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Jazz laughed quietly. “I don’t know. Isn’t that funny?”
“You don’t have anything to be nervous about,” Nick promised her. “Trust me.”
She cracked open one eye. “I do, Nicky.”
He squeezed her hand. “I know. Close your eyes.”
She did, and he pushed open the door.
Seth had his back to them, standing in front of Gibby, blocking him from seeing her as his boyfriend fiddled with something on Gibby’s clothes. “Man,” Seth said, not yet aware they were being watched. “You make this look good. Puts the rest of us to shame.”
Nick heard her snort. “Damn right I do. Pants are a little tight, but I’m sure they can tailor them to make them—Nick, what are you—”
“Nope,” Seth said, putting his hand over her eyes. “We’re going to do this right.” He glanced back over his shoulder, jaw dropping as he saw Jazz standing next to Nick. Then a slow smile bloomed on his face. “Whoa.”
“Right?” Nick said. “That’s what I said. Andwhoa, Gibby. You look fantastic.”
“Keep your eyes closed,” Seth told her, moving to her side and dropping his hand to hers. Gibby did as asked, and Nick took her in. She wore the hell out of an old-fashioned black tuxedo, the coat tails hanging down the back of her legs, her top hat sitting at a jaunty angle on her head. Her bow tie was red, as were her boots, which matched Jazz’s dress perfectly. Separately, they looked amazing. But Nick couldn’t wait to see them side by side. The world wasn’t prepared for them.
Nick led Jazz to the center of the shop. Seth did the same with Gibby, stopping in front of them. “Okay,” Nick said, letting Jazz’s hand go. “Don’t open your eyes yet. I want to record this for reasons that’ll become immediately clear in just a moment. Hold on a second, and I’ll count you down.”
Jazz and Gibby nodded in unison as Seth moved behind Nick, wrapping his arms around Nick’s waist as he looked over his shoulder. Nick held up his phone, hitting the record button. “You did good, Nicky,” Seth whispered in his ear, sending a shiver down Nick’s spine.
“I’m flattered you think I had anything to do with this,” he whispered back. “Trust me, I didn’t. This is all Jazz.” He raised his voice. “Okay, you guys ready? I’m going to count to three, and then you can open your eyes, all right?”
“Get on with it,” Gibby muttered. “These pants are going into places they shouldn’t be.”
“You’re ruining the moment,” Nick said. “Anticipation is the better part of—”
“Nick,” Jazz and Gibby said at the same time.
Nick rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. All right. Here we go. Ready? One. Two.Three.”
He saw it the moment it happened, lifting his gaze from the screen to his friends. Jazz opened her eyes, and Gibby did too, and then it was as if they were the only two people in the entire world. Gibby’s mouth dropped open, her eyes wide as she took in the sight of her girlfriend. She recovered quickly, shaking her head and holding out a trembling hand. Jazz took it in her own, smiling as wide as Nick had ever seen her.
“Jazz,” Gibby said in a hushed voice, and Nick felt warm at the reverence in that one word. “You …” She glanced away, blinking rapidly. When she looked back, her eyes were wet, but her own smile rivaled Jazz’s. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you,” Jazz said with a sniffle. “You do too. That tux suits you.” She eyed Gibby up and down. “Reallysuits you. Wow. Look at you.” She let go of Gibby’s hand and walked around her. Gibby winked at Nick and Seth before she turned her attention back to Jazz, who stopped in front of her once more. “I love it. All of it.”
Gibby blew on her knuckles and rubbed them against her shoulder. “Oh, this old thing? It’s nothing.”
“Bullshit,” Jazz said. “It’s the exact opposite of nothing. It’s everything.”
Gibby leaned forward and kissed her sweetly. “You always know what to say.”
“That’s because I love you,” Jazz said, cupping her face and kissing her again.
“I love you too,” Gibby murmured against her lips.
“You sure you don’t want to show me your suit now?” Seth asked him quietly, but Nick was lost in his head, watching hisfriends. It was so easy for them. It always had been. Why was Nick making this so hard for himself?
Especially because he knew what he felt. He loved Seth Gray. He wasin lovewith him, and no matter what happened in the future, no matter where their roads took them, nothing could ever change that. Not now, not ever. Here, today, at this moment, he was in love with his best friend.
But he didn’t want the first time he said these words to Seth to be in the middle of a shop, especially since this was about Gibby and Jazz. So he whispered, “We’re really lucky, aren’t we?”
Seth chuckled in his ear. “We are. And we’re going to—”
Seth’s phone went off, loud in the quiet. Seth frowned as he came to stand next to Nick, pulling his phone from his pocket. He looked down at the screen, brow furrowing as he swiped his thumb against it. Whatever he saw there caused his expression to harden. Nick knew that look. Something was wrong.
