hard not to want you,” Matt went on. “I kept pushing you away, pushing you away, convinced there was no room for you in my life.” Reaching out, he took Shane’s left hand in his, and lifted it to his lips. “Thanks for not letting me,” he whispered against his ring. “For not giving up on me. I’m so lucky—and so goddamn happy—to be yours.”
With a choked exclamation, Shane cupped his chin with gentle fingers and kissed him. “I love you.” Then he grinned. “Mushy Matt.”
“Annnd of course you had to go and ruin it,” Matt grunted in mock disgust, even as he twined his arms around Shane’s neck. “Fuckin’ clown.”
After that, the music was turned back up to a deafening level, beer cups were filled to the brim, and the SEALs settled in to party.
Devon slipped over to Lani at one point and pressed a folded ten-dollar bill into her hand. “He didn’t cry,” she said, her tone dripping with disgust. “Cool as a damn cucumber.”
Before she could saunter off, Lani grabbed her arm and hissed in her ear, “You’re next, lady.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Devon towed her into the shadows next to the garage. “Well, we, uh, actually got married three months ago. In Vegas.”
“What?”
“Don’t be mad,” Devon pleaded. “We were there, and we’d wandered into this cheesy little chapel. All of a sudden Rhys pulls a ring box from his backpack and says something like, ‘I’m tired of carrying this around, waiting for the perfect moment. Here.’”
Lani gasped. “He didn’t. Tell me he didn’t say ‘Here’ and shove your engagement ring in your face.” She looked wildly around for Rhys. “Where is he? I’m gonna give him a piece of my mind—”
“Simmer down, tiger.” With a laugh, Devon pulled her into a hug. “It wasn’t as bad as I’m making it sound, but Lani, it was just so us. Lots of laughter, a few snafus, and me marrying the love of my life. It was perfect.”
Tears stinging her eyes, she firmly pushed aside her idea of what Rhys and Devon’s perfect wedding should’ve been, and hugged her back. “We’re sisters now,” she whispered. “You know that, right?”
“Yeah.” Pressing their foreheads together, Devon rasped, “Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
Not long after that, the raucousness of the party quieted down as the single guys left for more exciting pastures. Couples with young kids and babysitters at home started drifting away, too, and soon it was just the six of them left, sprawled out among the wreckage.
“Great party,” Devon said drowsily, not even bothering to lift her head from where it was resting against Rhys’s chest. Curled up on Geo’s lap, Lani mumbled, “Thanks.”
Shane sat on the floor of the patio, back against a support post, Matt between his legs, arms wrapped around Shane’s upraised knees. Their heads were tilted close together as they whispered, every now and then sharing a lingering kiss.
Lani couldn’t help but smile, and Geo brushed his lips over her temple. “What’re you thinking about, sweetheart?”
She sighed. “About the first time I saw them, that night at the bar. Matt was so prickly, and Shane so arrogant, and yet they were so in love with each other they couldn’t see straight. Who’d have thought I’d be sitting here with them on their wedding day? It just makes me so happy.”
He leaned down and kissed away the tear that slid down her cheek. “It was your engagement party, too, wasn’t it?”
She gasped. “Oh, my God, it was. I forgot for a second.” In the process of casting Rhys a guilty look, she caught him with his hand sliding along Devon’s silky thigh, where it slowly disappeared under her skirt.
Whoops.
Quickly looking away again, she snuggled down against Geo’s broad chest. “It’s scary to think how close I came to marrying the wrong man. What if you’d picked another bar to have a drink in that night? What if I hadn’t gotten so sick at that exact moment?”
Then I wouldn’t be here, a little bit tipsy on wine and a lot drunk on happiness, sitting on my husband’s lap next to some of my most favorite people in the whole wide world.
Lani gazed up at the sky, Geo’s arms around her, squeezing her tight.
Was it you, Ty, watching out for me?
She’d like to think that it was.
Thanks, big brother.
It might’ve been her imagination, or her tired brain, or the fact she’d finally let go of anger, of bitterness, and opened her heart, but she could’ve sworn she heard Tyler’s voice