Page 39 of Nothing to the Wedding

“Yep.Astrid and I are going to the cake place tomorrow.I tried to tempt Tripp into wedding errands a couple of days ago.”

“Didn’t work?”

“Not his thing.I’ll try again tomorrow.Cake’s perhaps more appealing.”

“You’re going to check everything’s right?”

“I won’t be as particular as Jane, but Knox gave me instructions, I shouldn’t fuck it up too much.”

“You’re more worried about Jane’s wedding than ours.”

And it didn’t sound like that offended him.“Because I got the guy, and you got the girl.Everyone cares about what they care about.If our cake went splat or my dress was an inch or two wrong in either direction, we’d laugh it off or it wouldn’t feature.It’s one of those things.Who cares if there’s too much tuna and not enough steak?What does it matter if the flowers are too bright or arranged with this instead of that.It doesn’t change our happiness.Right?Am I right?”

“You’re right.”

“Jane has been dreaming about this her whole life.She’d never flip out, she may not even say a word, but if it wasn’t perfect, she’d feel it for a long time.”Maybe forever.“I won’t have that.”

“Neither will Knox.”

“Exactly!It matters to us that Jane is happy.She does so much for us, for all of us.She’s the definition of good people.She deserves this.”

“I agree,” he said, ever calm.“Knox can do something physical, something tangible for the woman he loves.It’s not so easy for the rest of us.”

“I’m happy, Casanova.”

“I know you’re happy.We’re happy.Doesn’t mean I don’t want to go the extra mile for you sometimes.”

“The extra mile like arranging for two incredible people I love to be at my back with Roxiverse?”

“Yes.”

“The extra mile like loving me so much you couldn’t go one more day without being married to me.”

“That was a doozy.”

“And what do I do for you, huh?”she asked, bringing the phone a little closer.“I once told you I’d never be able to return the favor.”And she never had.“How do I please you, baby?How do I go the extra mile for you?”

“You could start by taking that dress off.”

Clutching it closer, she gave him an enhanced view of her chest.“The sex stuff must get old for you.You’ve been having it for a long, long… long time.”

“You go the extra mile when you call if I’m not in your bed when you wake up.You go the extra mile when you appear in the office, take me by the hand, and lead me to bed.”

“Even in the times I only want to cuddle?”

“Especially those times.You go the extra mile when we’re in different parts of Crimson Palace, but you send me a message with a drink that hasn’t been mixed to your liking.”

“There’s something different in the way you do it.”

“You go the extra mile when you need me, Lo.When you think about me.”He groaned as he inhaled.“You and me, building our life, how you include me in every little thing, even when I’m not there.I need you to need me, Roxanna, though it’s never half as much as I need you.”

“You like to fix things,” she said and licked her lips.“And I like it when you fix things for me.”

“Anything.Everything, Lola.You get what you want and you get it right.If anything’s not up to par, I need you to tell me.Nothing matters more to me than your happiness.Do you get that?Do you get how much your happiness means to me?”

“You’re an overachiever.That’s your problem, Lomond.You can’t do half measures.”

“Not with you, no.”