“She has all that happening and she’s concerned about us?”
“That’s Darby.”
“Man, I racked up in the sister-in-law department.”
This earns me a smile that touches deep inside my chest.
“What did you tell your parents?”
“They already knew Connie was pulling her stunts this weekend. But Mom also agreed you should rest.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Why?”
“This was our night and I ruined it.”
He shuts his laptop and slides it onto his nightstand. “You ruined nothing. We’ll have our announcement.”
“We will?”
“My sister may have a big heart, but she has a bigger mouth. She’s not doing well with the secret. She came up with an alternative.”
“Can’t wait to hear.”
“She’s planned a Zoom meeting under the ruse of having some early pictures from the weekend. Instead, it will be our wedding.”
I bolt up, balancing on my calves, and bouncing so hard Runner jumps to attention. “That is genius!”
“Yeah, brilliant.” There’s a hint of sarcasm in his tone right as a series of short buzzes sound.
“Is that your phone?” I glance around. “Where is it?”
“About to be under the tires of my truck if these fuckers don’t quit texting.”
“What fuckers?”
“That’s the endless fiery pits of hell known as a family text chain. Mom may understand, but she jumped right in on rescheduling family dinner at her house tomorrow. Darby wants to host. Ashlyn chimed in that since she has the outdoor kitchen, we should come there and enjoy the pool. They’re going back and fucking forth with Mom and Darby not backing down. I’m stuck having to deal with it.”
“What do you prefer?”
“I don’t give a shit, but I’ll call it all off if they can’t decide soon. Ashlyn wants to show off her house, Mom wants to show you the farm, and Darby wants to show you the new nursery.”
“I’ll handle it with them.”
“Appreciate it.”
“How long before our call?”
“An hour.”
“We better get busy. There are way too many candid shots in our wedding album. We need to pull a few and make a slideshow.”
He leans back, gazing at me intently. His expression grows serious, his eyes heating and baring into mine. The change in the air sends a ripple down my spine. “Evin?”
“So many times, I look at you, think about you, imagine what you’re doing if you’re not with me, and every fucking time, it physically hurts how beautiful you are. Right now is one of those times.”
I know fully that my bedhead is crazy, his shirt is swallowing me, and a few hours ago he watched one of the most unattractive things a person can do. None of it fazes him. My heart threatens to burst.
I maneuver over a back-to-snoring Runner and plaster myself to Evin’s side, placing my palm on his chest. “It’s the same for me.”
He buries his face in my hair, inhaling as his pulse races against my palm. “I hate you got sick. But I’m thankful it gave me the excuse to cancel our plans and have you to myself. If that makes me a selfish, greedy bastard, fine with me.”
I kiss the underside of his jaw, sliding my hand to his cheek. “Let’s get this over with and maybe I can convince you to break in that fabulous tub.”
“It won’t take much convincing.” He untangles, grabbing his laptop.
I’m skilled with the basics of computer software, but Evin is an expert with efficiency. We narrow it down and he creates a slideshow, attaching Ryanne’s video at the end.
When we’re done, there’s barely enough time for me to dash to the bathroom and make myself presentable. Evin takes care of Runner and setting up the laptop in the living room. By the time I join him, my nerves are shot. This seemed like a good idea at the time, but now the anxiety of their reaction has me on edge. With one look, Evin goes into protective mode, situating me on his lap and opening the meeting.
One by one, calls join, and I gasp when Ashlyn’s parents, Ashlyn’s brothers, Scottie and Billy, and even Stephanie and Todd pop up on the screen.
“They are on their honeymoon!” I whisper-hiss to him.
“Leave it to Darby to go big.”
“But they think she has an inside scoop on their wedding pictures. This will crush them.”
“Doubt it. If Stephanie found out we did this without her, she’d fly here tonight and crush me.”
“That doesn’t make me feel remotely better.”
“Hey, everyone!” Darby chirps, and there is a chorus of greetings. “Okay, first up, I know it’s weird to do this call hours after being together. But I had to share these shots. Some of us were supposed to get together tonight, but Poppy felt ill.”
“She doesn’t look sick to me.” Annie’s face closes in on her camera like she is physically inspecting me. “She looks healthy as my horses. Is this another ruse from my children to keep me away?”