Page 7 of The Hookup (Firsts and Forever #13)
I asked, “Anyone opposed?” When there were no objections, I wrote: Your friends are more than welcome to get married at our place.
I just asked the team, and they’re all for it.
There’s a nice gazebo out back that’ll be perfect for this.
No hurry either, take all the time you need.
Come over whenever you want, and let’s plan on celebrating afterwards.
Hal replied: That’s amazing, thank you. Would it work to have the ceremony at sunset? If so, we’d love to arrive a couple of hours early to get everything ready.
My next message said: Absolutely. Tank and I are about to head back to the house. We’ll be there whenever you want to come over.
After I sent him the address, Hal told me they were going to track down a wedding officiant, and that he’d check in soon. I was grinning as I returned the phone to the pocket of my flannel shirt. “Look at you, all aglow,” Tank teased. “You really like this guy, don’t you?”
“Of course I do. He’s amazing.”
“So, are you going to see him again, after this weekend?”
I muttered, “God, I hope so.” While I was talking, I retrieved my credit card from the check holder, added a tip, and signed my name to the bill.
My team had played their hearts out today, and throughout the tournament.
As their captain, I thought it was only right that I treated them to a nice meal.
“That won’t be easy though, since he lives in San Francisco.”
“I know.” I didn’t want to think about that now, so I changed the subject by calling, “Who needs a ride back to the tournament arena, and who’s headed to the casinos? Tank and I can drop some of you off before we go back to the house.”
Chaos temporarily ensued while over a dozen guys talked at once and tried to decide who was going where. Finally, we loaded up one of the rented SUVs and dropped off some of our teammates at the sports complex, so they could watch the championship match for first place.
Even though I hated losing, part of me was glad I didn’t have to get back out there this afternoon. My back and knees were aching, and almost every inch of me felt bruised and battered.
Tank was almost as sore as I was, which was why we were going back to the rental. As much as we didn’t want to admit it, as some of the older guys on the team, we needed time to rest and recover.
Once Tank and I were alone in the SUV, he flipped down the visor so he could check his reflection in the mirror. He was a fair-skinned redhead with freckles, and he frowned and muttered, “I look sunburned, even though I used SPF-70 when I was in the pool yesterday.”
“Until they invent SPF-500, your pale ass doesn’t stand a chance in the sun.”
“You’re not wrong.”
“So, what did you end up doing last night, after I saw you at that club?”
“A couple of the guys and I went back to Vee’s hotel room with him and kept drinking.”
“Are you interested in Vee?”
“I would be. He’s really hot. But he’s still pining for an ex of his, so nobody had a chance of hooking up with him.” My friend glanced at me and asked, “Speaking of hooking up, are you going to spill some details about last night?”
“Definitely not.”
“You’re welcome, by the way. I knew you’d like him when I sent you that photo.”
“What’s not to like?”
“You know, there’s such a thing as a long-distance relationship.”
“We’ve had one night together, Tank.”
“But you’re planning on seeing him again tonight, which figures. You’re not a one-night stand kind of guy.”
“You’re right, I’m not, and I definitely want to keep in touch with him when I go home,” I said.
“But how would this ever work out? Sure, we could do the long-distance thing if he was willing, but it could never be more than that. I’m obviously not going to sell the ranch that’s been in my family for four generations, or abandon my horses.
And can you even imagine a guy that sophisticated moving to the country? ”
“For you? Why not?”
“For starters, he’s used to life in a big city, so he’d probably be bored out of his mind. Worse than that, he might start to resent me if he gave up his career in fashion for our relationship.”
“That’s depressing.”
“I’m just being realistic.”
My friend sighed. “I know, but it’s a bummer. You used to be a hopeless romantic, once upon a time. I really hope Greg and Craig haven’t permanently cured you of that.”
After soaking my sore muscles in the hot tub, downing some ibuprofen, and taking a nap, I felt considerably better by the time Hal, Vee, and Embry joined us that afternoon.
They were loaded down with stuff when I answered the door, and as I helped them bring in a bunch of bags and boxes, I pointed out, “You seem to be missing a groom.”
“Bryson’s out buying us a matching pair of wedding rings,” Embry said, as he placed a pink box on the kitchen counter and pushed his platinum blond curls out of his eyes.
“He figured that’d help sell our relationship to his grandfather, who’s withholding Bryson’s inheritance until he gets married.
I don’t know if Hal told you that part.”
“That seems like such an old-fashioned requirement.”
Embry shrugged. “I guess his granddad is an old-fashioned kind of guy.”
Hal draped a garment bag over the back of a chair and turned to me, and I ran my gaze down the length of him. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and he was dressed all in black again, this time in a lightweight cotton tunic, shorts, and flat sandals.
Concern wrinkled his brow as he came closer and asked me, “Are you okay?” He indicated the butterfly bandage that I’d stuck over a cut on my left temple.
“I’m fine. I got a little banged up during the match, but that’s to be expected.”
He frowned at that, but then he said, “Thanks for hosting the wedding ceremony. This means a lot to me.”
“To all of us,” Embry added, from the other side of the large kitchen island.
“We found a wedding officiant. We want to time the ceremony to the sunset, so she’ll arrive about half an hour beforehand,” Vee said, as he started to load several bottles of champagne into the fridge. “But first, Embry wants to decorate his wedding cake.”
I asked, “Is there enough time to make a cake?”
“I’m not making it. I’m just stacking up three cakes and decorating them.
” Embry opened the pink box to reveal a cake with white icing.
“We got this at a local bakery. We also bought the ingredients for buttercream frosting, and I brought my piping bags and tips. Cake decorating is kind of my thing,” he explained.
“Got it. Help yourself to anything you need in the fridge or cupboards,” I said, “and can I offer y’all some iced tea?”
After I poured them some drinks, we all went into the backyard so they could plan the ceremony. It looked very nice and respectable, since I’d fished the blow-up doll out of the pool and cleaned up a million beer bottles and cans before they’d arrived.
The white gazebo was at the very back of the yard. Behind it was a wrought iron fence, and a pretty great view. The land dipped down into a wide desert valley, and the Strip could be seen off in the distance.
Embry had tears in his eyes when he turned to me and said, “This is absolutely perfect. Thank you again, Ryder.”
That seemed like a lot of emotion for a pretend wedding. Maybe there was more to this than met the eye. “I’m happy to help. So are the rest of the guys.”
For the ceremony, they decided Embry would enter from the pool house on the right, Hal would bring in Bryson through the gate on the left, and they’d meet in the middle at the gazebo, where the officiant would be waiting.
Embry asked what they should do for music while he and his fiancé were making their entrances, and I said, “Three of my teammates are in a gay men’s chorus.
Want me to ask them if they’ll sing something? ”
He liked that idea, so I sent a message via the team group chat, because it was quicker than contacting the three guys individually.
That turned out to be a bad idea. The singers said yes right away, but so did several more of our teammates.
I hoped their enthusiasm would make up for any actual skill, because some of these guys couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket.
Now that the ceremony was decided, Embry said he was going to go work on the cake, and Vee offered to help him. Hal asked, “What should I do?”
That made Embry grin. “Hang out with Ryder. The cake’s going to take some time. Once it’s done, I’d love it if you could help me straighten my hair and get my outfit together. But it’s going to be a while.”
Embry and Vee went back inside, and Hal leaned into me and smiled. “You heard him. I’m all yours until the groom needs help.”
“That’s excellent news.” I brushed my lips to his and said, “Let’s go sit in the shade, while you tell me about the wedding venues you saw today.”
I took a seat on a lounge chair in a corner of the yard, under a pergola covered with some sort of ivy.
I was both surprised and happy when Hal climbed on top of me, straddling my lap.
He took a sip of iced tea before setting his glass on an end table, and then he rested his head on my shoulder while I rubbed his back.
“I can appreciate the kitsch of a drive-through wedding presided over by an Elvis impersonator,” he said.
“And some of these places offered theme weddings, where everyone would dress up as gangsters, pirates, disco dancers, or whatever. I was secretly hoping he’d go with disco so I’d have an excuse to raid the local thrift shops for bell bottoms and platform shoes, but Embry wasn’t feeling any of the places we saw.
He really wanted his fake fiancé to be happy with his decision, and maybe he was worried Bryson would think those places were tacky.
I mean, they were, obviously. But intentionally so. ”
“I’m not sure how I’d feel about a kitschy theme wedding, personally.”
“You and your ex were together a long time. Did you ever talk about marriage?”