Page 45 of Eye of the Hurricane (Weathering Doves Harbor #2)

Ares

Since Katherine found out she got the job and that she wanted to explore things between us I’ve spent damn near every night at her house. I’ve grown to hate sleeping in my bed because Katherine isn’t in it.

In fact I’ve grown to not like any room she’s not in. It’s like being in a world with no sun, no light, no warmth. She’s all things warm and bright and happy.

“Can you please tell me where we’re going that we need to be so dressed up?” Katherine asks, swiping eyeliner along her bottom lid.

“What time is it?”

“Seven thirty.”

“It’s an engagement party for Audra and Roman,” I tell her. The little black stick clatters against the counter and she spins to face me. Her eyes are wide and mouth agape.

“What?” she exclaims. I walk into the bathroom with her.

“He’s proposing like… now. We’re all meeting at the hall at eight thirty to surprise her. ”

“How long have you known?”

“Since the boy’s trip.” Her mouth opens wider.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asks, shoving her hands onto her hips. She’s looking at me expectantly.

“Because you’d tell,” I explain.

“I would not tell her he was proposing!”

“No. But you’d tell Luna. And Luna would tell Ray. Ray would tell Audi.”

“How will they know to be there?”

“Beck is on Ravyn duty. Sebastian is on Luna duty. We were only asked to wait until it was done to tell you guys. They’ll know where they’re going and why,” I explain. She turns back around to the mirror to finish her makeup.

She’s in a silky teal dress with an open back. It’s floor length and the loose fabric perfectly catches on every curve of her body.

I walk up behind her, pressing myself into her ass.

“We have some time before the party you know,” I tell her, leaning down and kissing her shoulder.

“We do not have time for that,” she scolds, swatting at my arm. “But after the party, I’d love to see what you had in mind,” she adds, softening her demeanor.

“That’s my girl,” I say with a chuckle, placing a kiss on the shell of her ear. She blows out a harsh breath before shooing me out of the bathroom.

We walk into the hall hand in hand and it’s beautiful. It’s somehow both elegant and beautiful but edgy and dark. Exactly how Audra would want it.

Dark flowers and greenery laced with twinkling lights. Everyone is sitting around, mingling among themselves until Audra and Roman arrive.

“This is beautiful,” Katherine whispers to me.

“It really is.”

Luna runs over to us and grabs Katherine’s arms.

“Did you know?”

“No, Ares didn’t tell me until I was getting ready.”

“I got some cryptic text from Sebastian telling me he needed to stop by my house. Which was like… Hella weird since we hardly know each other. I had no idea what to expect. Once he showed up in a suit though, I had an idea. Although, I still didn’t really know until he told me.”

“Ravyn should be here any minute. Ares said Beck was the one sent to retrieve her.”

“Poor Beck. I know he’s scared of her,” Sebastian adds. We all laugh but it’s true.

“Actually, I should probably call him and make sure he doesn’t need help with that,” I say, stepping away from the group to make the call.

“Do you have Ravyn?” I ask.

“We’re in the car. Running a little late because she wouldn’t even get ready until she knew what was going on. Something about not taking demands from men being one of the perks of being a lesbian.” He sighs. “We’ll still be there before Audra and Roman though. Promise.”

“Just making sure.” We get off the phone and I make my way back over to the group. Katherine’s hand instinctually wraps in mine and Sebastian drops his eyes to our hands. He doesn’t say a word, he just smiles to himself .

“Sebastian, how’s it been having Katherine with The Sea Dragons?” I ask.

“It’s been great. Probably the only one out there as great as Mateo. Also, you guys know you can call me Bas, right?” he asks, looking at all of us.

“I’m still fighting the urge to call you Defenseman Sebastian Riley. I’ll work on it though,” Katherine says with a giggle.

We’re cut off by Ravyn stomping over and grabbing me by my ear.

“I could kill you right now. You knew and didn’t tell me?”

“Brother’s orders,” I shrug. “Plus, you knew he got the ring. You just didn’t know when.” Luna and Katherine’s mouths fall open and they whip their heads to Ravyn.

“You knew he got the ring?” they ask in unison.

“Oh, did you see a bus coming by?” Ravyn asks, sticking a hand on her hip.

“I did actually and I know how much you love them so I figured might as well toss you under it,” I say with a smile. She reaches an arm up, flicking my forehead.

“Okay, okay. Break it up. They’re outside.” Beck scolds, separating us. We step apart and she gives me a dirty look.

Roman and Audra finally walk in and they’ve both got on giant smiles bright enough to light up the entire hall. Everyone cheers when they walk in. Audra wipes tears from her eyes.

There’s a whole line of people waiting to hug them both but I manage to be the first one to hug my brother.

“I’m really happy for you,” I tell him, patting his shoulder.

“Thank you.”

“I’ll let everyone else congratulate you. I’ll catch you later, yeah?” He gives me a stiff nod and I move out of the way. I’m now waiting my turn to hug Audi. All of the girls go ahead of me and her mom, Liz.

“Come here,” I say, yanking her into my arms. She immediately starts crying again.

“I’m so happy for you. I’m sorry I ever made you feel like this was something you had to keep from me.

I know better now. I know this is the best thing,” I whisper to her.

She looks up at me with teary eyes and I wipe them.

“You going soft on me now that you’re in love?” she asks with a smile.

“What do you know?”

“I know that I’ve seen you go through a bunch of hookups and relationships over the years and I’ve never seen you look at someone like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like your brother looks at me. Like your mom looks at your dad.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lie. “I love you. We’ll catch up later. You have people to see,” I say, slipping away from the crowd surrounding them.

I do a quick scan of the room and quickly find Katherine standing with all of our friends… Well, minus Audra and Roman. I slide into the circle they’ve made, right between her and Ravyn. Her hand snakes down and grabs mine without ever taking her focus away from the conversation.

Katherine and I are walking hand in hand to the table of hors devours when my mom leans from her chair and catches my wrist with her hand. She grabs me, stopping me in my tracks and in turn, stopping Kat too.

“Hey stranger,” she says, making a point that I haven’t been home much lately. “Hi, Katherine!” she greets more enthusiastically.

“Hi, Mrs. Dawkins,” Katherine replies with a warm smile.

“Hi, Mom,” I greet her, leaning down and hugging her.

“Do you have something you want to tell me?” she asks, raising a brow and lowering her gaze to Katherine’s hand wrapped in mine. I smile like a kid caught in the cookie jar.

“We planned on telling people tonight,” I say, lowering my voice so only my parents can hear.

“So you’re together now?”

“Yes.” My mom’s smile brightens.

“Good. I like her. Is that where you’ve been at all of these nights?

” she asks with a smile on her face that tells me she thinks she’s caught me.

She hasn’t though because I have nothing to hide.

If I could scream from the rooftops that I’m the one who gets to take Katherine home at the end of every day, I would.

“Yes. I’ve been sleeping over at her house.”

She gasps and throws a hand over her mouth. “Out of wedlock?”

I just laugh and so does Kat. Luckily it’s not her first time meeting my mom so she knows she’s just joking.

“Very funny.”

“I like to think I am.”

“So, Katherine, Ares says that you got the job you were aiming for?” Mom poses it like a question.

“Yes, it’s been great. I’m so lucky,” Katherine replies.

“Not lucky, talented. You worked for your position, it didn’t fall into your lap. Don’t let anyone make you feel like luck is what got you there,” Mom corrects. Katherine’s smile grows into a beam of sunshine.

“You’re right. I needed to hear that, thank you.”

“Anytime. Will you be coming to family Christmas?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I wouldn’t want to impose, I’m not really family.” Her answer tugs at my heart. Not just because I see her as family. But because I know my family does too. Even if she were to decide not to be with me right now, she’d still be family to the girls.

I go to speak up and tell her that isn’t the case. But my mom beats me to it.

“What? Honey, that’s just silly. Do we seem like a family that is strict on family meaning blood relatives? Of course, you’re family. If one of us loves you… which I’m assuming one of us does…” She winks at me. “Then we all love you. Gifts are not required but your attendance is.”

“I’ll be there. And of course, I’ll have gifts. Thank you for inviting me.”

We wrap up the conversation with my mother, she asks how our lives are, what our plans are, and a bunch of other random things. It’s nice to see Katherine and my mom get along.

Hand in hand we make our way over to our friends who are all already standing in a circle with drinks in hand. As we get closer I hear Ravyn’s laugh pierce through the quiet chatter.

“Make room, shitheads,” I announce, pushing my way into the tight circle they’ve formed. They open it up enough to fit me and Kat between Ravyn and Luna.

“I know it just happened, so I get it if not but do you have anything in mind for the wedding?” Katherine asks Audra. Audra’s smile spreads ear to ear. She has no idea the can of worms she’s opened. I’ve heard it all, I’ve seen the Pinterest boards, I’ve even seen the dresses.

“Well, it’s new… I haven’t had much chance to think about the details…” she trails off.

“Liar,” Ravyn and I both call out and she laughs.

“Okay fine. It’ll be next spring, our colors will be lavender and cream, and I know exactly what my dress will look like.” Roman doesn’t look surprised at all which leads me to believe they’ve talked about a wedding before tonight.

“And?” Ravyn asks.

“And I know what venue we’ll be using, what my centerpieces will look like, and what the bridesmaid dresses will look like.”

“You have it all figured out,” Katherine says with a laugh.

“Since she was a kid,” I add.

“Speaking of bridesmaids… I wanted to ask you guys. All three of you. Ravyn, you’d be my maid of honor of course. Would you guys be my bridesmaids?” Ear bursting squeals rip through our little circle followed by the girls all jumping up and down.

I don’t think I’ve seen Audra and Ravyn jump around like this since middle school. They throw their arms around each other with tears in their eyes. You’d think she asked them to mother her firstborn child.

“You’ll be my groomsmen, right? And please, hold the squealing,” Roman asks.

We all answer him with some variation of yeses. Our reaction is far less dramatic.

“So now that that’s out of the way… Can we address the elephant in the room?” Ravyn asks, her eyes falling on mine and Katherine’s hands .

“Yeah, don’t you guys think it’s about time to spill the beans?” Audra adds.

“We aren’t hiding anything,” I defend.

“It’s been a recent decision to be together. But yes, we’re together officially now,” Katherine explains.

“About damn time,” Roman and Beck chime in.