Page 34

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

carter

Boston leans against the railing, sips his Jack and Coke, and stares out toward the water at the back of the Lowes and Sweeten property.

It’s gorgeous here. Peaceful. With all the greenery enclosing the place, and the water that seems to silence the world, I’d spend forever on this balcony if I lived in this house.

I mirror his position, peering out at the outskirts of the life Lowesy has made for himself.

This technically isn’t my day of the week, but Arden jumped at the chance to be here. I mean, who wouldn’t have? This is the night. For two of the best people in the world.

Lowesy called me two days ago to let me know what he was about to do, and she was my very first call the second I hung up the phone.

I wonder if Boston is having the same thoughts as I am right now. We’re here. Celebrating love. We’ve watched this love story unfold, battled through the trenches with Dec, just to get to tonight. We’re here, we’re happy for them, and we have none of it ourselves .

My throat tightens when I think about it.

Lowesy has it all. The house. The job. The girl. The kids, in whatever way that looks for him.

Now, he’s going to have a wife.

I envy him in a lot of ways. He didn’t want a relationship, but he wanted her.

He had no intention of settling down, but he couldn’t live without her.

It’s the shit you watch in movies, the moments you read about in books.

It’s a rarity. An eclipse. A story that people refer to when they want proof that love still exists.

There are a lot of people inside that house right now who are waiting for them to come home from dinner so that we can celebrate. So many people who have come all the way from Canada and are chomping at the bit to congratulate them on the next step of their love story.

And I’m out here. Wondering if this ever happens for me.

“You good?”

I glance beside me and nod, bringing my beer to my lips.

“How are things with Arden?”

I shrug. “They’re fine.”

“Just fine?”

I look right into his dark green eyes. Right into that stupid face that studies me with way too much care for someone who acts like he hates the world.

“It’s new.”

“It’s fucking bullshit, that’s what it is,” he says bluntly, blowing a pink bubble with his gum.

I blink, startled, but he stands up straighter and turns to face me.

“You going to keep lying to my face or can we move on from this?”

I’m shocked for two reasons. One, that he knows, and two, that he’d question me about it at all .

Boston is a quiet guy. He values his privacy more than anyone I’ve ever met.

He comes from a very long line of disappointments and would prefer nobody knows about all of those sore spots.

He understands better than most that if someone doesn’t offer you information, it’s probably because they don’t want you to know.

So, he isn’t the guy who questions you about your shit.

Yet, here he is.

I think it’s because I’m the opposite. I’m the guy who never shuts up. I talk before I think, and tell him and Lowesy about every little thing I have going on. What I did the night before. Who I took home. I have probably sealed my own fate with that. Now, he knows a lie when I spew one.

“For fuck’s sake,” I whine, throwing my head back. “How’d you know?”

“Because your tells are obvious when you’re not getting laid.”

My mouth falls open. “What the fuck does that mean?”

He shoots me a look. Like I’m an idiot. “You’re drinking more than usual. Following that girl around like a puppy. She flirts with you, but not in the way that tells me she’s seen you naked. But still, it’s always you and her. Never you and someone else.”

I grimace at him. “You’re aware that the naked part was a fucking weird thing to say, right?”

“Girls go fucking googly around you after you fuck them, Fork,” he says, pointing his glass at me. “Like, stupid googly. She isn’t googly. She can barely tolerate you half of the time.”

“Oh, come on. She likes me.”

“What a testament of love.”

“Well, I needed a cover!” I hiss at him, and he nods, like he totally gets it. He doesn’t. He’d never do something this dumb. “She was willing to do it. ”

“And you’re obsessed with her, so it’s a win-win.”

“ What ?”

“Oh, you aren’t aware that you are googly over her?”

I want to smack him more than I’ve ever wanted to smack him before. “Stop fucking saying googly! That isn’t a word.”

He huffs, shaking his head, sweeping his long, black hair back with his hand. “You’re googly as fuck.”

“Boss.”

“I get the angle you’re working with, but just be careful, alright?” He smacks his gum, giving me an earnest look. “It’s all fun and games and protecting your career until you wind up head over heels for her.”

“We have an arrangement.”

He holds up a hand. “I don’t need any details that you don’t want to give me, but I’m serious, Forker. If you fall for this girl, and she doesn’t fall back, what the hell are you going to do?”

I just shake my head. It’s not like that. “I’m not falling for anyone, alright? This is PR. This is keeping my ass on your team so that we win another cup.”

“Remember what happened to Lowesy when he fell for a girl who hurt him? Remember what happened to our team then?”

I scrunch up my nose. “We won a fucking cup?”

He thinks about that for a second, then presses his lips together and nods. “Okay, yeah. Not what I meant, though. That’s after she fell back in lov—you know what? That’s not my point. Just protect that stupid organ in your chest, okay? You fall fast, buddy.”

Oh, come on. I don’t. Not really. I’ve only ever seriously dated three girls and it always ends in flames.

I have no intention of getting deeply involved again unless it’s for the right person.

No matter how bad I want it. I know boundaries.

Remember Rochelle? Probably could have loved her if I let myself, but I didn’t let myself.

I’m good. I’m in check. I know what this is.

The balcony door swings open, and Wyatt Caulfield pokes his head out. Glances at us both, gauging if he’s interrupting.

I dip my chin. Always room for Caulfield.

“They’re heading up the driveway now. Better get in here.”

Saved by the Wy-Guy.

“How excited are you?” I ask, flashing a smile and purposefully turning my back on Boston. I smack my hand on Wyatt’s shoulder and shake him as he breaks into the happiest grin I’ve ever seen. “How you kept this a secret is beyond me.”

“I’d never ruin that for her,” he says as we step into the house. “It’s impossible to surprise P. She deserved this.”

When Declan called me to tell me the plan, I was on cloud nine.

I asked four hundred questions about it.

Couldn’t stop, really. I was psyched. I think I was talking about suit colours and table arrangements by the time he told me to shut up.

I managed to get some information from him, like how he has been bringing Wyatt around to different jewelers for the last six months, and how he had to ask two people for their permission: Penny’s dad and Avery Oliver.

“You’re a better man than Fork, Caulfield,” Boston grumbles with a laugh. “He’d have spilled within a day.”

“I wouldn’t have,” I glower.

Seriously. I wouldn’t have. Ever. If you want to propose to someone and need someone to keep a secret, I’m your guy.

I’ve never done it, but I could do it. I technically just did it for a few days, even though I didn’t see Sweets during that time so I couldn’t have blown it.

And yeah, I guess I called Arden within ten seconds to gush about it.

Hey, I was excited, alright?

I stand at the back of the crowd, but when I spot a head of red hair next to a short little brunette who I have also grown quite fond of, I separate from the boys and head to the front of the room.

I wind my arms around Arden from behind when I reach her, ignoring the way she tenses on instinct, like she forgets she has a faux Forkerro at all.

Her hands find my forearms as she glances up at me.

I smile down at her, but then look beside me, to where Avery Oliver is watching us with big, wide eyes.

“You two are ridiculously hot together.”

I chuckle, squeezing Arden a bit. She’s not wrong.

Avery shakes her head, tucking her short brown hair behind her ear. “Your kids would be insane.”

The way I immediately start to imagine what our babies would actually look like is probably a bad sign.

Would they have her hair? I’d pray for that.

I’d beg the gods for ten ginger babies that look like their mother.

I get tons of compliments on my eyes, but I’ve grown quite fond of the colour brown lately.

Let them have all of her DNA. I’d want carbon copies of Red.

I clear my throat, Boston’s voice ringing in my ears. That is, if this shit was actually a thing.

“Did you hear how he did it?” Arden asks softly, still peering up at me.

I nod. Heard all about it because I made Dec tell me every minor detail of this plan.

Cutest shit ever, if I’m honest. Makes my stomach hurt a bit for some reason, like I can’t believe two people were lucky enough to find this kind of love with each other in this day and age.

I’m telling you, your stomach would be in knots too if you sat in a room with them for five minutes.

They went on a coffee date this afternoon.

He brewed her a hazelnut latte and they took a walk with the dogs down to the water behind their house.

They sat there for about as long as it takes to talk and finish a hot beverage.

When she took the last sip of her latte, she found a message carved into the bottom of her new mug.

Will You Marry Me?

I swallow, hating the little ache that sprouts deep in my chest. I wish I could have seen her face. I know that moment was the happiest she’s ever been. It’s no secret I have a sweet spot for Sweets.

“They give me hope,” Arden says quietly, mostly to herself.

I place my chin on the top of her head, but feel the look Avery gives us at that comment.

I ignore it. I don’t let her read into it.

I just act like that comment is completely normal from a taken woman.

If anyone’s going to out us for being in a fake relationship, it won’t be Avery Oliver Tyler.

I can promise you that. She’s good shit.

“Me too, Red,” I murmur, pressing a kiss to her hair. “Me too.”

The front door opens, the lights fly on, and everyone starts cheering. I mean, the room erupts . I can’t hear a thing, but I can see their faces, and that’s all that matters.

Avery decorated this house to utter perfection.

So, the first thing Penny does is scream at the top of her lungs like she’s about to get murdered.

The next thing she does is take in all the decorations with wide-eyed wonder.

The third thing she does, which surprises me that it actually took that long, is find Avery in the crowd.

Her mouth pops open and Sweets is crying within seconds. Down she goes.

Declan laughs, resting his hand on her back as she keels over.

This is probably just as exciting for her as the proposal itself.

There are tons of important faces in this room.

People she doesn’t get to see every day anymore.

People who are the reason Pittsburgh will never truly feel like home for either of them.

Avery, hands over her mouth and her own tears falling down her face, rushes to her best friend and scoops her up into her arms. Tiffany and Lauren, their other friends from home, follow suit while they dab at their eyes—Tiffany holding the cutest baby I’ve ever seen on her hip.

Caulfield, EJ Dalton, and Seth Tyler approach Dec with easy, proud smiles. They engulf him in a group hug, the jokes already flying, smacking him on the back with rough, firm grips.

For a moment, the rest of us just watch.

It’s enamoring when you get to witness people who love each other this much.

Who have loved each other through years, through history, through the best and the worst that life has to offer.

This group is a rare one. I feel pretty lucky to bask in the glory of what they’ve managed to build and keep safe for so many years.

Penny is still crying, showing the ring to her friends with a trembling hand.

Her eyes sweep across the room, trying to take this all in, attempting to figure out who is here in a blur of faces.

She waves, shouting a quick apology. But then her eyes land on her parents, her sister, and her niece. The weeping starts again. Harder now.

I huff a laugh, squeezing Arden a bit tighter. “We’ll get in there eventually.”

“I could see that ring from space,” is all she says.

I chuckle against her hair. Wouldn’t expect anything else from Lowesy when it comes to that girl.

I feel eyes on me, though. Heavy. It can’t be Avery this time, since she’s currently holding Declan’s face in her hands and nearly making him cry as she speaks to him softly. With my arms still around Arden, I glance behind me .

Boston stands between Saltzy and Oscar. His arms are across his broad chest, pink gum popping out of his mouth. Those green eyes are glued to me, a serious expression all over his serious face. He cocks a brow, but that’s all he offers, and it’s enough.

I rip my eyes away, hold her a bit closer, and watch as Declan blinks four hundred times a minute to stop from crying.

I might want what he has, but I’m not stupid. I know this thing with Arden isn’t that.

“Ah!” Caulfield teases, pointing a finger right in Lowesy’s face, by the corner of his eye. “Here it comes! It’s going to fall! Look, Eej! Look!”

EJ barks out a loud laugh, getting up close to Declan’s face, too.

Lowesy tries to smack them away, but even from here, it’s undeniable that his happiness is radiating off him.

He glances at Penny, whose hand is out in front of her while her sister takes her turn studying the ring.

As if feeling the weight of his stare, she looks over her shoulder at him.

He winks at her. Three times, which is a bit overkill, but who am I to judge?

She smiles at that. Sweet and so, so in love.

And I realize at that very moment that I don’t just want this shit for myself, I’m fucking jealous.