Katie giggled. “Yes. I got married last weekend. We eloped to Vegas.” Popping back a step, she wiggled her finger. “And you all don’t know him,” she said, “Not yet. But you will. And he will be your favorite.”
Not a single one of us batted an eyelash.
“And when will we meet him?” Calla asked.
“Soon.” She tapped Calla on the nose. “Very soon.”
“I’m sorry. Hold on a second,” I said, shaking my head. “How did you meet this guy?”
“Well,” Katie said, lifting her shot. “Let’s just say he was a very, very determined patron of the club.” Winking, she took the shot and then lowered the glass. “And we have been together for like eight years. So it was about time we jumped the broom.”
Steph’s jaw nearly hit the table. “What? You’ve been with this guy since then?”
She shrugged a shoulder. “Yes.”
“Why haven’t you told us?” Roxy looked like she was about to hit Katie next.
“When did I have a chance to talk to you guys about my man? Y’all are a bunch of dramalicious bitches who constantly need my wise and sage advice.” She planted a hand on her hip. “And it’s not like I’d ever come to any of you for relationship advice. For realsies.”
For some reason, I found that hilariously funny. Maybe because it was accurate. Tipping my head back, I laughed—laughed hard enough that I think I hurt my abs.
Steph was also laughing and she looked like she was seconds away from peeing herself. From that point, Katie told us about her man, who apparently none of us knew about, while I sipped my Coke. Time passed. Calla and Roxy returned to the bar. Katie stole someone’s chair and brought it over to our table.
I saw the crowd parting, making way for Brock like he was some kind of extraordinarily hot Moses.
Within moments, I saw the glazed-over shocked faces of nearly every male in the bar once they realized they were in the presence of Brock Mitchell. If I had my complete hearing, I knew I’d hear the murmurings and gasps.
Brock nodded at the girls as he took my hand and pulled me onto my feet. Tugging me close, he said into my ear. “I was missing you.”
Placing my hands on his waist, I laughed. “I haven’t been gone that long.”
“Long enough.” He kissed my neck and then my jaw.
“You two are freaking adorable,” Steph said as Nick came up behind her.
“That we are.” Circling an arm around my waist, Brock drew me to him. I went, placing my hands on his chest as he lowered his head. His lips swept over mine and then he shifted his head, speaking directly in my ear. “You doing okay?”
“Yeah.” I slid my hand up to his shoulder. “I’m glad we decided to come.”
“I’m glad you decided to come.”
Tilting my head, I smiled a little as I rested my cheek against his chest. Colton was placing a new drink down in front of Abby as he kissed her upturned face before straightening. I found Reece and Roxy next. She was back behind the bar but had her arms across the top, gripping the edge as she stretched toward Reece. He met her halfway, kissing her.
Calla was smiling at something Jax was saying. They too were behind the bar, standing in the center. She started to turn, but Jax caught her around the waist and laid one on her. The guys around the bar hooted, and when he let go of Calla, her face was as red as a cherry.
Nick was back to rubbing Steph’s shoulders and she had this dreamy, peaceful look on her face. You almost couldn’t believe she was sitting in the middle of the bar. She reached up, placing her hand over one of his and squeezing.
They all had their own struggles and stories to tell and they all made it to this point, happy and in love.
I looked to the right, and found the bright blue eyes of Katie staring back at me. She raised an eyebrow and nodded. She didn’t have to speak. I knew what that look and nod meant, and I heard her words from earlier in the night.
Still going to be rough at times, but he’s worth it now.
I turned into Brock, wrapping an arm around his waist. I felt his chin graze the top of my head, and he held me tighter as Colton shouted over the music.
Sometimes, like now, I really believed Katie just might be psychic.
I let out a happy sigh.
Deciding to come here was a huge decision, but I had no idea until that moment how badly I needed to do this—to retrace my steps in a way, and I had no idea how much it would affect me.
My shoulders were lighter.
My thoughts a little less heavy.
My heart a whole lot fuller.
Two fingers pressed under my chin and tilted my head up. Warm brown eyes stared into mine.
“You here with me?” he asked.
“I’m always with you.”
Chapter 28
I woke in the middle of the night, surprised to find a hard, unmovable body pressed against mine. The cobwebs of sleep lifted as I turned slightly. “What are you doing?”
“I missed you.” Brock’s arm tightened around my waist. “Plus, I behaved last night and stayed out of this room.”
He had . . . much to my disappointment. I’d hope he’d sneak into my room, but when we came back from Mona’s we parted ways with what was a pretty chaste kiss.
Thanksgiving had been a chaotic crazy mess of awesomeness. My family behaved as expected. They were nosy and demanding and all around lovable as they asked one question after another.
Afterwards, Brock and I had talked with my father and my uncles about our proposal to convert the two rooms into a dance studio. My father and uncles didn’t immediately scoff at the idea, but Andre looked doubtful. We laid out all the pros and cons for them, comparing cost to potential profit, and by the time the conversation was done and we lost half of them to the football game, I was feeling pretty confident about it. Dad had been eyeing those papers with that gleam in his eye, the same one he got when he saw a new recruit he knew he could shape into a winner.