CHAPTER 35
ETNA
It’sgood to be home. Not that we’re home quite yet. We just got our gear and are heading for the car. I have both gear bags and Keno has our suitcase and garment bag. We each have our backpacks, too. It’s funny that we’ve almost always shared luggage.
I’ve spent a lot of time these last couple of months thinking about all the things we do as a couple and realizing so many of them haven’t changed. It’s like we were easing ourselves and our friends into it without realizing we were doing so. By the time we announced our pending nuptials, they rolled their eyes and were likeit’s about time.
We’ve unlocked the secret to making those around you accept your relationship, whether they want to or not. Make it so obvious that only those involved are blind to it.
The thought makes me grin.
Keno opens the trunk of his SUV, and I load in the gear bags.
“You hear from your sister?” he asks as he adds the luggage next and then our backpacks.
I nod, grinning. “I received a voice note while you were in the shower.” Keno shuts the trunk, and we head to the front to climb in. Once he’s started the car, I play the message.
“You’re going to be here, ohmygod, I can’t wait for you to see your house! It’s amazing. In just a few hours. Ohmygod, ohmygod! Eeeee!”
Keno laughs.
“That’s Eddy’s normal energy. Not the brooding mess you met at Christmas.”
“To be fair, she didn’t start out brooding. But I’m really glad she sounds like that again.”
“I am, too.” Also incredibly fucking relieved. I can count on one hand the number of times Edna and I have gone more than twenty-four hours upset with each other. An entire month was rough.
“We have a couple hours before we’re supposed to be there, in case she’s got some last-minute shit to do. Want to stop and get some food?” I ask.
“You didn’t tell her we were early?”
I shake my head. “I didn’t want to stress her. She’s probably been done since last night, but in case she was waiting on something last minute, I don’t want to send her into a tizzy.”
Keno laughs. “Yeah, let’s get something to eat.”
I’m tapping through my phone to find a restaurant on the way to our new place when an email notification pops up. I’m about to swipe it off my screen when I see the subject line.
Re: Booking Caffeine Daydreams for our wedding.
“Ohhh,” I say and feel Keno glance at me while I click on the email.
“What?”
I don’t answer as I skim the email, a smile climbing. “We just booked Caffeine Daydreams,” I say, looking up at him.
Keno grins. “No fucking way.”
“Yes! I have a contract in my email and everything.”
“Holy fuck. That’s awesome.”
“I know. Is it too soon to be posting that shit online? I feel like I need to brag.”
I laugh. After replying to the agent accepting the terms and saying we’ll return the contract as soon as we get home, I return to scrolling for restaurants in the area.
“I already kind of miss the lake,” Keno says.
I place my hand on his thigh and give him a comforting squeeze. At least, I intend it to be comforting. But from the way his hand covers mine and keeps my hand still, I think maybe it has a different effect.
