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Jackson says, “Sorry, I’m not into super expensive crap. Champagne is champagne.”
Carter smiles as he helps Jackson open them. “Neither am I, Jackson. Neither am I.”
We pour our glasses. Mom gives a beautiful toast. She really does like Carter. I down my first glass in one go.
Everyone is staring at me. Harley and Skylar both smile and hold out their hands. Trevor and Hayden each reach into their pockets and hand them one-hundred-dollar bills.
I look at them all. “What the hell was that?”
Harley smirks. “We had family bets on whether or not you’re pregnant. The boys all thought you were. The quickly downed glass of champagne tells us you’re not.”
I shake my head. “Unlike my mother, my older sister, and my new sister-in-law, I actually know how birth control works. I can manage my shit. I’ll proudly be the first female member of my family to not be pregnant at my own wedding.”
Mom says, “I wasn’t pregnant at my wedding to Jackson.” We all laugh.
As we drink more champagne, it all of a sudden occurs to me. “Oh my god, Carter. It’s your birthday. I’m so sorry I didn’t remember until now. This morning was…distracting.”
He kisses my cheek. “You gave me the best gift of all time.”
Trevor interrupts, “There are kids in the room, remember that.”
Carter rolls his eyes at Trevor. “Her agreeing to marry me, Trevor. That’s my gift.”
Trevor twists his lips. “Interesting that it took her nearly three hours to agree to marry you. That must have been one long speech.” I scratch my nose and discreetly give Trevor the finger. He just smiles at me.
Jackson looks at Carter. “Have you been on your cell phone today?”
Carter shakes his head. “No. It’s been off since the press conference. The only people I care to hear from today are in this room. I’m not up for dealing with anyone else.”
“You should turn it on.”
Carter finds his phone and powers it on. He looks at it and just laughs. “I have a full voicemail mailbox, over five-hundred texts, and two thousand emails. It’ll take me until my next birthday to go through everything.”
“You should probably listen to your voicemails.”
Jackson knows something. I look at him and narrow my eyes. He winks at me.
Carter starts listening. At some point, his eyes widen, and he looks at Jackson. Jackson smiles and nods.
I look up at Carter. “What is it?”
“It’s my grandfather’s estate attorney. She said that my grandfather left me something for my thirty-fifth birthday.”
“Did she say what it is?”
“No, just to come to her office. I hope it’s not money. I hope it’s something personal.” He looks excited. “Maybe it’s his motorcycle collection. I don’t know where any of it is, but I’d love to see it all again. That would be incredible.”
He calls the attorney, and they make an immediate appointment for the end of the business day.
Carter takes my hand in his and squeezes it. “You’ll come with me?”
I nod. “Of course.”
* * *
At some pointin the afternoon, there’s a knock at the door. Carter jumps up. “I’ll get the door. It’s for me.”
I look at him suspiciously and follow him to the door. He opens it and LeRond is standing there with a big smile and a bag.
