“Stop being dramatic,” Seth said, sniffing as well. “I’mthe drama queen in this family, don’t try to snatch my crown on my wedding day.”
I laughed again, and this time it came out more like a laugh. “I wouldn’t dream of it,” I said, smiling at him. “You wear it so well. And it goes with your cape.”
“The cape’s fantastic, right?” Seth said, swishing it from side to side. “Everyone should get married in a cape.”
“I think it takes someone special to pull it off,” I said. “Like you. And for the record, this still stands,” I added, holding the friendship bracelet up. “I willalwaysbe there. One text, one call away. I’m so glad I got to be a part of this.”
Seth bounded forward for yet another hug, this one so tight it was going to leave me with finger-shaped bruises on my back if he didn’t ease up.
“I love you, Harv,” he said, pulling back to hold my hands again. “Same goes for you. One text, one call. Anytime. And I’m glad you were here.”
“Enjoy Florence, Seth,” I squeezed his hands. “And Mark?” I added, louder, drawing his attention. “You look after him, okay?”
“You know,” Mark said. “People always think I do the looking after, but between you and me? Seth takes care of me more than I take care of him. He’s stronger than a lot of people think.”
“Oh, I know,” I said, squeezing Seth’s hands one last time before I let go. “He’s one of a kind.”
Seth grinned at that.
“Take that blanket to Iggy and then come see us off,” he said, backing up toward Mark. “I’ve got a few more goodbyes to say. And Harv?”
“Yeah?”
“IfIcan be happy, you can be happy, too,” he said, waving as he walked away.
* * *
I realizedI hadn’t been paying enough attention to Iggy’s champagne consumption when he crowded me into a darkened corner of the barn, pinned me to the wall, and kissed me with a kind of clumsy urgency that definitely shouldn’t have been a turn on…
… but kind of was, all the same.
I liked that he liked me. I liked that even his drunk brain liked me, that when he was stripped back to being vulnerable and open, I was the person he’d sought out.
“How many have you had?” I asked between open-mouthed kisses, laughing despite myself.
Iggy had been through a tough week. He deserved the chance to relax, and I wasn’t going to let anything happen to him.
“Umm.” Iggy paused, looking me almost in the eyes, his attention wandering off at the last second.
“That many, huh?” I asked, smiling wryly.
He was adorable like this.
“Notthatmany,” Iggy objected. “I can still walk upright.”
“Let’s keep it that way, hmm?” I reached out to run my fingers through his hair, wondering where the otherwise ever-present tie that’d been keeping it back had gone.
Iggy closed his eyes, leaning into my hand, and I melted. If he’d asked for the moon right now, I would’ve found a way to get him the stars as well.
He fell forward, resting his head on my chest and sighing contentedly as I petted his hair, letting me take his weight.
“Can we have sex?” he murmured.
“No,” I said, but I couldn’t help smiling. It was nice to be wanted, even if Iggy was too many flutes of champagne deep to know what hereallywanted.
“But you’re so good at it!” he complained, looking up at me with pleading eyes, wide and dark and glinting with the twinkling ones Seth had all over the place.
I laughed, losing the battle to resist kissing him.Justkissing, but I figured that wouldn’t do any harm. At this point, he probably wouldn’t remember much.
