Page 87 of Nothing to the Wedding

“I’d say you can fly in the chopper with us, but you’d be disappointed to miss a chance to rappel from the thing.”

“If there’s a chance for that kind of fun, I’ll go upstairs and grab my kit.”

Oh, so predictable, though still entertaining.“Doesn’t surprise me you carry that kind of thing as standard.Does surprise me you’d stay in a place like this.Did you find some janitor’s closet big enough for your sleeping bag and just set up shop?”

“That’s the thing, Talks-A-Lot, sometimes a guy has to be comfortable in comfort, even when he prefers the dirt.”

Something about that statement sparked a thought.

“We need to dig up Kinloch,” she muttered over her shoulder to her guy.

Sam got the reference.“Kinloch Peake, I’ve spent time on his land.”

“Of course you have.”

Because Sam spent most of his life trying to make sure he never slept in one place twice.That meant spreading himself out… a lot.

“He has a lot of it,” Zairn said.“More soon.”

“With all the wealth he’s just acquired—”

“Man’s always had a lot of wealth from how I hear it,” Sam said.“Got a lot of respect for a guy dedicated to the land like that.He might be the only loaded guy I have a chance of understanding.”

“Well, I’m so sorry, he’s not my type,” she said.“Whoever marries him will probably have to live in a cave.”

That amused her leaning post.“That’s funny because it’s probably true.”

“Guy might surprise you.”

Or not.“A lot of people were surprised by Kinloch’s decision to sell his family’s life work,” she said.“Got to admit, I don’t know him too well, but even I was surprised.Maybe if I’d thought about if from the point of view of a guy like you…”

“Don’t know a better use for money.”

“Than to buy isolation?That’s exactly what you’d do if we gave you a charge card, isn’t it?”

“No, I’d shove the thing up your ass,” Sam said, clearly annoyed.“You were never about the money, Talks-Alot.”

Porter noted that about her too, once upon a time.These days, it frustrated her when people looked at Zairn and only saw money.When those people assumed he was shallow and arrogant.Okay, so his ego wasn’t lacking, but none of that was the sum total of him.She liked being the one who saw him at his most unguarded, his most honest.That didn’t mean she wanted those she loved to believe any of the assumptions in the press.

Zairn pounced to her defense.“She still isn’t.”

Sigh, it was nice while it lasted.They’d gotten along for… oh, at least three minutes.

“What happened to you liking each other?”

“I like him so long as he shows you respect,” Zairn said, with a hard edge she’d heard in his voice before, usually with people he considered harmful to her or them.“This is her wedding day.”

“Don’t care,” Sam said.“She deserves respect every day.As long as you’re good for her, I’ll keep the peace.Minute I think you’re not… don’t forget I’m watching.”

“From so far away, you haven’t seen her the whole time I’ve known her.I’ve had a chance to learn her, love her, and have her love me, and you haven’t shown up once.”

“Still watching.”

“Okay, everyone, this is a happy day.Happy times.Happy faces.I love both of you and you love me.This is family.We’re family.We’ll go to the club, get drunk, make some memories.”

“Heard a rumor you have a skit.”

Her brother often managed to hear rumors.Always surprised her given she never saw him talking to anyone.Who exactly was sharing these rumors?Insect life?Rodents?Couldn’t be the homo sapiens.