He’s fucking with me, but I’m exhausted and not in the mood to keep things light. So, I tell him the truth for once. “I always was.”
The grin on Cam’s face freezes as he tilts his head. “For real? You were?”
I nod. “Luke and I used to call you guys the baby-ass Wild cousins. We fucked with you all the time, remember?”
He glares at me. “Dec, of course we fucking remember. You assholes were brutal to us. Stealing our clothes when we were camping out on Wild Ranch so we had to run back to the house freezing our dicks off. Oh, and don’t forget how Luke filled up Bray’s cowboy boots with horse shit.”
I laugh. “Hey, we were older brothers. And wewerejerks when we were kids.”
“We got you back, though. We shoveled cow dung right underneath Luke’s bedroom window during the heatwave so all he could smell was shit.”
We’re still laughing when I say to him, “In all seriousness, Luke and I envied how close you guys were. I think that’s partly why we screwed with you so much. That, and we were bored teenagers.”
“Hey, you’ve got plenty of time now to hang out with Luke,” he points out. “And Chase and Cooper.” He furrows his brow. “Are they like the middle cousins?”
I shrug. “They’re closer to my age than yours. They used to hang around when I was visiting. I guess they’re tweeners.”
“Tweeners, huh? Is that like one foot in and one foot out?” His expression turns serious. “You better watch what you’re doing, big brother. You may want to brush this thing with Mia off as fake and arranged, but a marriage is still a marriage. You’ll still be exchanging rings and vows with this woman.”
I swallow. I know he’s right, and what can I say? He may be ten years younger than I am, but he’s been down that aisle for real. I stay silent and let him finish.
“You can say what you want about yours and Mia’s end goals,” Cam says. “But mark my words—when you officially become husband and wife, you’ll feel the shift. And I just hope you’re okay with walking away in a year. If you’re not, things could get awfully messy.”
“I’ll be okay with it.”
I better be.
Chapter Twelve
Mia
Once Declan and I announce our intentions to marry, my dad and Uncle Ned take over from there. It’s a little scary how quickly they mobilize. Within a week, our engagement has been announced to the national media.
A week after that, I sign an NDA, Declan and I both sign off on the marriage contract and the prenup, and Uncle Ned puts out the spin that Declan Wild and his fiancée are so in love they can’t wait to marry. So, they’re not. Our wedding is planned for the following Saturday.
So here I am at the courthouse on Saturday afternoon. We lucked out with the weather; no snow, and in fact, it’s unseasonably warm. I’m dressed in a simple white dress that Jamie Beth and I found off the rack at the local department store.
I’m wearing Mom’s antique blue bracelet on my left wrist for good luck—something old, borrowed, and blue in one shot.
“I feel like my entire life is happening and I’m not at the helm. I’m just a passenger along for the ride,” I admit to Jamie Beth as we stand just inside the courthouse and wait for the others.
“I’m the maid of honor for your upcoming nuptials, and I know literally nothing,” she complains.
“Uncle Ned took my coat and said security would handle it for me. Since when do I rely on security?”
“Look at my dress,” she says as if that will explain everything.
“What about it? I love that little black dress,” I say as I admire the way it hugs her curves. “You look sexy.”
“This dress is something I wear out on the weekends!” she says like it’s blasphemous. “It’s not supposed to be my maid of honor dress for my best friend since we were in diapers. The maid of honor dress was supposed to be something we shopped for together, fought over, maybe even stole out of the arms of another shopper who wanted the same thing but I wanted it more.”
I laugh like I know she planned for me to. “You always know how to keep me calm,” I say. “I love you, JB. I’m so glad you’re here.”
She kisses my cheek. “I am too. I guess I just thought when you got married, you and I would have so much fun planning everything together, you know? But your dad is Mr. No-Fun these days.”
“He agreed to a private ceremony at least,” I say. “I could never face a huge crowd of people and exchange vows with someone I barely know.”
“But you know him biblically,” Jamie reminds me with a wink.
