“Almost a quarter of a million dollars. Ross and Arden and Ezra and Roe sent very nice donations along with their regrets. Ross is off shooting a movie, and Arden is with him. Ezra and his husband are out in California.”
“And Ethan and Allie couldn’t make it, but they made a donation online.” Nate and I hugged. “And our law firm is proud to be one of the sponsors.”
“It’s all so exciting.” Press’s dark eyes lit up. “I’m so proud of you for doing this. It’s going to help countless lives.” Always the sentimental one, Press squeezed my hand. “Thank you for the incredibly generous donation in my parents’ memory. You’re the sweetest—”
“I’ve been called many names in my lifetime but the sweetest isn’t one of them. Don’t get all sappy on me now.”
“Oh, don’t you play all tough guy on me. I heard the story of your proposal. You’re a closet romantic. All you needed was the right guy.”
I snagged Torre’s arm as he walked by me with his mother. “You know it.” I planted a kiss on his lips and Torre, caught off guard, clung to me a moment longer than he normally would in public, lips soft and mouth open. When he pushed away from me, Press and Nate both chuckled. “Should we run off to the back for a quickie,bello?”
Torre rolled his eyes. “Nothing with you is ever quick.” He patted my cheek.
“Why, thank you. I pride myself on my staying power.” I waggled my brows, and Torre groaned.
“That was a bad joke, even for you,” Nate teased.
“Fuck off, Nate. When are you going to make an honest man out of Press?”
He sobered. “My mother fell and broke her leg, so it’s impossible for her to travel to the States right now. We’ve postponed the wedding until later next year. You two will most likely beat us to the altar. Have you set a date?”
“Not yet. Frisco knows I’d marry him tomorrow, but so far we haven’t planned anything.”
“Do we really want a big ceremony?” I asked Torre. “I’m all for us saying I do and getting down to the good stuff, like the honeymoon.” I snuggled Torre closer.
“I believe that ship has sailed a while ago,” Torre said dryly as Press snickered. “You’ve been getting the good stuff, as you so delicately put it, for well over a year.”
My gaze wandered to the group of men I’d met earlier. They’d ordered drinks and had pulled up chairs to sit and talk. All of them seemingly happy. Was it only me who hesitated about marriage? It had nothing to do with Torre. I still wasn’t sure what there was about me that was special enough for him to want to stay.
“Do you see those guys? Except for one couple, they’re all married, some for years. One of them, Marcus, is a club owner whose reputation was worse than mine. Now he’s raising a little girl.”
Torre raised a brow. “Oh, how the mighty have fallen.”
“You sound surprised that they’re happy, Frisco. Why?” Nate crossed his arms.
“I guess it’s all still pretty new for me to be surrounded by lovey-dovey couples.”
“You know it’s not all sunshine and roses.” Press leaned on Nate. “Every couple has issues they need to work through, and if they claim they never fight, they’re lying. To you and themselves. The challenge is never to let problems consume you to the point that you forget who you are as a couple. Always remember the love.”
“Dr. Press.” I smirked and he flushed.
“Shut up. Don’t make fun of me.”
I reached out to grab him and hugged him tight. “Oh, stop. You know I love you. All those years of going to therapy certainly worked for both of us. Roe is a great doctor.”
“He is. And I’m glad you kept going to sessions.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not going to risk what I have now.”
Torre took my hand. “Excuse us a sec?” He pulled me over to the side. “Why are you so concerned all of a sudden? Is something going on that you haven’t told me? What’s got you second-guessing us?”
“Not us. Me.” For years I’d hidden my feelings of inadequacy under the guise of sarcasm and sex. I couldn’t do that with Torre. He was the only one I could be myself with, but sometimes I was too ugly for even me. Would he get tired of it and walk away?
“Explain yourself.”
“We’re in the middle of an event—”
“I don’t care if the president walks through that door. Nothing is more important to me than you. I thought you felt the same.”
