Until Cobi (Until Him 3)

He grins at me then sobers. “Has her dad been in contact since—”

“No,” I cut him off, knowing his question.

“Dick,” he hisses, shaking his head. “Not even a call to say thank you for paying for her mom’s funeral?”

“Not even for that.” I take a pull from my beer to cool down the anger that’s suddenly burning my throat. When the funeral home that her mom’s body was sent to called, saying they were given her number by her father to settle the bill, I almost lost my shit. I couldn’t believe him, but Hadley was not the least bit surprised. That also pissed me off. It told me just how used to picking up the slack and taking care of things she was.

In the end, there was nothing she could do. She couldn’t leave her mom where she was. She didn’t have a choice; she had to take care of things and flat out refused for me to help her in any way.

“I gotta say, as much as it pisses me off, I’m glad he’s staying away. She doesn’t need him fucking with her progress or her life.”

“You’re not wrong about that.” I lift my beer toward him, and he does the same in return.

When the sliding glass door opens, I turn to watch Hadley step out, followed by Brie, both women carrying a glass of wine.

“What are you two talking about?” Hadley asks while she sits sideways on my lap instead of taking the chair next to mine.

I wrap an arm around her waist and kiss her neck, saying there, “Just guy shit.”

Brie takes up the same position in Kenyon’s lap with a soft smile on her face directed our way.

“Did you get the wedding stuff sorted?” Kenyon asks, and she looks down at him.

“For now,” she retorts, and his eyes come to me.

“Advice, man. Do yourself a favor and elope.”

I chuckle, and Hadley giggles.

“Seriously?” Brie snaps, glaring at him.

“Baby—” His voice softens. “—I love you. I wanna be your husband, but I do not want to hear about wedding shit day and night. And I have been listening to you talk about wedding shit day and night for months. And I’ll remind you we still have months to go, so I don’t see that changing anytime soon.”

“I don’t talk about wedding stuff day and night,” she argues, glaring.

“So who’s excited for Halloween?” Hadley asks suddenly, and everyone looks at her. “I’m thinking this year I’m going to dress up Maxim as a dragon and go as Khaleesi. How cute would that be?”

“Nice save, babe.” Brie rolls her eyes, and Kenyon and I both laugh.

“On that note, we should get going.” Kenyon stands, taking Brie with him and putting her on her feet.

“We have to leave already?” Brie pouts, looking up at him.

“I gotta open the shop in the morning, so I can afford to pay for our wedding,” he says gently.

She tips her head to the side, her face soft. “I promise it will be worth it.”

“Having you as my wife will be worth it,” he murmurs, and her eyes twinkle while Hadley melts into me. “Having you happy is a bonus.” He kisses her forehead then wraps an arm around her shoulders. He moves them around the table and pats my arm. “See you around, man, and thanks for dinner and the beer.”

“Anytime,” I say as he then leans down to kiss Hadley’s cheek. “Love you.”

“Love you too.” She smiles at him then she gets up to give Brie a hug. I follow her up and kiss Brie’s cheek then, hand in hand, Hadley and I walk them to the door.

When they’re gone, I look down at her. “So you’re going to dress Maxim up as a dragon?”

She laughs, tossing her head back, and I soak in the sound and look of happiness on her face.

“I didn’t want them to argue.” She shrugs, going toward the kitchen. “And believe me, if I didn’t cut in, that would have been an argument.” Her expression softens. “Kenyon didn’t lie; he just wants Brie to be his wife. He doesn’t care about any of the other stuff, but Brie wants a big wedding. She’s always wanted a big wedding, and talked about it before Kenyon was even in the picture.”

“How big is the wedding going to be?” I ask, leaning back against the counter and watching her put a few stray dishes in the dishwasher.

“Huge, over two hundred people are coming and everything is totally over the top. I’m talking crystals and floral centerpieces that you’d see in a movie huge.”

“Now I see why he suggested we elope.”

“Yep,” she agrees, grinning at me.

“So do you want a wedding like that?” I ask, studying her.

“Me?” She shakes her head. “I don’t even know a hundred people, and I haven’t really ever thought about getting married, let alone having a wedding.”