Callie makes a noise loud enough to send a whole tree of birds into flight. April presses a tissue into her hand without looking. “Breathe,” she tells her friend after a hiccup of her own.
When Mia sets Lily down, April nudges her elbow and tilts her chin toward the ring. “Did you read inside?”
Mia slips it off and turns the band until she finds it. The inscription says:Forever starts now.
Her eyes find mine. “I think ours began way before we started counting.”
Liam clears his throat, the only one still fighting to keep a straight face. “Congratulations,” he says to me, then, softer to Mia, “Welcome to the madness.” He kisses her temple and steps back, pretending his eyes aren’t glassy.
I lace my fingers through Mia’s, and the ring bites sweet against my knuckle. “Big wedding? Small ceremony?”
She opens her mouth, but another idea is already out of mine. “Or—hear me out—Vegas. Today. The three of us.”
“Six,” Callie yelps, scandalized. “Can’t surgeons count?”
“We could pull this off,” April says, already sorting logistics and counting on her fingers. “Flights, license, chapel.” Her brain’s already boarded when her eyes meet Liam’s. “Call the pilot. Tell him to get the jet ready.”
He slides an arm low around her waist and murmurs—nowhere near quietly enough—“You have no idea howfreaking hot it is when you stop pretending my money isn’t yours too.”
He straightens to business, already typing on his phone, then looks at Mia. “Name a designer. Two, if you want options. I’ll have them meet us there. Fittings on the tarmac, huh?” Madman. He must be hanging out with Calista too much.
Mia laughs against my mouth, a little breathless, very disbelieving. “Are we really doing this?”
I tip my forehead to hers. “Would that make you happy? That’s what I promised you. Every day, remember? Say yes again, and we’re off to Vegas. You want this?”
Before she can answer, Lily peeks from behind Mia’s legs, eyes huge. I don’t get to dwell on whether her hesitation is her fear of abandonment talking. “She does. Of course she does,” my Sunshine cries, then she pivots to Liam, full of plans. “Can I have a special dress too?”
“Done,” he says, not about to start denying her anything. “Pick a color.”
Mia’s grin goes rogue, and I wonder if her cheeks hurt as much as mine. I welcome the ache, and plan to get used to it. I don’t think I’ll stop smiling anytime soon.
She steps closer and whispers, “I do,” wicked against my ear. “How was that? I’m rehearsing for the Elvis priest.”
“Oh, you big tease.” I hook her by the waist and kiss my fiancée. God, I like the sound of that. When we break, I shout, “Taxi!”
Mia throws her head back, laughing. “Pres, we drove here.”
“Also, there’s a limousine waiting for you twenty feet away,” Liam reminds me.
Oh, right. Add that to the stack of things my brain’s temporarily deleted. It’s only got room for my daughter and my soon-to-be wife right now.
He whistles to the driver waiting down the curb, and the car rolls toward us. Lily slips her hands into ours.
“Keys, Pres,” April calls, clapping once. I toss them, and she snags them midair. “Lils—you’re with us.”
Lily deploys a world-class pout. “Why?” The word stretches for at least two extra seconds.
Calista’s faster, crouching to her level. “Sorry, kiddo, it’s limo’s rules. The one Uncle Liam rented is for adults only.”
Liam’s chin drops, and he looks betrayed, more so than Lily. My kid kicks dust once and takes her auntie’s hand.
Cal winks at us. “You two lovebirds make good use of the divider and get a head start on marital bliss.”
April’s back to sergeant form, dishing out orders. “Pack light, we need to be back on Sunday. Liam, get hair stylists and makeup artists too. Have them meet us at the hotel, not at the tarmac, you lunatic.” She tuts, then panics. “Cal, what arewegoing to wear?”
Tapping her temple, Calista answers, oddly calm, “You’re wearing the red dress I gave you for your birthday,” then she adds a layer of shade. “It still has the tag on, doesn’t it?”
“I was saving it for a special occasion,” April replies. “And hooray, the day has arrived. But Cal, isn’t it a little… you know, for a wedding?”
