Page 89 of Paint Our Song

Miles lifts his eyebrows at him.

“What’s that look?” Calvin asks.

“Nothing.”

“I don’t believe you.”

He grins. “I’m thinking about how I’m going to thank you for doing all this for the inn.”

Calvin trails a thumb over Miles’s lower lip. “Maybe you can thank me with whatever unspeakable things you had in mind when the wedding’s over.”

Damn it, Calvin.Groaning again, Miles’s pants tighten, and he adjusts himself. “What wedding?”

Calvin smirks, leans in close and kisses his jaw. “And there you are.” He pulls away, looking at Miles with a softness in his eyes. “I need to go over the set list with Chase and Gil. I’ll see you later.”

“Okay,” Miles says, then steals one last kiss from him.

Once he leaves, Miles heads to the restroom to splash water over his face. He needs to get it together. The band’s going to play for them for the entire night, and for free. They’re a popular band, and he knows their rate is more than what most people can afford. He doesn’t even know if Gil was telling the truth before, about how they wouldn’t be able to talk about it without their manager.

Oh, shit.Derrick.

He doesn’t know about this. He’ll hear about it soon, judging from the growing amount of viewers the twins are bringing in. Theo will hear about it too, probably—what will he say when he finds out that the rest of the band is playing without him?

“Ugh.” Miles splashes water on his face again. “Dad, are you watching? What would you do?”

One of the cubicles opens, and a man steps out, giving him an odd look. Miles gets out of there before the man tells the wedding couple there’s a crazy man on the crew talking to himself.

Bridget is in the lobby. She’s in her wedding dress, and she’s gorgeous, getting ready to walk down the aisle. Her crowd of bridesmaids surrounds her. The twins aren’t in the lobby anymore. They’ve probably been shooed off to take their seats by now.

Outside, the place has been transformed into what Miles can only describe as pure elegance. The flowers have finally been set up, lining up the aisle and tied around the wedding arch. He spots the staff, as well as Mom, standing out of view by the back. His watch says they still have some time, so Miles ducks to the dining room to check if the food’s on track, and checks on the outdoor tent as well.

Everything seems to be going smoother now.Thank fuck.

Mom kisses his cheek when he steps up beside her. “Hi.”

“Hi, Ma,” he says, distracted by how the band’s fiddling around with the equipment. Gil’s on the keyboard, with Calvin and Chase on the bass and the guitar. The wedding coordinator signals to them that they can start playing, and slow, sweet music fills the air.

The wedding march starts. Several people in the seats are whispering to themselves and pointing at the band, and Miles gets it—nobody expected the music to come from the famous Cloverlily. The twins are sitting near the back, their cameras pointed at the band, and—yeah. The stream’s still going.

He leaves Mom to join Gabby and Matthew.

“How are you?” Gabby whispers, squeezing his arm.

“Perfect,” he lies.

Calvin looks good wearing Miles’s suit. Tucked in a corner of his closet, it’s been a while since he’s seen it. Dad had given it to him years back, and he’s not even sure if it still fits him. He’s only worn it maybe twice in his life.

It fits Calvin perfectly.

Bridget appears from the back. The guests gasp and point their phones at her, standing up. A bridesmaid’s crying, and the bride’s mom is sniffling so hard someone has to hand her a handkerchief.

Then the song changes, and Calvin steps closer to the microphone. Oh, god. They’re covering “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran. He should’ve guessed—it’s a pretty popular song for weddings, even if a tad bit cliche.

His voice, the cadence of it, how deep it sounds and how effortlessly he does this—Miles isn’t going to survive this.

Everyone’s eyes are on the bride, but Miles is frozen in place, staring at Calvin. He doesn’t have a name for what he feels right now.

Bridget reaches the front, steps up to Jeff. The song ends when she does, and Calvin switches his mic off and steps back. He turns to Gil to say something, who nods.