back when we were just getting together,” I explained. “I told Hayden about how otters hold hands in their sleep so they don’t lose each other. And then I promised him that we’d do the same.”
“I’m tearing up,” Seth said, waving his hand in front of his face with actual literal tears shining in his eyes. “I can’t do weddings, they’re too emotional, Andre is forbidden from ever getting married.”
I snorted, pulling him into a hug.
“I’ll cry all over you,” Seth said, but that didn’t stop him wrapping his arms tightly around me. “This is so nice. You’re made for each other. There are tiny otters, I can’t take this.”
“Hey, I cried at your wedding, too,” I said. “Remember?”
Seth burst into laughter, squeezing me even tighter. “You did. Now I know how you felt. I’m so happy for you.”
“Me too,” I said, swaying with Seth until he calmed down, pulling back and dabbing tears away from his eyes. “Love the shirt, by the way.”
Seth grinned. “Can’t have a spring wedding without florals,” he said.
“It’s June.”
“Which is spring,” Seth insisted. “Summer is July, fall starts in August. I don’t make the rules.”
“No, you make me order you a pumpkin spice latte in August,” I said, grinning at him.
“And you’ll always do it, because you love me,” Seth said. “And I love you so much, and you look so handsome. I wanna marry you.”
“That would be bigamy,” I pointed out.
Seth pouted. “You wouldn’t break one tiny little silly law for me?” he asked.
“I feel like I’ve broken multiple tiny laws for you over the course of this friendship,” I said. “There was at least one instance of breaking and entering.”
“Oh! I’ll have to mention that in my best man speech,” he said, grinning in a way that promised he absolutely would, in front of everyone, my new father-in-law included.
Well, Mr. Lewis knew that loyalty was more important to me than anything. That had to count for something, even if it meant breaking into a bar after hours to retrieve Seth’s phone for him.
I hadn’t damaged anything and the door hadn’t so much been locked as closed, so I figured there was no harm.
“Wes!” Mr. Lewis boomed behind me, as if he’d been summoned by the thought of him. “Seth. You, uh. You think we could have a minute?” he asked.
Seth let go of me with a final kiss to the cheek. “I’ll just be outside if you need me to do the getaway driving,” he teased, winking as he disappeared.
“He’s joking,” I said for Mr. Lewis’s benefit, not wanting him to think I was planning to back out of this now.
I was a little nervous, but that was more about the possibility of stumbling over my vows in front of everyone I knew.
Ending up married to Hayden was the reward at the end of the slightly uncomfortable day.
“I know,” Mr. Lewis said. “Wouldn’t be standing here if I wasn’t sure this was the real thing.”
“It is,” I assured him, but the way he looked at me said he didn’t need the reassurance.
“I knew that the moment I saw the two of you together. It was like looking at two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and knowing they were going to fit with each other before you even picked one of them up.”
I could hardly believe he’d been able to see that, but then, even I’d felt something when I first met Hayden.
Aside from the incredible embarrassment of being completely naked in front of my employer’s son.
“So,” Mr. Lewis continued, taking a plain white envelope out of his pocket and tapping it against his palm. “This is your wedding gift. I, uh… it’s… I think you’d prefer not to get it in public,” he said, holding the envelope out.
I took it carefully, wondering what the hell could be inside that I wouldn’t want to get in public.
“Open it,” Mr. Lewis insisted. “Go on.”
I met his eyes and saw that he really did want me to open it now, and then slipped my finger under the seal and pulled out the contents.
As soon as I looked at them, I understood why I wouldn’t have wanted him to do this in front of everyone.
I was going to pass out.
I flicked through the small stack of papers to make sure I was seeing what I thought I was seeing, blood pounding in my ears as I skimmed through them.
The papers to subdivide the land the house was on, and the brand-new title to the guesthouse.
In my name.
“You can’t,” I said, staring at him, tears welling up in my eyes.
“I already have,” Mr. Lewis said. “This was all in my will, anyway. This was always going to you, Wes. I just… wanted you to have it now. Keep it, sell it on if you want, it’s yours.”
“But—“
“No buts,” Mr. Lewis said firm.
“I… Mr. Lewis, I can’t…”
“Oh, that’s the other thing I wanted to talk to you about,” he said. “Don’t you think it’s about time you started calling me Dad?”
If I’d been on the verge of tears before, I was in real trouble now.
“Really?” I asked, voice tiny even to my own ears.
“Really,” Mr. Lewis said. “I don’t think it’s a secret that I love you, Wes. The day I first held Hayden in my arms was the best of my life, but I’m thinking today’s about to overtake it. Always wanted another son.”
I burst into tears as Mr. Lewis—dad—wrapped his arms around me, hugging me tight and letting me rest against his shoulder.
I’d never been given so much in one day. The house paled in comparison to this.
“Love you too, Dad,” I murmured, another sob of joy escaping me as I said it.
Hayden poked his head around the corner at that moment, eyes widening. I waved him over, passing him the papers so he’d understand part of why I was in tears.
He smiled the soft, knowing smile of a man who wasn’t surprised at all.
“I thought you were waiting until after the ceremony,” Hayden said.
“Changed my mind.” Mr. Lewis shrugged. “This way he knows he’s got security if he decides he doesn’t want to agree to putting up with your crap for the rest of his life.”
Even a year ago, someone saying that might’ve made Hayden nervous, or defensive.
Today, he snorted.
I’d never been so proud of him. So proud of both of us, for knowing that we were doing the best thing we’d ever do.
“Come here,” Mr. Lewis said, making space for Hayden to join the hug. “Let me hold you two boys a minute.”
He pulled us both into a warm, tight hug that threatened to wrinkle our suits and make us both face everyone we knew with red eyes and tear tracks, but I didn’t care anymore.
This was already the happiest day of my life, and nothing could ruin it.
“Okay.” Mr. Lewis said, backing off. “Okay, enough of that. Time for you two to get hitched.”
Hayden took my hand, linking our fingers together, squeezing tight and leaning in to whisper in my ear.
“Otters for life.”
Bonus Scene
Not quite ready to leave Hayden and Wes? Wondering what happened to evil incarnate Count Duckula?
Pick up your free bonus scene here and find out!
A Letter from Sean
Hello gorgeous,
You’ve reached the end of the book! There’s no more after this (except the bonus scene, have you picked that up yet?).
Melting has been a privilege to write—I’m honestly so grateful for the time I spent buried in this book, and I hope that for the time it took you to read it, it gave you the same respite it’s given me.
I’ve got so much more to write, so I’ll leave you to get on with your day and get back to it—I hope I’ll see you again for the next book!
Until then, take care.
Love,
Sean ❤️