Chapter 26
“You’re really here!” Shelby launched herself out of the car and hugged Rowan.
Rowan hugged her back. In many ways, Shelby had been closer than Adalynn. The backs of her eyes stung as the realization she’d lost more than Luke when they’d broken up hit her hard.
“I missed you too, Shelby,” she said.
Shelby pushed her away. “Whose fault is that?”
“Touché.”
“I don’t care if my brother screws this up again—”
“Hey! I can hear you,” Luke said, joining them and wrapping his arm around Rowan’s shoulders.
Shelby glared at him. “If he screws up again, I get to keep you.”
Rowan smiled. “Deal.”
“Good. Now, he promised to pay for my dress if I went to the gala thingy and this is probably the only time I’m ever going to be able to walk a red carpet, so if he can’t take us both, he’s going to have to stay home and we’ll go together.”
“I’m right here,” he said. “Could you stop talking about me as if I’m not?”
“No,” Shelby said. “But I’ll leave the important stuff for when you’re not with us.”
Marla came through the front door. “Okay, let’s get a move on. Our appointment is in forty-five minutes and it’s going to take at least thirty to get there.”
Luke pulled Rowan closer and wrapped his arms loosely around her waist. Leaning close to her ear, he whispered, “If they get too nosy, call me and I’ll rescue you.”
“I think I’ll be okay,” she said.
“Call me anyway.” He clasped her jaw and kissed her.
She pressed closer as their tongues caressed each other. How badly did she really need a dress?
The clearing of a throat split them apart. Shelby stared at them, grinning like a crazy person while Marla looked pointedly at her watch. She was probably the one who cleared her throat.
“All right,” Luke said. “Have fun.” He followed them out the front door and waved as they drove off.
Shelby leaned between the front seats. “On a scale of one to set everything on fire, how mad were you at Luke when he objected at your wedding?”
One thing she’d always loved about Shelby was her willingness to lay it all out there. “He didn’t actually object. We’d decided to leave that part out since we hadn’t seen the point.”
Shelby laughed. “Oh, the irony.” Her laughter trailed off. “Sorry I didn’t RSVP, but going felt kind of like a betrayal to Luke. I was happy for you, but at the same time, it didn’t seem right. You know?”
She did. “I debated whether or not to send you and your mama an invitation, but in the end, it felt more wrong not to. I didn’t get an RSVP from your mom either, not that I was really expecting one. Although, I didn’t know she moved to Johnson City, so she might not have ever received it.”
“Luke surprised her with a house. He bought it with his first big royalty check.”
Buying houses for the women in his life seemed to be a thing. “That was sweet of him.”
“It really was. And it’s a cute house, too. He paid off all my student loans and paid for graduate school.”
“What’s your degree in?” Rowan asked.
“Early childhood education. I started out as a teacher, but I love working with kids that need a little extra attention so I ended up transferring to the special needs program.”
“That’s so impressive. I don’t think I would have the patience to teach kids.”
