Page 84 of A Little Luck
Now he’s just a little too full of himself.
“I’m pretty sure she knows nothing could ruin our friendship.”
“Just get a ring and fucking get down on your knee.” Aiden whips out the impatient, know-it-all big-brother attitude. “If she says no, then you’ve got your answer, and you can move on, go back to Moloka’i or whatever.”
“Break Mom’s heart.” Alex chuckles, and I shake my head.
As much as I hate to admit it, my brothers are right. We’ve reached the point where it’s either piss or get off the pot. “I plan to.”
We didn’t say much last night when she got home from seeing Ryan. We had a late dinner, then I took her to bed. We weren’t as frantic or angry. It was nice and easy—still in the dark, still only allowing me to see so much, but she said again how we need to talk once the wedding is over.
It’s as if everything is on pause until after this damn wedding, but as soon as we send Alex and Cass riding off into the sunset, I’ll be ready to find out exactly where we stand.
“Hey, turn that up—it’s our song.” Alex reaches for the remote above the bar and cranks the volume on “Mr. Brightside.”
“That’s not your song. Your song is ‘Margaret,’ ’cause when you know, you know.”
A funny smile curves his lips, and he reaches for the special reserve. “It’s true, and you know what? You know, and Piper knows, too.”
* * *
It’s latewhen we finally call it a night. The girls are all sleeping together at Gwen’s place, on a mattress on the floor according to another photo from Britt. I see my girl surrounded by the two people she loves most in the world, and my heart warms.
I want to be the one to make her happy, but above all, I want her tobehappy.
The distillery is about a half mile outside of town, nestled on twenty acres of grassy fields all belonging to our family. Ocean breezes mix with woody straw as the wind pushes cooler air down from the north. The humidity has thinned out. The rain is gone, and a sky full of stars is over our heads.
“It’s really peaceful here.” We’re walking to our vehicles.
“Which is why no one’s building a resort and fucking it up,” Alex grumbles.
Drake Redford is itching to turn these green fields into green dollar bills to line his pockets and destroy our bucolic small town in the process.
Aiden grips my shoulder as we pause beside his truck. “Spend the night at our place. Ryan’s been sleeping in the queen bed in the guest room. There’s plenty of room for you there.”
“I don’t want to crowd him.” I rub my fingers over my eyes, sick of being so close and still feeling like an outsider. “I’ll just go to my place.”
“If you think that little boy doesn’t think of you as his dad, you really are dumb.”
“Hey, don’t spare my feelings,” I joke.
“Night, bros.” Alex cruises past us on the way to his car. “This time tomorrow, I’ll be a married man.”
“A married man on a diet,” Aiden laughs, and I frown.
“What’s that supposed to mean…” The question dies on his lips, and we see the bright orange bumper sticker on the back of Alex’s Tesla that readsDon’t park too close. I’m chunky.
“That girl.” Alex’s response is somewhere between a laugh and a sigh, and I can’t help thinkingDamn, he’s got it bad.
He waves, climbing into his car, and I turn to my brother. “Yeah, I’ll do it. I’ll spend the night at your place.”
I’m pretty sure I won’t get any sleep alone in my bed surrounded by the scent of honeysuckle. It’ll only be torture missing her, wishing she would walk through my door.
We drive the short distance to Aiden’s, and I head to the guest room while he settles up with the babysitter.
Inside, I find Ryan splayed out in the center of the bed like a starfish. Fudge is nestled beside his leg like a dark little guard, and I chuckle, shaking my head as I continue to the en suite bathroom.
After splashing some water on my face, I brush my teeth and strip down to my shorts. I grab a T-shirt out of the bureau and gently move my bed partner to his side. He grumbles a bit in his sleep, and Fudge’s ears lay back on his head.