“Why not?” I ask innocently.
He gestures wildly at the fireworks surrounding us. “Someone will lose an arm!”
“Oh.” I draw out the word like I’m having a revelation. “So, you’re saying weshouldn’tget blind drunk before shooting off explosives?”
“No?”
I smile at him, momentarily struck again by his blue eyes, darker now that the sun’s setting. “Good tip. Maybe you know more about fireworks than you think.”
There’s a whoop from the shore, the sound carrying across the lake. Nate and I look up to see Cooper and Cara on the lawn, chicken fighting with the kids. They tumble into a heap, laughing, as William and Anna Carol pig-pile on top of them. If they were any other couple, the sight would make me smile.
I turn back to the bottle rockets, laying each one in a row.
“Hey, Nikki.”
“Hmm?”
“Since we’re alone… Can you climb into the trust tree with me?”
Despite the weirdness of this whole night, I grin again. I never know what’s going to come out of this guy’s mouth. After all thepredictable guys I’ve dated before, it’s fun to be surprised. Not that Nate and I are dating. Obviously.
“Sure.” I start to position the Roman candles. “Take me to the trust tree.”
He dangles his legs over the dock, then pats the wood beside him. For a minute, I take in the sculpted shape of his shoulders as he leans back on his arms, before I come over and sink down next to him, letting my feet skim the surface of the water. With the sun going down, shades of pink and lavender and gold dance across the waves. He leans toward my shoulder and I shiver, thinking he’s about to brush against me. Instead, he lowers his voice, as if we’re at risk of being heard. “It’s insane that they’re getting married, right?”
I whip around to face him, not sure I’ve heard him right. “Yes!” He ducks away from the firework still in my hand. I place it behind us, beside the others. “Insane.Thank you.Why can’t anyone else see that?”
“I don’t know. I’m going to try to talk a little sense into Cara. No offense to Cooper.”
“No,fulloffense to Cooper. I love him, but he is an absolute ding-dong.”
“Cara has been through a lot. I know you have too.”
“Sure.” I don’t see a need to debate the point that everything I went through wasbecauseof Cara. I’m just glad one other person agrees with me.
“I just don’t think she should be rushing into something,” Nate says. “I don’t thinkanyoneshould. You should have to date someone…
I don’t know… a decade before you decide to marry them.”
“A decade?” I start attaching the fuses to the remote control lighter.
“At least.” Nate nods. I’m not sure why he’s so vehement about this, but he clearly has commitment issues. He’s also the only otherperson in either family who sees this ridiculous situation for what it is. And I need allies. (He might not have the ferociousness I was counting on from Anna Carol, but he has a much firmer grip on the alphabet.)
“Well, I’m glad you agree.” I lean over to the cooler and pull out the thermos. “It’s like the world has fully turned upside down, and I need it to get back to normal.” I take a long swig—and wince. It’s one of Dad’s strongest batches yet. Maybe Nate wasn’t far off in thinking it was lighter fluid. “I mean, if I had it my way, I’d fully sabotage this whole wedding plan.”
Nate laughs.
“I’m serious!” I laugh a little, too, though, the strong liquor loosening me up.
“What, like you wanna go allThe Parent Trapon them?” he says, nudging me with his shoulder.
“Technically, inThe Parent Trap, they’re trying to get their parents to fall back in love, not call it off.”
“Right, right,” he says, nodding. “The reference was a bit rusty. Been at least two or three months since I’ve seen that movie.”
I laugh again, accidentally spitting out tequila I’d just sipped. Mortified, I quickly wipe my mouth and pass him the thermos.
“I’m kidding. I don’t watch children’s movies. That would be weird,” he says, accepting it and taking a swig.
