go. There were boundaries I didn’t believe anyone should cross for any reason. “I know, okay? I know that it couldn’t have been easy for you, but it doesn’t change that you did it. I want more than anything to promise you that I will only need some time, but what if I never get over it? What if I just string you along until your heart is just as withered and broken as mine? I can’t do that to you. After everything you’ve been through, all you’ve done for River and me, you don’t deserve that. I’m not just asking you to let me go but to free yourself as well.” I moved over to the recliner until I knelt in front of him, one hand on each of his strong knees. “Vaughn, think about it,” I pleaded. “You spent your entire life not allowing yourself to feel for anyone because of your father. Now that he’s dead, you can. What if…” I bit my lip because the very thought of it made bile rise in my throat. But I couldn’t ignore it even if it caused me pain.
“What if what?”
As we stared at each other, River sleeping peacefully in his father’s arms, unaware of the turmoil surrounding him, I forced myself to swallow past the resistance keeping the words at bay.
“What if I’m not the girl you were meant to be with? How do you know there isn’t someone better out there?”
“CONGRATULATIONS, MAN. NOW THAT I’M no longer on the market, I knew she’d say yes.” Jamie then held up his beer, and Ever, Wren, and I did the same. “Cheers.”
We were standing in my kitchen, congratulating Wren on getting engaged. He’d finally popped the question, and no one was surprised when Lou accepted despite the rough months they’d had.
“So when is the wedding?” Ever asked Wren. The two brothers had finally kissed and made up and not just because Four and Lou made them.
“We’re not going to have one.”
“Aw, man.” Jamie groaned. “You’re eloping?” He didn’t bother hiding his disappointment and disgust.
Wren shrugged. “No. We’re going down to the courthouse.”
“Yeah, that’s not going to work for me.”
“It’s what Lou wants, and I’m not going to say no to getting it over with. I just want the girl, not the frills and pomp.”
“K.” Jamie then began tapping away on his phone while Wren finished his beer. Ever and I exchanged a look, knowing Jameson all too well. Wren and Lou were getting a wedding, whether they wanted one or not. “So, what should we do to celebrate?”
I paused from sipping at my beer. “I thought we were doing it?”
Jamie raised a brow as he looked around the island. “Beers and Cheez-It? Are you kidding me? It’s Wren’s stag night.”
“Well, what would you suggest?”
Jamie pocketed his phone with a twinkle in his eye. “Let’s go to The Suite of Dreams.”
“What the hell is that?”
“It’s a club that opened up just outside of town. I heard they have all types of chicks in there. Tall, short, skinny, curvy, good girls, bad girls, good girls who want to be bad.” For some reason, he eyed me when he said that last part. I seriously hoped this wasn’t some scheme to hook me up with a stripper.
“I’ll have to pass. Sorry.”
“What the fuck? Why? So you can sit up all night waiting for Tyra to take you back? Have some dignity, man.”
“You’re one to talk. Who was it that pined and whined over Bee because you thought she preferred Ever? Besides, my kid’s upstairs sleeping, numbnuts. Tyra’s working.”
“So I’ll call Four to watch him. No big deal.”
Ever scowled as he stared Jamie down. “Why can’t you call your own girl to babysit?”
“Because I need her naked and horny when I get home, not exhausted and covered in spit-up.”
I scrubbed my hand down my face, wondering if it was too late to get a new set of friends. “Look, just go without me.”
“Negative. I already texted Four. She’s on her way.”
If possible, Ever’s scowl deepened, but he said nothing. To save myself the headache, I decided not to fight the inevitable and headed upstairs. On a whim, I donned one of the suits my father had tailored for me, thinking that maybe tonight I’d take Tyra up on her advice. It had been two weeks, and she didn’t seem any closer to changing her mind. In fact, she appeared firmer in her idiotic belief that I could ever love anyone other than her,