When we decided to call it a night, Callie and Lucas walked all of us through the side yard toward the front of the house.
As we neared the driveway, I heard Wes let out a chuckle. “Oh, Jesus…”
I looked up at him. “What?”
“Blake, don’t tell me you got sucked into that,” he said, gesturing toward the driveway.
Blake’s brow furrowed. “Into what?”
“The whole Jeep thing with the damn ducks.” Wes gestured to Blake’s black Jeep Wrangler, where a lone duck sat in the windshield.
“Oh, I?—”
“Aw, I think it’s cute,” Callie said with a grin as she walked across the driveway to get a closer look. “And stop! It has a little stethoscope for him!”
Wes rolled his eyes with a playful grin. “Please, Calliefornia. You get excited over the littlest things.”
We called out what time we were all meeting tomorrow for the rehearsal dinner as we walked to our cars, bidding goodnight before slipping inside.
When Wes and I got back to my apartment, we got up to ourusual antics in the bedroom—sex since becoming official had only gotten better and made me crave him more than I already did.
My head was on his chest after, our legs tangled beneath the sheets as his finger traced a delicate path up and down the length of my spine.
“Ya know, I never did officially ask you to be my date for the wedding.”
I chuckled, tilting my head back to look at him. “I didn’t think you had to ask meofficially. I thought it was a given.”
He smiled. “Good. Because you’re sure as hell not going with anyone else.”
“And here I was not too long ago thinking I wouldn’t have a date,” I said.
“A lot can change, huh?”
The truth of his words made me chuckle. “You can say that again. It’s funny to look back and see how far the two of us have come.”
“I call it the progression of the F’s.” I arched my brow, and he lifted his hand to tick off his fingers. “Foes, fuck buddies, friends, forever.”
My heart fluttered at the latter, and a small smile ghosted my lips. “Forever, huh?”
His smile grew, his expression filling with adoration andlove. He tapped his heart with his index finger. “You’ve taken up permanent residence in here. I’m not letting you go, Princess. Not now. Notever.”
I pulled him to me, pressing my lips to his in a lingering kiss.
I went from someone who was resigned to being alone to being with Wes, a man who reminded me every day that I’d never be alone as long as he was around.
One thing Lucas knew how to do and do well was throw a damn party.
After the wedding ceremony at the Bayport Country Club—which went off without a hitch—the guests moved to the outdoor reception area situated near the edge of the hill that overlooked the cove for which our town was named. And Lucas and Callie spared no expense to make sure it was a reception to remember.
The bride and groom were practically glowing the entire day. Callie made an absolutely stunning bride, and Lucas looked happier than I’d ever seen him—his new favorite phrase, and the only way he’d referred to Callie since the ceremony ended, was “my wife.”
After grabbing a refill at the bar, I sat at the head table and glanced around.
My eyes landed on Blake talking to Gabe in a quiet area near the hillside. Blake had been doing well in therapy, but I think he was struggling a little more than he let on; he had his good days and tougher days. He seemed to be carrying some kind of guilt, but I wasn’t sure. He hadn’t opened up to any of us about what he went through, but I knew in due time and when he was ready, he would.
“Are you seeing this?” I looked up as Lucas approached and sat next to me, laughing as he pointed to the dance floor.
When I looked, a bark of laughter escaped me. Morgan,Callie, and Haley were currently showing Lucas’s grandpa how to do the Cupid shuffle.
