Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 79831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Even more, I didn’t think it mattered.
But hearing him say he’s coming—being so adamant about it—hits me square in the chest. It does matter. And I realize that what doesn’t matter is that the marriage is a sham. Gray would understand. He’d probably find it highly amusing. And he’d be right beside me either way.
“That really means a lot to me, Gray.”
“Of course.” His car’s engine roars and then goes quiet. “Can I do anything? What do you need? I’d love to take you on a bachelor’s trip, but I can’t swing that in two days.”
“That’s just as well because I don’t want a trip anyway.”
“Makes sense. You’re never much fun.” He chuckles. “Looks like you called at just the right time.”
My brow furrows. “Why?”
“Because I just got eight, make it nine messages from Brooks telling me that you’re getting married. I would’ve been pissed if I found out from him.”
He knows? I cringe. Guess Mira was right. Word is traveling fast.
“You were my first call,” I say.
“I better have been. I’m your brother.”
A commotion rings out in the entryway, and I turn to see Brooks barging into the room. He points a finger at me. “You’re getting married? What the fuck, Hart?”
“Hey, Gray, I gotta go.”
“So I hear. Enjoy. And I’ll see you Thursday. Congrats again.”
“Thanks.” The line goes dead, and I turn my attention to Brooks. “You were saying?”
“You’re marrying Mira?” He puts his hands on his hips. “Is it true?”
This is a lot for one day. I take a breath and gather my wits. “Yes.”
“Motherfucker. I’m supposed to be your second-best friend, and I had to hear this at the gym of all places. That’s so fucked up.”
“They talk about weddings at the gym?”
“Don’t change the subject. I’m hurt. You wounded me.”
I roll my eyes. “I just called Gray. I was still on the phone with him when you came in here. You were next on my list.”
“But why wasn’t I faster on the list? Other people clearly know.”
I shrug. I don’t know how they know, or why they know. I’m not sure what’s happening anymore. Yesterday, I was a bachelor with impossible dreams. Today, I’m engaged to my dream woman and somehow on the verge of getting my family’s land back. If Santa Claus comes down the chimney tonight, I won’t be surprised.
Brooks sits at the table and takes a bite of my cold lunch. I don’t know what to say to that.
“Thursday at seven at the church,” I say. “It was supposed to be a small thing at the courthouse, but now it’s this … thing. You’re welcome to come.”
“Oh, I’m coming.” He takes another bite. “I figure it’ll be Gray and me standing up with you, right?”
I don’t know. I hadn’t thought that far. But by the look on Brooks’s face, if I say that, he’ll be crushed. Besides, what’s it matter at this point?
“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” I say.
His smile stretches from ear to ear as he puts down my fork. “I’m really happy for you, Hart. I still don’t know how this happened, but I also know that when I think back about Audrey and me, I don’t know how that happened, either. Sometimes shit just falls in place like it’s supposed to be, and you just have to receive it.”
“I’m not sure that’s what’s happening here, but I understand your sentiment.”
He flinches. “No, man, that’s exactly what’s happening here. You and Mira should’ve been a thing years ago. This is the way it’s supposed to be. How you got here doesn’t matter. The point is you did. Now you just enjoy it.” A slow smile graces his lips. “Hell, I’d probably have married Auddie the first day I met her. So don’t take any shit from anyone telling you that this is too fast. When you know, you fucking know. And you, my man, have always known.”
I pour myself a glass of tea, then a second one when Brooks steals the first. All the while, I think about what he just said.
Mira and I are here, and it really doesn’t matter how it happened. The point is that we both get something we want, and I get the bonus of spending a year with her. And if that winds up being all the time I get for the rest of my life, then I’m grateful for this opportunity.
Sure, this isn’t how I wanted a wedding to go down with Mira. But I’m getting a wedding with her. And like Brooks said—maybe now is the time to just enjoy it.
The door flies open again and Cathy’s eyes land on mine. “Do you have something to tell me?”
Oh, boy. Not again.
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
Mira
“Oh, hell, Mira,” Miles says, sighing through the speakerphone. “This Thursday? You can’t wait another week?”
I lean against the back porch of Markie’s house with a margarita in one hand, my phone in the other. I didn’t have a ton of faith that my brother would call me back promptly after I left him a message this afternoon. Having the margarita already at my disposal is just luck of the draw.