Page 40 of Fool Me (Timberline Peak #1)
CHAPTER
TWENTY-NINE
HARLOWE
Atlas is a man of many talents—something he proved last night. One of those talents is looking far too good in anything he wears. At this point, I’m convinced he could wear a wine barrel to the wedding and bring me to my knees.
Each look, from the cutoff shirts he favors when he works out, to the scrubs that test the elasticity of cotton blends, to the jeans and boots he wears on date night, puts me under its own unique spell.
But Atlas Kane in a suit . . . it’s enough to make a girl weep. He’s unfairly beautiful, and he’s all mine.
“You’ve got some drool right here,” Vivienne says from where she snuck up next to me. I let the sheer curtain fall shut and step back from the window. Haze is sleeping in my arms yet again. I can’t get enough.
“And you look—God, Vi, you’re stunning. Xavier is going to lose it.” And she’s not even in her wedding dress yet. But it’s almost that time. The team Vivienne hired to get us ready is finishing with Poppy and Mia.
The bride’s eyes drop to her son in my arms, who is currently smacking his pouty lips together, and then lift again. “That smile looks good on you, and I don’t think it has anything to do with my baby.”
“It has a little to do with this sweet nugget.” I drop a kiss on his head.
“I should feed him before I have to get dressed. And you should sit with me and tell me all about why the vet has you looking at him like that,” Vivi says, scooping Haze out of my arms.
I taste lipstick as I bite my lip and pull back before I wreck my makeup. But my smile wins out.
“Oh, that?” I say, aiming for casual and missing. “I blame the twins.”
“What?” she sputters on a laugh that turns to a hiss as Haze latches on. “Shit. That hurt.”
I rub her arm sympathetically. “We can talk about this later. It’s your day and you’ve got a lot going on.”
“Absolutely not, distract me—I’m still not sure I’ve got the hang of this. Besides, I want to know how much trouble my youngest brothers are causing. And what they have to do with you and the hot doctor.”
Delilah squeezes Vivi’s shoulder in solidarity as she drops into the chair next to her.
Indie takes a seat on the other side of Vivi, her hand resting on the top of her small bump.
I knew Vivi’s friends in Denver had kids, but they all seem to be at that spot in life where they are multiplying faster than I can keep up.
With four under four, it’s a game of musical babies.
The two smallest, Haze and Janie, are being passed around for snuggles.
And the toddlers, Holland and Jarrett, keep switching adults based on who’s currently got the capacity to entertain them.
Right now, that happens to be Tenley, who took them to get dressed.
It reminds me of the tight-knit group I’ve found in Timberline Peak, minus the babies.
Refocusing on her question, I say, “I can’t be certain, but I suspect that one of the twins is responsible for the missing pull-out mattress in the apartment.”
“No!” Vivi gasps. “I’m going to kill them.
I put you up there because there were two beds.
Well, and it’s quieter.” As if she knew we were having girl time without her, Holland bursts through the door, squealing and throwing herself into Vivi’s lap.
Like a pro, she shifts Haze to allow room for his sister without missing a beat.
It’s a perfect picture so I snap one for her with my phone and then show her. “It might not feel like it but I think you’ve got this mom thing down. You're doing great.”
My best friend’s eyes grow misty but before she can respond, Holland is reaching up for a curl.
“Pretty hair, Mama.”
“Thank you, Estrella. Aunt Tenley gave you big girl hair.”
“We match.”
Tenley follows her in, carrying Holland’s dress and her flower girl basket as Jarret toddles behind her.
“Thank you for helping her,” Vivienne says, smoothing a hand over Holland’s red curls.
“Anything for my girl.”
Vivi shifts Holland to sit between her and Indie. “So, what? You opened the couch up and the mattress was just missing.”
I nod.
“You should have said something. We could have moved you around.”
My grin spreads uncontrollably. “I’m glad it was missing.”
“That look—I knew it! Things with the vet aren’t as fake as you thought,” my best friend gushes, adjusting her hold on her son.
“No, it’s as real as it gets,” I admit.
Mia sighs from the chair where she’s getting her makeup done with Janie sleeping in her arms. “The one bed trope always gets you. It’s a classic, honestly.”
“Congrats, Tenley, looks like you’re the last single bridesmaid standing,” Poppy adds with a laugh.
She pulls her gaze from her phone, where she’s flicking through something, and plasters a smile on. “An award I accept on behalf of all the single ladies. I’d like to thank my vibrator, my emotional support water bottle, and not having to share my fries.”
I stand and walk over, leaning over her shoulder to look as she flips through a few.
My hand comes down on her shoulder and I squeeze.
“Are you looking at pictures?” I ask. She’s spent most of the last two years studying in Spain but came here from three days in Austria.
She’s trying to cram in as many countries as she can before returning to the states to finish the last of her nursing courses and clinicals because she starts an accelerated DNP program next year.
“It looks like you are having quite the adventure.”
She grins over her shoulder at me as the photographer announces it’s time for Vi to get dressed for her first look. The room erupts in chatter and I grab her dress from where it’s hanging.
Tenley takes Haze and her expression melts into one of genuine contentment, making her look like the girl I’ve known most of my life. With the dress draped over one arm, I wrap both of them up in a side hug. “We miss you here in the States, but I’m so proud of you,” I whisper into Tenley’s hair.
The arm that’s not cradling the baby comes around my waist. “I’ll be home soon, and maybe I’ll even take a travel job in Timberline Peak and come crash on your couch.”
Thirty minutes later, Vivi is dressed in delicate lace, the gown fitting her curves like it was made for them.
She’s so breathtakingly beautiful and beaming that it brings a tear to my eye.
This is all I’ve ever wanted for her: a life that she loves, a man that worships her and builds a life alongside her—for all her dreams come to life.
It’s what we all hope for—peace, safety, someone to come home to.
As we help her outside, I catch sight of Atlas again, and something in me warms. I don’t feel left behind or longing, I feel found.
He’s surrounded by the other guys—the guys from the Bandits and Vivi’s brothers—laughing.
But all that stops when they see us, each one of them softening for different reasons.
Atlas rubs a hand over his jaw, his eyes tracking me from head to toe as I hold Vivi’s short train and disappear around the corner of the house to get the bride to her groom.
“Careful,” Poppy says, bracing my elbow as my heel wobbles and I almost trip.
“Thanks. Men in suits should come with a warning label.” I laugh nervously, caught in the act of staring.
“Uh-huh,” she agrees, glancing over her shoulder and finding her husband. “Especially when they look like that.”
“It’s criminal that they all clean up that nicely with so little effort.” Indie scoffs.
Delilah sets down Jarrett and sends him toddling toward the men, pointing toward her husband. “I think about letting him put another baby in me every time he wears a suit coat.”
“Be honest, you think about it every time he wears baseball pants, too,” Mia teases.
“Think they’ll let him keep a pair when he retires?” Indie muses.
Vivienne hums her agreement and all eyes swing to hers. “What? The jerseys don’t just have to be for them, if you know what I mean.”
We stop at a spot behind the main house that overlooks the vineyard. It’s private, set away from the activity of last-minute wedding prep and friends and family arriving.
“Are you ready?” I fan her short train out, moving as the photographer gets set up.
“I’ve been ready for months.” She laughs.
“Next time I see you, you’ll be walking down the aisle.” My voice is tight with emotion. “I’m so happy for you, so proud that you opened yourself up and built this beautiful, big family.”
Looking around at the girls she’s grown close to, my heart swells with appreciation for them and the support they give her when the distance separates the two of us. I’m grateful to them as much as I am to Xavier for loving my best friend the way she deserves.