Even still, by the way in which Chloe held her best friend, I wondered if she would ever be happy so far away from her.
“Do you want to grab anything from your storage locker?” I asked as we drove back to my condo.
“What do you mean?” Chloe asked.
“Clothes, photos, blankets… anything that might help you feel more at home at my place?”
Her lips twisted slightly, and I had to look twice at her smirking face. “What?” I asked.
“Gavin Erosin, are you asking me to move in with you?” she asked.
The gleam in her eyes was so cute.
“I can ask you to marry me again if you’d rather hear that first,” I said.
She bit her lips together to keep from smiling, a blush rising on her cheeks. “Ask me again,” she said, and a lump formed in my throat. “Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But ask me.”
I reached over and squeezed her knee. She pressed her hands atop mine, and I know I beamed at her more brightly than ever.
“What can I do right now to make you feel at home? Finally,” I asked.
She leaned over the console and kissed my cheek. “You are my home,” she said. “But a few photos around the place would also cheer me up. And my sunflower blanket.”
I chuckled and made a U-turn. “Okay.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR - CHLOE
***WARNING: THE FOLLOWING chapter contains a story of domestic violence***
We arrived at the vineyard for Ezzie and Raegan’s wedding weekend on the morning of the rehearsal dinner. We planned to drive up the night before, but once Lana’s plane was delayed and Zayn decided he wanted to ride with us, Gavin ended up chartering a jet instead.
Ezzie and Raegan greeted us in the dirt parking lot with bottles of wine in each of their hands. Their families and many of their friends were already there, and the gathering was in full swing.
“So, what’s on the agenda for tonight?” Lana asked once we’d all showered each other with greetings and hugs.
“Rae and I have a quick run-through for the ceremony tomorrow,” Ezzie said. “They’ll show us our marks, all of that. However, you all are free to do whatever you want. We’ll have dinner once we’re back, and then we have a live band and a few other things, including speeches.“
“What’s the other?” I asked.
“Ezzie hired fire dancers,” Raegan said.
“Myfatherhired fire dancers,” Ezzie corrected. “He wanted to pay homage to our Samoan heritage. We aren’t doing anything traditional, so I thought, why not?”
“Are they actual Samoan fire dancers?” I asked.
Ezzie’s smile broadened. “They really are.”
“Oh, I can’t wait,” Lana said, a gleam in her eyes.
“So, it’s dinner, fire dancers, speeches, and then they’ve set up some fire pits in the courtyard for us to sit around while the musicians play,” Raegan said. She grinned as she looked between all of us. “Let’s have some fun.”
It felt so fucking good to have someone on my arm who wanted to be there and enjoyed being around my friends. Someone who joined their shenanigans and didn’t disappear on the phone or make excuses to get another drink. Even Zayn fitted in well with the group, and with as happy as I was surrounded by so much love, I, again, wondered what the fuck I had been thinking the last three years.
Everyone was wired and drinking, happy to have a few nights off work to let loose and commemorate the union. Ezzie and Raegan’s families celebrated lavishly with dancing, games, and speeches that had us all nearly falling out of our seats laughing. It was a true joy being there, and I knew had I gone through with my own wedding, it would have been nothing like it.
I found myself falling asleep in Gavin’s arms as we sat around the fire pit—well after the dancers and the dinner when everyone was deciding whether they were ready for more or ready to turn in.
Gavin and I were the latter.
