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“I’ll excuse myself in a moment. I don’t want to miss this announcement.” She pointed to the couple of the hour.
“Do you know what’s going on?” Lily’s voice pitched under her breath.
Cedar shrugged and rubbed her tummy. “Baby news, I think. The more the merrier.”
“Francesca’s going to have her hands full in a couple of years.” Lily laughed and turned her gaze back to the couple of the night.
“Tell them,” Iris urged.
Holden cleared his throat. “I need you all to take good care of my beautiful bride.” He faced her with a wickedly huge grin spreading from cheek to cheek. “You really are gorgeous.”
“Thank you.” Blinking and blushing slightly, she faced everyone. “Since Holden is delaying, I’ll tell you all.” She tightened her hold on her betrothed’s hand. “Holden’s accepted a six-month position at the Jet Propulsion Laboratories in California, and aside from a few quick trips home, he will be gone until July seventh.” She cupped the side of her mouth closest to Holden. “And I think he’s more nervous about leaving than he’s letting on.”
Everyone got really quiet. The group knew big things were on the horizon for Holden since he was a borderline genius, but that sounded bigger than huge.
Erin piped up. “When are you leaving?”
“In two days.” There was a sharp inhale as he wrapped his arm around Iris’s back.
“What will you be doing there?” Benjamin asked, resting his forearms on the table.
Holden pushed his shoulders back, but never let go of Iris’s hand. “I’ll be part of a team of radio astronomers working on a deep space research project. They need my input and ideas.”
“Actually,” Iris added, clearing her throat. “He’ll be the lead. The youngest they’ve ever hired for a project like this.” Iris glowed like the daytime sun.
“It’s super exciting, and I’m beyond thrilled to have been chosen. It really is an honour, and it’s only six months, right?” He stared at his wife as if she were the only person in the room. “We’ve got this.” He pulled her hand up and placed a kiss upon it, before swallowing and facing the group once more. “And you’ll all take care of her, right?”
“Oh, I’m sure they’ll make sure I’m not too lonely.” Iris winked.
“Oh shit, excuse me,” Cedar said abruptly, pushing back her chair and racing out of the dining area, hand covering her mouth.
Mitch raced after her.
“Seasick,” Lily said to the guests with a quick shrug. “A toast to the bride and groom and the array of new adventures coming their way.”
She lifted her glass of champagne, and the others followed. After everyone had a taste, they clinked their glasses, and Iris and Holden gave them a quick kiss.
The guests finished dining on the array of scrumptious food and indulged in the endless spirits from the bartender set up on the back deck. The land was getting farther and farther away with the odd town polka-dotting the water’s edge with their lights. According to Antonio, who’d checked in with the captain, the yacht was not far from the turnaround point where they’d be anchoring for the first of tonight’s fireworks show. The dishes had been cleared away in a heartbeat, and the tables pushed back to make a small but cozy dance floor.
Mitch walked over to Chloe and Benjamin; his face tight. He leaned close to Chloe, who was sitting at one of the tables and not dancing like the others and lowered his voice. “Hey, can I see you for a minute?”
“Of course, everything okay?” Chloe immediately threw on her doctor’s hat.
“Cedar needs your help.”
“Ah, okay.” She patted BJ’s leg. “I’ll be right back. Save the first dance for me.”
“And the last,” he said with a wink.
She leaned over and gave him a kiss. “God I love you. Don’t ever change.”
With that, she rose and followed a flustered Mitch out onto the back deck, and around the wraparound deck to the guest suite’s adjoining bathroom.
The back of her hand connected with the door in a series of knocks. “Cedar, it’s Chloe. Can I come in?”
The door unlocked.
“Please don’t tell anyone.” Mitch held the chrome door knob tightly in his hands but hadn’t yet opened the door.
