I felt Jace tense beside me, and I gave his hand a squeeze, trying to remind him it was okay. Kassa was an adult now, and she was engaged. This wasn’t a bad thing. He could be happy for her, and probably—most definitely—should not kill his future brother-in-law.
“That’s great news!” Alicia squealed, jumping up to hug the happy couple.
Kassa beamed as she wrapped her arms around the woman. “I don’t know why I was so nervous.”
“I thought you were going to wait until after you got married,” Jace commented, setting down his plate on the coffee table and standing.
“This wasn’t part of the plan,” Kassa agreed. “It was just as much of a surprise to us as it is to you. But I’m really excited, Jace. Scared out of my mind, but excited.”
He hugged her, holding her against him carefully as if he thought he might break her if he didn’t. “Then I’m happy for you, little sis.” He kissed the top of her head. “Does this mean the wedding date is moving up?”
“Well…” She bit her lip for a second before nodding. “Actually, planning this wedding is a major pain in the ass. It’s just as stressful as Lucy made it out to be. And now that I’m pregnant, Gray and I have decided just to be done with it.”
“You are not getting married in Vegas,” Alicia scolded.
“No, of course not,” Kassa assured her. “Actually, we thought we would all go down to the courthouse tomorrow.” Her blue eyes met mine. “I mean, we have everyone here who matters the most.”
“Are you sure, honey?” Alicia asked softly.
“We’re sure,” Gray answered, pulling Kassa against him for a quick kiss. “A traditional wedding doesn’t matter to us. All I want is for her to be my wife.”
The way Kassa looked up at him, her entire heart shining out of her eyes and making her glow, had a lump filling my throat. “I love you,” she whispered.
“I love you more.”
“Okay then, it’s settled.” Alicia was crying now, but her smile was so bright it could have lit up the room. “Two of my babies are getting married tomorrow. I’m so happy right now.”
“You don’t even have a dress, though,” Jace grumbled.
“I brought something with me. It’s not a wedding dress, but it is white.” She patted her brother on the arm. “Don’t worry. At least now you won’t have to wear a suit. Just some slacks and a button-up.”
“Kin, do you have something to wear?” Alicia asked.
I nodded. “I brought a few dressy things with me. My case is in the car, actually. I didn’t take it out last night since I still have clothes back at Carter’s.”
“See?” Kassa laughed, hugging Gray happily. “This is fate, babe. We were meant to get married this week.”
Chapter 23
Jace
The house was quiet as I walked downstairs. With everything going on in my head with Alicia and now with Kassa and Gray, I couldn’t sleep.
It didn’t help that Kin was right next door, in my sister’s bed. She was within touching distance, but I couldn’t touch her the way I wanted. It was taking every ounce of willpower I possessed not to climb into bed beside her, which was why I was putting as much distance as the house would allow between me and temptation.
Exhausted from all the sleepless nights I’d had over the last few months, I walked into the kitchen. I wasn’t even hungry, but I needed a distraction before I did something that would have Kin running off on me.
“Want to share this pint of ice cream with me?” her voice asked as she closed the freezer door and turned to face me.
I blinked, for a moment thinking I was only seeing what I wanted to see. Kin stood by the fridge, a pint of slow-churned vanilla ice cream in her hands, dressed in one of my old T-shirts and not much else from what I could see. Her hair was in a messy bun on top of her head, making her look both beautiful and adorable. The lights over the sink and stove were on, the only illumination in the room, casting her in a soft glow.
She waved the ice cream at me. “Please don’t make me eat this all by myself. I’ll feel like a total cow in the morning and run myself to death. Kassa will kick my ass if I don’t look good for her wedding.”
Swallowing hard, I walked over to the silverware drawer and extracted two spoons. After I offered her one, she leaned back against the sink beside me and took the lid off the ice cream.
I grabbed a paper towel, wrapping it around the container and holding it so we could both eat from it.
For several minutes, we ate in silence, and I soaked up the feeling of being beside her. Fuck, I’d missed this. It wasn’t until I’d lost Kin that I realized how comforting it was just to be in the same room with her.