After doing the rounds of greetings, Tyler and I squeezed into a long wooden table with Kate, Jordan, Gwen, and Tom. My teenage cousins had just ambushed Jordan for a photo, whispering like they’d met Harry Styles instead of a tennis player, and Kate was giggling like she wasn’t still just as obsessed with him herself.
“That will never not be funny,” Kate said, shaking her head as she watched them hover like he was some exotic species.
Jordan smirked, tugging her closer with that easy confidence of his. “Ah, don’t be jealous, Katie, you’re still my original little tennis groupie.”
He sealed it with a kiss so casually possessive Kate rolled her eyes but melted into him anyway.
Across from them, Gwen and Tom were tucked close, his arm draped along the back of her chair in that protective way that looked second nature. Ten years married, army tours, Gwen’s constant travel, raising their little girl and Tom still looked at her like she was the only woman in the room. With the streak of silver cutting through his dark hair and that lazy grin, he had the silver fox thing nailed. Gwen caught me noticing and winked, like she knew exactly what I was thinking.
“Jesus Christ,” Tyler muttered beside me, shaking his head at Jordan and Kate. “You two need a warning label.”
“Don’t worry, mate,” Tom cut in dryly. “Give it another ten years and a couple of kids who don’t sleep, and you’ll be lucky if she lets you breathe the same air, let alone stick your tongue down her throat in public.”
Gwen elbowed him, but her lips twitched.
Tyler leant back, smirking. “Ten years on and you’re still sitting there, arm around her like you’re auditioning for some Hallmark movie. Don’t give me that tough act, you’re soft as hell, Tom.”
Tom arched a brow. “Soft? That’s rich coming from Malibu Barbie. You’re sitting in an Irish pub with a Guinness you haven’t touched because you’re too busy eye-fucking your wife across the table.”
The table erupted and I groaned, burying my face in my hands. “Oh my God, please don’t encourage him.”
Tyler laughed, lifting his pint toward Tom. “I’ll give you that. Didn’t think the army boys could keep up, but you’re holding your own.”
Tom tipped his glass back. “Don’t worry, Reed. I’ll give you a decade and a few sleepless nights, then we’ll see who’s soft.”
Tyler grinned, clinking his pint against his. “Deal. But just so you know, I don’t plan on losing.”
“Neither do I,” Tom shot back, and the two of them shared the kind of smirk only men convinced of their own invincibility could manage.
Jordan shook his head, laughing into his pint. “Christ. This wedding’s gonna end in an arm wrestle, isn’t it?”
“Not if I’ve got anything to do with it,” Kate said primly, though her smile twitched.
Gwen raised her glass, smirking at me. “Well, Tyler, congratulations. You’re officially marrying into the madhouse.”
That’s when I heard two loud Cali drawls cut through the banter. Tyler stiffened the second he clocked them.
“Well, here he is, the man of the hour. Poor bastard signing his life away,” one of them boomed, loud enough to earn side-eyes from half my cousins. Even Jordan’s jaw ticked.
Ryan and Luke. Tyler’s old friends from back home. The ones I suspected had something to do with why he and Jordan had walked out of that night early. Tyler had hesitated over inviting them, but me being me, I’d insisted. They were his childhood friends, it would have been wrong not to.
“Oh, and this must be the lucky lady.” Ryan’s grin was too wide as he stuck out a hand.
“Orla,” I said, forcing politeness as I shook it. Tyler’s other hand was wrapped tight around mine, tension coiled through him like piano wire.
“Heard we’ve got a free bar situation here?” Ryan went on. “I’m planning on taking full advantage.”
“Yeah, well, don’t go too hard, Ry. You need to make it to the actual wedding tomorrow,” Tyler said flatly.
Ryan grinned wider, like it was a dare.
The pub was alive with life, laughter bouncing off its low beams, fiddles striking up in the corner. Tyler’s hand rested heavy on my thigh, a squeeze now and then to remind me why we were here. Across from us, Jordan had Kate tucked into his side, his hand spread widely and protectively across her bump. Gwen and Tom were all soft smiles, Travis and Eve juggling their baby like it was second nature to them now. For a while, it felt exactly as I wanted.
I should have known it wouldn’t be long before the tone shifted. Glasses clinked harder. Laughter turned sharper with less warmth than earlier. Ryan had ordered more rounds than half the pub could stomach, and suddenly it felt less like a pre-wedding gathering and more like a frat party Tyler had spent years trying to leave behind.
Before I knew it, Ryan was shoving an arm around Tyler’s shoulders, almost knocking me off my chair.
“Hey, Ty, remember that night you got so wasted you ended up in Mexico?”
