“I’m gettin’ married in two days,” Brantley noted. “That’s plenty of reason to smile.”
Admittedly, he did have a tension headache, but he wasn’t going to complain. He’d already snagged some aspirin after his shower. He was using that power of positive thinking to will it away, silently praying it wouldn’t turn into a migraine.
“Oatmeal?” Reese offered JJ and Baz.
“No, thank you,” she answered, pulling her iPad out of her bag.
“Baz?”
Baz lifted his head, taking a brief reprieve from sucking down coffee to shake his head. “I’m good. Thanks.”
JJ’s gaze bounced between the three of them. “While y’all eat, we’ll run down the rest of the list. We’re at the final countdown, boys. If anyone raises one single concern, I’m gonna drown him in oatmeal. Understood?”
Brantley looked at his best friend and grinned. “Yes, drill sergeant.”
And he made a mental note to find the rings before JJ realized they were missing and commenced with the oatmeal drowning.
***
Evan heard the sound of soft, evenbreathing beside him.
As was usually the case, the events of the night before played on a quick loop through his brain.
Moonshiners.
Brantley and Reese’s bachelor party.
Tequila shots.
Feeling no pain.
Uber.
Changing destination.
Becs’s house.
Becs’s bed.
Sleep.
As for the last part, he’d done so in spurts, waking up often because, for the first time in a long damn time, he felt safe and warm, curled up with Becs in her bed with all the damn pillows. Of course, throughout the night, he’d slowly tossed those pillows to the floor to make more room.
He opened his eyes, glancing toward the window, attempting to gauge the time. There was very little light slipping in behind the white, gauzy curtains. He took that to mean it was morning.
He took mental stock of his current condition. There was some tension in his head, likely the remnants of last night’s drunken bender lingering behind. Once he was upright, there was a good chance it would turn into a full-blown headache, but for now, it was tolerable.
Reaching over, he searched for Becs but found her spot empty. He fumbled around until he found her pillow. Cold.
Meaning, at some point during the night, she’d slipped out of bed.
Great.
“Good morning, Mr. Vaughn.”
Evan’s eyes shot open wide, and he looked over to see Carly staring at him. She was kneeling on the floor beside the bed on Becs’s side, a wide grin on her face as she watched him sleep.
Jesus Christ.
