His green eyes are bright with love and desire, but he manages to resist me, taking my device from my limp fingers and reading it before turning it in my direction.
J-Pop: Who the heck is your future husband? One of our new nannies? Winston M’Baku?
T-Diddy: Not exactly. Think the Wayne brother with two little boys. T-minus one hour and fifty minutes to the wedding. Coming?
“Emerson Wayne?” I croak. My best friend is marrying a Wayne? “How did I not know about this?”
“Get dressed fast.” He leans out the door and shouts. “Girls? We’re going to Princess Tani’s wedding. Go get some clothes on. And shoes. Hurry up now.”
What? “What?” I hear two high pitched giggling screams from downstairs, followed by running of little feet out the door.
Elliot narrows his eyes. “If I’m going to be your husband, Tani is basically my sister-in-law, right? She said she’s getting married. We’re going.”
I love him. I don’t care that he’s perfect and without any discernible flaws. I’ll have to learn to live with it.
Somehow, I’ll manage.
I bring the bouquet and as soon as we reach the entrance to the courthouse, I see my best friend. She’s wearing a thick red scarf over a lovely yellow dress.
Yellow means she needs a hug. I wrap my arms around her and then spend five solid minutes attempting to talk her out of her plans. I have logic on my side. Years of knowing her. Statistics and money to throw at the problem.
She isn’t budging.
“This is my decision. I want this. Please respect that.”
“I would, but I’m not hearing anything about crazy sex or love at first sight, so you can understand my concern.”
“Joey.”
Elliot stands beside me with a supportive hand at my back. “We’ll support you, Princess Tani. And we’ll have pancakes after. In fact, we’ll be asking you to meet us here pretty soon ourselves, won’t we, Joey?”
“Don’t steal her thunder,” I whisper hiss, but I ruin it by winking.
Tani’s beaming, her eyes welling up as she takes turns hugging us both. “See? It’s all working out for the best. Now that I’m moving out, you and Elliot can be together full time.”
“But what about you? How well do you know him? We only went to that one dinner.”
Emerson and his two boys, Barry and Langston, suddenly arrive on the steps of the courthouse with twenty minutes to spare. Rue and Adria, who’d been oohing and aahing over Tani’s outfit, grow silent at their approach.
“It might have been more than one dinner,” she says softly. “I’ll be fine. Support my crazy.”
I can’t and won’t argue with that kind of logic. “You know I will.”
“Tani.” Langston Wayne comes up to her and immediately slips his hand into hers. “Is that Flash Ransom? The one who signed my baseball?”
Elliot smiles and looks around before putting his finger to his lips with a wink.
Wow. A lot more than one dinner then. My best friend has been keeping so many secrets.
I’m a little impressed.
Twenty minutes later, I watch her marry into the Wayne family, with Elliot and the girls beside me.
Emerson Wayne lifts her off her feet and kisses her senseless while Elliot closes my jaw with one finger.
So that happened.
No. It really happened.
I’m engaged to be married and my bff got hitched on the same day. Before breakfast.
Now we’re out having pancakes. All of us. And I promised not to call JD until tomorrow, though it may kill me to restrain myself.
Elliot’s hand is on my thigh as Rue and Adria talk to the Wayne boys, and a feeling comes over me, so powerful it almost brings tears to my eyes. I’m home.
And if Emerson does anything to hurt my best friend? I’m going to cut off his balls.
Balls.
The theme continues, and may it live happily ever after.