She sighed. “I’m never going to have a man like Tristan to come home to. Taking this job is basically receiving my single-for-life certificate.”
“I thought I had one of those,” Tristan said. “Beware. They have a tendency to disintegrate when you’re not watching.”
Sutton laughed. “Never going to happen. I need to throw myself into the job. It’s okay. I’m choosing that. I love the fact that I’ll get to be a doctor. There’s just a sacrifice. You know?” She sucked in a breath. “Until then, one more tequila won’t hurt.”
Tristan poured out second shots for us all and I caught his eye, trying to convey how much I loved that he was sitting here, celebrating and consoling my BFF. I knew that whatever we were doing, there was nowhere he’d rather be than with me. There was no better feeling.
June later that year
Tristan
Just a couple of years ago, the idea that there’d ever be a day when I’d witness Joshua say “I do” was ludicrous. The idea that my wife would be by my side was a step past insanity. But here we were, and I’d never been happier.
“I swear Hollie is glowing. Even if she hadn’t told us she was pregnant, it would be totally obvious,” Parker said as Hollie and Dexter walked toward us.
Hollie and Dexter had dropped their news a couple of weeks ago. They wanted to be sure it didn’t take away from Joshua and Hartford’s ceremony. I didn’t want to tell Parker, but I wasn’t sure Hollie looked much different to how she normally did.
“I don’t know why they were worried about overshadowing this though.” Parker swept her arm across the green lawns.
“Joshua’s wedding was never going to be low key,” I said. Of course he’d chosen Cliveden House to get married. Nothing but grandeur and opulence for Joshua. And if Claridge’s wasn’t going to accommodate him and his bride, then he wouldn’t wait for him.
“Shall we get married again?” I asked.
Parker shook her head. “I only intend on getting married once, thank you very much.”
I chuckled. “A vow renewal then? Some kind of celebration where we’re both in it forever.”
“Isn’t that every day?” Parker said. “It won’t make me love you anymore than I already do, because that’s impossible.”
I circled my arm around her waist, dipped her, and kissed her dramatically before standing her upright.
“You two are just adorable,” Hollie said as she came toward us, hand on stomach, Dexter by her side.
“Joshua and Hartford look happy,” I said, not wanting to discuss our adorableness any more. Not that we weren’t adorable.
“Everyone does,” Gabriel said as he and Autumn joined our group.
I waved at Stella across the lawn. She tugged on Beck’s sleeve and they headed toward us.
“God, I bet they have great sex,” Autumn said, nodding toward Andrew and Sofia as they came down the steps to our group.
“You don’t think we have great sex?” Gabriel said, slightly affronted.
“Wow, did I say that out loud?”
Gabriel widened his eyes.
“Duh, of course we do.” Autumn lifted herself up on her toes and kissed Gabriel’s jaw, then squeezed his bottom. “The best ever. You have moves that would win—”
I cleared my throat. I didn’t want images of Gabriel and Autumn in my head that I was never going to be able to get rid of.
“What’s everyone talking about?” Sofia asked as she and Andrew joined the group.
“We were just saying that the group of committed bachelors are committed husbands or fiancés now,” Parker said, saving the day. “And I need a favor from you. My best friend thinks she’s going to be single the rest of her life because she’s just starting as a junior doctor. We need to put our heads together and find her a man. Even if it’s for a bit of fun.”
Parker hadn’t been joking when she’d told Sutton we’d move to Hampstead. We’d started house hunting exclusively in a mile radius of the hospital Sutton was going to be working at come September. If it made Parker happy, I didn’t mind where we lived as long as she didn’t decorate it and we had an Alaskan king bed. Sutton was important to her. Which meant she was important to me. “We’ll find her someone,” I said.
“I bet Hartford can set her up with a single doctor,” Autumn said.
“Anyone want to take bets on how long it will take for Joshua and Hartford to get pregnant?”
“Do they want children?” Parker asked. Parker and I agreed that the time wasn’t right for us at the moment. I wanted to be with Parker forever, and I wanted a family. At some point. But I needed some time for just the two of us first. Parker felt the same. When the time came, she’d make the best mother I could imagine. But right now, I was happy to focus on being a great husband. That’s what she deserved. She was the best wife a man could ask for.