Mom hugs Kelani to her chest, beaming hazel eyes at me as she laughs. “You’d better buckle up, Buttercup. It’s a wedding weekend. I bought extra boxes of tissues.”
“Who’s hungry?” Dad stretches out his hand. “Mav, you like fried fish?”
“Yes, sir!” Maverick says, lifting our bags. “I’ll put these in the cottage and meet you all at the house.”
“Let me help you.” Dad steps forward. “I heard you had a concussion recently.”
“It’s nothing.” Mav tries to play it off, but my dad lifts the heavier bag. “Hockey’s a tough sport.”
They drift away talking.
Mom puts her hand on Maddie’s shoulder, still holding the puppy. “Let’s get the rest of these things inside. Your uncle Leon is going to be so happy to see you. He’s been working hard to build berms in the south quarter.”
The two of them go ahead of us, but Gina dashes over to where I stand, holding me back.
“What’s goingon?” Her eyes level on mine, practically squealing. “Why are you and Mav sharing the cottage?”
I don’t know what to do. I need Maverick here to help me. We made this bed together, and I’m not lying in it all by myself.
“Ahh…” I look over my shoulder to where my dad and he are entering the foreman’s cottage.
It’s where my dad stayed when he first came to our family’s orchard before I was born. It’s where my parents first fell in love, and my stomach tickles thinking about sharing such a special place with Mav.
Granted, they completely renovated it in the years since all that happened. Now it’s a much nicer guesthouse, still only one bedroom but with updated interiors and a larger, full bathroom.
“We just sort of…” I’m searching my mind for anything to say that will get me off the hook until I can talk to him. “...are.”
“Well, I think it’s about time you came out of the closet!” She lifts her chin, giving me a smug grin. “Haddy is going to be so pissed that I’m here and she’s not.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, good lord! Maverick has been pining for you since we were kids!” Her voice goes high. “Important note, Knox is the worst at keeping secrets. Don’t ever tell him anything you want in the vault. He’s worse than Haddy.”
“He… has?” My chest squeezes.
We’ve reached the back door that leads into the kitchen, and I look over my shoulder at him walking up the hill with my dad.
“I can’t even tell you how happy everyone is going to be. When word got around you were moving to LA, Sage wanted to start one of those wagering pools where we could all bet on how long it would take before y’all were sleeping together.”
“Y’all bet on that?” My ears heat, and I pull my hand away.
“Of course not!” She laughs, taking my arm again. “Itwas just for fun. To make things interesting. And we’d be bettingforyou, not against you.”
“Wait, so you did or you didn’t?”
“The idea was floated, but it doesn’t matter now. You’re together! I can’t believe your mom knew before we did.”
“Yeah…” I climb the steps behind Gina, and we enter the warm kitchen where Maddie is standing at the bar chatting with my mom and Kelani dances around her feet, looking up at everyone and doing her little breathy yips.
About that… “Mom, how did you know about Maverick and me?”
“Hmm?” Mom’s eyebrows lift, and she bends down to take a large baking sheet of garlic bread from the oven. “Oh, Darcy just texted the planning group chat letting us all know. I think Boo was worried you’d be the only one without an escort.”
That word again.
“Best weekend ever!” Gina gives me another squeeze, and when the screen door opens, she skips over to her cousin. “Maverick, you sneak. I wondered what that little toast on the plane was all about.”
“You saw that?” He huffs a laugh. “You didn’t say anything.”
