sparkle when they meet mine. “The shark picked the wrong fisherman to fuck with.”
“I am known to be a badass upon occasion.” Smiling, Joe slips his hands into his pockets. “Hello, Lady.”
She tucks her hair behind her ear. “Hi, Joe.”
“Lady here’s her own kind of badass,” I say. “She once shotgunned a beer out of an alligator’s mouth.”
Joe’s eyebrows pop up. “Color me impressed! Care to share the story?”
“I’d love to.” Lady places her elbows on the railing beside Joe. “It all began in a swamp outside New Orleans.”
“As all good stories do,” Joe says.
“Louisiana’s the best, isn’t it?”
“Second favorite state for sure.”
A server appears with a tray of frosty longneck beers. The labels tell me it’s a pilsner from a local brewery in Wilmington.
“Oh, wow, would you look at that.” Riley plucks a pair of beers off the tray and hands them to Joe and Lady. “Sounds like y’all like beer?”
“I have yet to meet a drink I don’t like,” Lady says, and holds out her beer to Joe.
Joe taps his against hers. “Cheers to that. I will say I’m in my sparkling wine era—”
“Stop!” Lady gasps. “I love bubbles. They go so well with—”
“The catch of the day.” Joe laughs and sips his beer. “Nothing better than sipping excellent white wine while eating excellent white fish.”
“Orgasmic, truly.”
Joe laughs again, his cheeks flushing. “You tell it like it is, don’t you?”
“You have no idea,” I deadpan.
Passing me a beer, Riley takes my hand. “If y’all will excuse us?”
“Godspeed,” Lady replies, keeping her gaze on Joe.
“So this alligator, how’d you get him to hold the beer can?”
“There’s a trick to it. First, you have to find a gator that’s the right size, about yay big . . .”
twenty-three
Lu
The Storm
The cocktail party is a success, the crowd staying well past the official ten P.M. end time. No surprise there: the food and drinks are excellent, the service impeccable. Joe and Lady spend the entire night on the patio talking, then disappear together a little after nine o’clock.
I know the majority of Goldie and Cooper’s guests, so I’m busy catching up with people, getting stopped by Goldie’s mom or Cooper’s brothers whenever I try to hit the restroom or grab a bite to eat.
All the while, I feel Riley’s eyes on me. He shows up with a plate of food when I’m about to pass out from hunger. He slips into a conversation I have with Mom and Goldie, and a big glass of water appears in my hand twelve seconds after I say I’m thirsty.
I watch him too. He moves through the crowd with an ease and confidence that’s sexy as hell. Mocktail in hand, blue eyes kind yet wicked in their beauty. A few women openly stare, but I don’t hold it against them because I stare too.
Is that man really mine?
The majority of guests who are coming to the wedding also came tonight, so Goldie and Cooper were able to chat with pretty much everyone they invited for the weekend.
“Now the pressure’s off,” I say as I pull Goldie in for one last hug after the last guest leaves at quarter past midnight. “You and Coop can actually enjoy the wedding instead of spending the whole time catching up with people, because you already caught up with everyone tonight.”
“I do want to dance,” Goldie says. “That is, if we all don’t get blown away into the Atlantic first.”
Cooper meets my eyes over Goldie’s head. I give him a thumbs up. We’ll make it work.
“Baby, I’m gonna bump and grind with you tomorrow if it’s the last thing I do.” Coop ushers Goldie through Stede’s front door. “Thank y’all again for a truly epic night. Don’t stay up too late, you hear? We got an early start tomorrow.”
Goldie harrumphs. “Coop, they’ve been eye-fucking each other all night. You really think they’re not going to bang each other every hour, on the hour, for the next eight hours straight?”
