A heavy sigh fell from Theo’s lips. “We did not make this happen, Sul.”
I raised a brow, giving a pointed look to Gemma, whose vibrant blue eyes were sparkling. A light blush highlighted her freckled cheekbones because she knew exactly what I was talking about.
“Noahdidneed a little encouragement to get over the whole ‘best friend’s little sister’ thing,” she admitted with a giggle. Beside her, Noah rolled his eyes.
“Have youmetyour brother?” he muttered.
“And since Noah needed a little encouragement, I happily provided,” I explained.
Theo frowned. “How do I fit into this?”
“I might have stolen your shirt for the purpose of my mission. It was called ‘Make Noah Jealous Enough That He Gets His Head Out Of His Ass.’”
Theo stared at me, bewildered. “You stole my shirt?”
“If I’d known all I had to do was wear his brother’s clothes around the apartment to get his attention, I probably would have tried that a lot earlier,” Gemma laughed.
“Us London men are simple creatures, Gemma,” I said with a regretful nod.
Her eyes narrowed as she looked between the three of us. “I’m not totally sure that’s true.”
“You’re right,” I said. “Blake is very complex.”
I hooked a thumb over my shoulder to where I’d noticed my oldest brother running in circles after the dog. Chloe was on his back, her laughter filling the air.
All shit-talking aside, a pang of emotion hit me square in the chest. It wasn’t often that we all got to be in the same place at the same time, with half of us living in Minnesota and the other out here on the East Coast. My parents weren’t here yet because they’d taken a later flight, but they would be soon. And Natalie, too; she was able to take off from her Very Important Job as a trauma surgeon.
Noah snorted, and Gemma laughed, though her attention fixed on Theo instead of Blake. “I’m sorry. We still have the shirt, if you want it back.”
“Nah, we definitely don’t have it,” Noah grunted, raking a hand through his hair and then placing it around Gemma’s shoulders.
She looked back at him, her curtain of ginger hair falling down her back. “We don’t?”
“No.” Noah made an incredulous face, like he couldn’t fathom the idea. “I sent that shit back to Mom. I know Sully got it from her house.”
“You’re not wrong,” I said. “Anyway, so glad we could make this thing a reality. Go, team!”
I put my hand up for a high five, and though Noah shook his head, a smile was plastered to his face as he slapped my palm.
“You’re fucking ridiculous, but I love you,” he said.
“Love you, too, man. We’re gonna go raid your beer selection now.”
“Thank God,” Theo said beneath his breath. “I could use a drink. The traffic getting here was a nightmare, and this guy wouldn’t stop playing ‘I’m Shipping Up to Boston’ on repeat.”
He shot a glare at me, and I shrugged. “Seemed fitting. And you know listening to songs on repeat soothes my anxiety.”
“That is theleastsoothing song,” Theo deadpanned. “And you know it.”
Noah clapped Theo on the back with a laugh, still grinning like he couldn’t get himself to stop. “Help yourself to as many beers as you need to recover from the journey. Thanks for coming, guys. Seriously.”
“Of course, man,” I said, flashing him a smile back. “We’re fucking stoked for both of you. Congrats again.”
I gave Gemma one more hug before Theo and I wandered away, stopping to grab some drinks and food before saying hi to Chloe, who we learned had been dropped off by my sister’s ex-husband. Blake said Natalie should be here soon, which was good to hear. It had been a while since I’d seen my sister, who was historically the hardest person in the family to plan something with, not that it was her fault. Single momming, saving lives, all that good stuff—it kept her busy.
We gravitated toward a makeshift DJ booth, where some of Noah’s college friends lingered, and I was just begging them toplay a little “London Bridge,” Noah’s favorite song (absolute least favorite song in the entire world) and explaining why Theo and I were ultimately responsible for this joyous union, when I heard it.
When I heardher.
