Page 13 of All This Time

“A dress, duh.” She rolls her eyes.

“Looks like a princessdress to me.”

She wriggles in my arms, so I set her down on the floor. “No, this dress is just for twirling.” Holding her hands above her head, she proceeds to turn in a circle but loses her balance and falls to the floor.

“Careful, Ellis.” Laney pushes her way into our circle, helping her niece stand up again.

Her voice slides across my skin like a memory I can’t shake—sharp, warm, and still too goddamn powerful.

Her long brown hair with soft blonde highlights covers her face as she bends down, but when she stands upright again and our eyes meet, a flurry of emotions slam into me all at once.

Laney.

My Laney. Even more beautiful than the last time I saw her.

Fuck. These three weeks are going to be torture.

“I’m okay, Auntie,” Ellis says, pushing Laney away before attempting to twirl again and nailing it this time.

We all clap in celebration.

“Finally came over to say hello?” I say, directing my attention to my best friend’s little sister.

Laney arches a brow at me. “I was just letting your fan club fawn over you first.”

I huff out a laugh, grateful to see that her sass hasn’t diminished. “Nice to see you too, Laney.”

Rhonan walks back toward the bar in the tasting room, the rest of us guys following. “Thomas, can you get Fletcher a drink?”

“Just water, Tom,” I call out quickly—the last thing I need right now is alcohol.

“Come on, we’re celebrating. And it’s the offseason, right?” Rhonan pouts amusingly.

“I know, but I just don’t feel like drinking tonight, man.”

“Save it for the bachelor party then,” Elliot says.

Rhonan turns to me, the corner of his mouth turned up. “You’re in charge of that, by the way.”

I rub the back of my neck, feeling more out of my element and overwhelmed the longer I stand in this room and reality sinks in. “I figured, but…”

Rhonan hands me my glass of water as Elliot slaps me on the back. “Don’t worry. Tomorrow, Tori and I are gonna sit down with you and Laney and tell you exactly what we need your help with and what we want as far as wedding stuff goes.”

Wincing, I ask, “You sure you don’t just want to go to Vegas? I mean, there are strippers there.”

“What’s a stripper?”

The question comes from about three feet down, where Ellis is tugging on my shirt and looking up at me like I’m some kind of life encyclopedia.

I peer down at her, not sure how to safely answer this question. “Uh, a stripper is a…a dancer,” I answer proudly, pleased with my quick response.

Her eyes light up. “Then I want to be a stripper when I grow up!” she shouts, catching everyone’s attention in the room as she proceeds to twirl around again.

Rhonan glares at me. “Thank you for that.”

I put my hands up as I lower my voice and lean toward him. “What was I supposed to say? I mean, technically I told the truth.”

Rhonan shakes his head and pinches the bridge of his nose. “I can’t wait until I get phone calls from preschool about this.”