eating, drinking, and mingling.
I found Skylar standing with her parents. Caroline was wearing the hell out of a form fitting red dress, and Chief was clearly enjoying it. His eyes traced her curves when she wasn’t looking and he grinned a little. Holy shit, he was totally hitting that tonight. I wondered if that was why he’d been in such a good mood lately.
Go Chief.
“Hey, Sky.” I nodded to her parents. “Caroline. Chief.”
Sky’s shy smile was the fucking cutest. “Hey.”
“It was a beautiful wedding, don’t you think?” Caroline asked. “They look so happy together.”
“I had a feeling she’d be the one for Evan,” Chief said.
“Did you?” Caroline asked. “How did you know?”
“She seemed to be able to put up with him.”
“An important quality in a wife,” Caroline said.
Gram came over to stand next to me. She was wearing a light peach floor-length dress and Fiona had put flowers in her braid.
“Congratulations,” Chief said and gave her a hug.
“Thank you,” she said. “It’s nice to see another one of my cubs happily married.”
“You did an amazing job with them,” Caroline said. “You should be proud.”
“They give me a lot to be proud of.” She glanced at Skylar. “Hi there, Sparrow. How’s the book coming?”
Sparrow?
Wait.
Had Gram just nicknamed her?
Except it seemed like she’d called her that before. She had, at Asher’s birthday. I’d hardly noticed at the time, but holy shit, Gram gave her an animal name.
Uh-oh.
“It’s coming along really well,” Skylar said. “I’ll probably finish in the next week or so.”
“That’s wonderful.”
“Thanks. It’s been a struggle, so it feels great to be so close to finishing. Then I just have to decide what I’m going to do with it when it’s done.”
“You know what I think,” Caroline said. “You don’t need another agent and you can be your own publisher.”
“I know, Mom. That’s just such a different way of doing things.”
“You can be your own publisher?” I asked.
Skylar nodded. “Yeah, these days you can. There are definitely some advantages.”
“But it makes you nervous.”
“It does. But you know me, everything makes me nervous.” She shrugged.
I stepped closer to her and gently took her hand. “I totally believe in you.”
“Thank you.”
She gazed up at me and for a second, I forgot that Gram and Skylar’s parents were standing right here. I was about to lean down and kiss her when Chief moved slightly, catching my attention from the corner of my eye.
Dropping her hand, I moved back.
Gram glanced at me with raised eyebrows as if to say, I saw that. “You do what you think is best, Sparrow.”
“Thanks, Gram. I will.”
Gram gave my arm a squeeze, then made her way to the next group of guests to chat.
Caroline slipped her arm through Chief’s. “How sweet of you to ask me to dance.”
“I don’t recall that I did.”
She smiled. “I’m sure you were just about to.”
The corners of his mouth turned up and he shook his head, then led her to where people had started dancing.
“What’s going on there?” I asked, gesturing toward Chief and Caroline.
“I’m not sure, but I think my mom’s been sleeping in his room.”
“Nice,” I said.
She laughed. “I guess. They must know I know, but they haven’t said anything.”
“Maybe they’re still feeling things out. Seeing where it’s going to go.”
“Yeah, probably.”
“Wouldn’t it be crazy if they actually got back together?”
She gazed at them for a moment. “It would. I used to think they mostly just drove each other nuts, but lately… Just look at them.”
Chief had one arm around Caroline’s waist, his other hand clutched hers near his chest, and they smiled at each other as they danced.
“They look awesome together.”
“They really do.”
Evan had his bride in his arms, and Grace and Asher danced together next to Chief and Caroline. Logan swept up with Ginny and they joined the other couples on the dance floor.
I was just about to ask Skylar to dance, but she spoke first.
“Um, Gavin?”
“Yeah?”
She sidled up closer and slipped her hand in mine, then tilted her face up toward my ear. “You know how sometimes I get overstimulated and then…”
“And then?”
She looked up at me with those big brown eyes and bit her lip, desire written all over her face.
Oh shit.
“Now?”
She nodded. “I told you it happens at the worst times.”
I glanced around the tent. It wasn’t exactly ideal, but it wasn’t the worst time. Turning, I looked behind us, toward the house. No one was inside, except the caterers coming in and out of the kitchen.
But upstairs…
My brain was already buzzing at the prospect of