I stared up at her in surprise. “Not just him. Because I’m lonely, Hel. Everyone else is in a relationship. And I’ve got nothing. I want to wake up next to someone every morning and kiss them goodnight. I want to hold their hand and take stupid selfies. I want to have what you all have.”
“Oh, Dean.” Helena sighed and moved to wrap her arms around me. “I’m so sorry.”
I wished that that would fix everything. “Let me text Mav.”
When she stepped back, I sent a message to my brother to let him know where I was. The response was instant, and I cringed at the anger that came through. I guess I hadn’t thought that one through.
Maverick:Are you fucking serious right now? This could have been done last night, so I wasn’t losing my mind this morning! I’m coming over there.
Helena dragged another chair closer to sit down. “He’s mad.”
“I can’t blame him.”
“He’s on his way here.”
Helena sat down next to me. “And I’m sure he’s bringing everyone else with him.”
She ruffled my hair playfully before I swatted her hand away. After I fixed it, I sighed and shook my head. “This is all so fucked up.”
I paused when I heard the sound of the door slam shut behind us and the soft whispers of my bandmates. Jesus, couldn’t they even talk to me? But before I could say anything, Maverick had rushed over to me, dropped to his knees, and whispered that he loved me. That he would always be here forme, no matter what. A soft sob escaped me before I could stop it, and then Mav wrapped his strong arms around me in a tight hug.
I coughed nervously when we pulled apart and glanced behind me to find Killian and Blake standing there. “I’m sorry if I scared you guys. I just... I needed Helena.”
Killian’s blue eyes narrowed angrily. “You could have come to me.”
“You were busy,” I reminded him and dropped my gaze. “You all were. I didn’t want to interrupt that. Helena told me if I needed to talk, if I needed anything, just to text her, and so I did.”
“You could have come to me, too. You know that. I’m your best friend. I know I wasn’t always honest with you, dude, but I am now. Please don’t hide from me,” Killian begged before he took a couple of steps toward me. “I was an asshole before. When Matthias and I first got together. And then when we were apart. Don’t be me, Dean. Please don’t be like that. Whatever your sexuality is, we don’t care.”
Maverick leaned into me. “Please don’t be like us.”
“I’m not going to... That’s not the issue. The issue is that I love Beau, and he doesn’t love me. I don’t know what it’s going to be like when I see him at the wedding. I don’t...” Tears blurred my vision, and Maverick gasped and hugged me again.
“I’m going to kill that fucker. I don’t care if it’s a wedding. No one will see or hear anything,” Killian hissed between clenched teeth. “Don’t look at me like that, Mav. He’s a thirty-eight-year-old man who’s acting like a child. I won’t ruin anything.”
Maverick flipped him the bird. “It’s my wedding day, Kill. Don’t you dare make a scene. I want it to be special. No, it will be special, and I willmurder youif you ruin that for me.”
I snorted. “Don’t.”
“Wait, are you laughing right now?” Killian asked. “You scared the shit out of all of us, especially your brother, and this is funny to you?”
I pressed my face into Maverick’s shoulder. “Because you’re threatening to kill Beau and Maverick is going all bridezilla on your ass.”
“I’m not a...” Maverick’s lips curved up into a smile before he burst into a fit of giggles. “Bridezilla.”
Killian smirked. “You’re totally a bridezilla. Ha! You thought I was going to be one when it’s been you the entire time.” He folded his tattooed arms across his thick chest.
“Maybe I’m a little bit of a bridezilla, but honestly, I deserve it. Right?” Maverick hooked his arm around my shoulders.
“I mean, sure, but don’t we all? We all deserve our special day,” Killian pointed out.
I nudged Maverick. “No one is going to ruin your day, Mav. I’m not even going to look in Beau’s direction, and Killian isn’t going to murder anyone. I want you and Jax to have an extra special wedding after everything the two of you went through. It’s the first Mulligan wedding. It has to be perfect.”
“What about you, Blake? You planning to commit any crimes in the near future?” Maverick turned to our bass player.
Blake looked surprised, then waved a hand in front of himself. “What about this face screamsgoing to commit a crime?”
“Mm, right. Like you and Tommy weren’t doing things that could have gotten you arrested when he was in school.” Killian wiggled his brows.
