Lake hums into the phone. “Yeah, that makes sense.”
“No, it doesn’t!” Riley sputters.
“Are you smaller than the other Riley?” Lake asks, not missing a beat.
“... yes.”
“Then it makes sense.”
Riley doesn’t reply to that, sitting back in his chair with a sullen expression and crossed arms. Petulant to his core.
Shortly after Lake hangs up, Quinn pulls up to the shopping complex he directed us to. It has large glass windows and glass doors, with two of the front shops taking up a fair amount of real estate. A cafe and an empty shop, with a large sign on it that says it’s for lease. It finally occurs to me where we are. Lake’s younger brother, Avery, owns an art shop here.
Riley slips out of the car as I do and gets into my seat, rolling down the window after he closes the door.
“Don’t wait up,” is all I say, slapping the roof of Quinn’s car in a silent gesture to tell him to go away. He winks at me and then pulls away and back into traffic. Asshole.
I shove my hands in my pockets, doing my best not to awkwardly shuffle. Might as well start calling myself Mini-Riley if I do that. Am I supposed to meet him inside, or is he coming out? Is he eveninthere yet? Asking me here doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s already here.
For fuck’s sake.
I’m about to pull out my phone and call him when he comes waltzing out of the complex, glass doors sliding open to reveal his beaming face.
Somehow when we’re apart, I forget just how good he looks. Just how much he makes mefeel, how strong the feeling is, and then it comes back in a rush the second I spot that grin, those dimples, his messy brown hair and hazel eyes. He lights me up from the inside, and he’s the best fucking thing I’ve ever seen.
He reaches up for a kiss as soon as I’m in reach. I grasp the side of his neck to keep him in place when I take over. The feel of his lips against mine helps to settle the unsteady beat of my heart. Everything to do with the wedding makes me nervous in a way I can’t properly explain. I don’t want to even if I could. It’snotregret, and that’s all that matters.
“Mum is running late,” Lake says without pulling away, our lips brushing on every word, “but she should be here soon.”
Works for me; his mother fucking terrifies me. Lake and his brother are polar opposites, and they got their personalities frombothparents. Like who they are got separated during pregnancy, and half was given to Lake, the other going to Avery.
Lake takes my hand and tugs me inside. “Did I interrupt something important?”
“Not really. Just picking up some surveillance footage.”
“You needed three of you? Mini-Riley didn’t sound that old.”
“He’s fifteen, doing work experience with us.”
Lake nods. We skirt around the cafe tables and the small indoor playground as Lake talks about his morning at work. The florist is past the tattoo parlour and a bakery. Avery’s art supply store is across from it, near the opposite entrance.
“Did you like any of the flowers I put on the list? I kind of just googled what’s good for a wedding and was hoping we could narrow it down to something we both like.”
Is this the part where I admit to never in my life seeing the list? Did Lake show it to me, and I blocked it out? “Uh—”
Lake stops abruptly and blanches. “Oh my god, I didn’t show it to you.”
“I don’t… think so?” I like to think I’d remember that, but I can’t say with any degree of certainty. I want to believe that this is important enough to me that I wouldn’t dismiss something like that so easily.
Lake furrows his lips and then pulls out his phone. “I emailed it to you.” He scrolls through for a second and then laughs. “Oops?” He turns the phone around to an email he definitely wrote, with an attachment. It’s sitting in his drafts.
“Pressing ‘send’ helps.” The relief I feel can’t be overstated. Fucking hell, I’m so glad that I never saw it. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of other opportunities for me to lose fiancé points later.
He presses send now. “Do you want to go over it first, like a quick glance over the subject before an exam?”
“Is this an exam?” I ask, lips twitching in amusement. He seems more nervous than me. At least it’s a mutual feeling. “They’re a florist, Lake. They’ll know flowers. We can just ask them.” I drag him closer and run my hands through his soft hair. “If we don’t choose something today, it’s alright. I’m sure there are dozens, if not hundreds, of florists in the city.”
He smiles warmly. “Yeah?”
