Chapter 33
Thursday
Brooklyn
Rob already had several opportunities to ruin this evening. And he hadn’t taken one yet. So I was going to enjoy everything on the platter in front of me. At least everything that I recognized. My stomach was not in an adventurous mood.
“You sure everything is alright?” Matt asked me.
I glanced at Rob out of the corner of my eye. He was busy eating. Just like everyone else. When he’d paraded me around Tanner’s living room, I’d jokingly told him the knives on the table looked sharp. Maybe he was actually scared that I’d cut him if he went through with the prank. I mean…it wasn’t that far of a stretch. I was from a mobster family.
I would never actually hurt Rob though. And I hoped he’d never hurt me. He knew how I felt about the prank. And for all his teasing…I knew he loved me.
“Everything is great,” I said and grabbed a biscuit off one of the trays. “Oh my God, this is so good. I’m going to need Nigel’s recipe for these.”
“He’s pretty shady about his recipes,” Matt said. “But these are really good.” He took another bite of his biscuit too.
“So you really skipped Thanksgiving for 16 years?” I asked.
Matt took a slow sip of his champagne. “My mom always made the same things for Christmas too. I hardly missed anything.”
I knew that wasn’t true. He’d missed out on time with his family. Because he was busy missing me. Tonight righted a lot of wrongs.
I glanced down the table to see Jacob giggling with his new friends. I’d been a little worried about today. It was the first big holiday since Miller… I felt the tears immediately welling in the corners of my eyes. I blinked them away.
Today I promised myself I’d focus on the present. Because that was the only way forward. I looked around at all our friends and Matt’s family. My family. No, my father wasn’t here, but I loved everyone in this room. Matt had helped me see that I didn’t always lose those I loved. Because I had a whole room full of people here who felt like family.
Someone clinked their knife against their glass. I turned to see Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell stand up.
They were both smiling at me.
“Our son already knows how proud we are of him,” Mr. Caldwell said. “And his ego is big enough, so we have a few words for you, Brooklyn.”
Matt laughed.
“We know your father couldn’t be here,” he said.
Couldn’t? Didn’t want to be? I wasn’t sure anymore. I pressed my lips together.
“But we’re your family, Brooklyn. We have been since you were a teenager.”
The tears were back in my eyes again. I did my best to blink them away.
“And we’re so thrilled that you made your way home to us.” He could probably tell I was about to burst into tears because he quickly added, “And I feel like I’ve been waiting forever for grandchildren.”
I glanced at Bee. Her cheeks had turned red. I wondered how much pressure she’d been getting from the Caldwells to pop out kids. If there’s one thing I knew for sure, pressure did not help the situation. I’d thought about babies nonstop for the past few years. And it wasn’t until I stopped thinking about it that I got pregnant again. I put my hand on my stomach.
Matt reached over and put his hand on top of mine.
My whole body felt warm and tingly.
“And now we finally have a grandson,” Mr. Caldwell said and smiled at me.
I loved how quickly they’d accepted my son as their own grandson. How open their arms were. I remembered how vehemently Mr. Caldwell didn’t want my father’s bodyguards in his house. For some reason that made me smile. Miller would always be around now.
“And another on the way.” Mr. Caldwell cleared his throat.
“We’re both a mess,” Mrs. Caldwell said with a laugh. “We love all you boys.” She put her hand on James’ shoulder. “And we love everyone you all chose to spend your lives with. We’re just so…proud of each and every one of you.” She put her hand on her heart. “And, Matt. My baby.” Her lower lip wobbled as she tried to keep it together. “I feel like I finally have my son back. And I can’t ever thank you enough for that, Brooklyn.” Her voice cracked.
I couldn’t stop the tears now. They started streaming down my cheeks. I grabbed a napkin and blotted my face as Matt put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer.
“We love you both,” Mr. Caldwell said. “And we’re so happy for you. Here’s to the happy couple.” He lifted his champagne glass.
Matt tapped his glass against my water glass.
I laughed and patted away the rest of my tears. But I knew they’d be back as soon as Mrs. Alcaraz stood up.
“Mi amor,” she said. “I know you wish people who are not here could be. Your uncle would have had some words tonight in place of your mother. So I hope I find the right ones in place of both of them.”
I was already crying.
“I know you are not my daughter, but you know I love you like my own. Both mis ni?as mean the world to me.”
I smiled at Kennedy. I smiled even more at the way Felix was staring at her. With stars in his eyes.
“When we lost you, we all broke,” Mrs. Alcaraz said. “Everyone at this cena. And now we can heal. Together. And celebrate together. Matthew,” she said and turned to him. “I thought you were trouble. Muy problema.”
I laughed through my tears. Matt had been trouble in high school. But God I loved him.
Matt’s parents found that line extra funny too.
“But I see your corazón.” Mrs. Alcaraz tapped the center of her chest. “You’re a good boy. A good man. And good for my Brooklyn. I wish you both a lifetime of happiness. Felicitaciones!” She raised her glass.
“Thank you, Mrs. Alcaraz,” I said through my tears.
Matt leaned over and kissed my tearstained cheek, chasing away my tears.
“Do you think now is a good time?” Rob whispered beside me.
I ignored him.
“Pst. Brooklyn.” He elbowed my side.
I wiped away the rest of my tears and stared at him. “No.”
“I think it’s a pretty good time.” He made an exploding motion with his hand.
What was he going to make explode?! I’d tried to get more details from him, but he said he wanted it to be a surprise for me too. The only thing he’d said was that he had to pull a lot of strings. And now I was wondering if he meant a literal string. Was there a string somewhere that I could hide so that nothing bad would happen? Because if there was, I could stop this whole thing. Whatever this thing was. I pretended to knock my knife to the floor and then bent down to pick it up. My head disappeared beneath the tablecloth as I crawled onto the floor. I looked around for some kind of string dangling from beneath the table. But there was nothing down here. I was just about to look under Rob’s chair when he slid under the table too, almost sitting on my face.
“Damn, Sanders. All you had to do was ask if you wanted to have the honor of sucking my dick for your wedding present.”
I pushed on his thigh so the front of his pants would get away from my face. “That’s not why I’m down here.”
“Oh, right, the prank,” Rob said as he crouched down next to me. “This way we can talk freely. So is it go time?”
“No. Rob, please don’t do this. We’re all having such a good evening.”
“I mean…you were just crying. I think crying from laughter is always better. I like it when you smile, Sanders.”
I smiled. Honestly, both ways of crying were good for the soul. But the last time he’d pulled a Thanksgiving pudding prank, a lot of people had cried for all the wrong reasons. And my life had taken a very traumatic turn. “For my wedding gift, I want you to call this off,” I said.
“Too late. Daphne already picked something out for you guys. I’m still offering my cock if you want it though.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“I love words that have dick in the middle.”
I sighed. “I don’t know why you’re hell bent on doing this prank tonight of all nights. Please don’t ruin this for me.”
“Please don’t ruin it for me,” Rob said. “I’ve been waiting 16 years for this moment, Brooklyn.”
For a second I let my annoyance float away. That was actually really sweet of him to say. He’d wanted me to come back. He’d wanted me to marry his best friend. He’d been looking forward to our reunion for 16 years. “You’ve been waiting for tonight for 16 years too, huh?”
“Yeah.” He smiled at me and then shook his head. “I can’t believe you made me wait 16 years for this prank to come into fruition. Tonight is very important to me, Sanders.”
And just like that, I was annoyed again. Of course he was just saying he’d waited 16 years for the favor. “I thought you were being sweet and saying you were excited for tonight because Matt and I are finally getting what we wanted since we were teenagers.”
“I mean, of course that’s great too. But this prank is going to be epic. I even made a playlist.”
“What on earth do you need a playlist for?”
“You’ll see. We really planned the perfect prank this time.”
I sighed. There was no we here. I had no idea what the hell he had planned. But I knew I was going to hate it. “Maybe we can make a new deal,” I said. I didn’t know what else to do. A new deal would probably be awful. He’d probably ask for two favors instead of just one. And one was bad enough. But I was out of options.
Rob shook his head. “As much as I’d love to negotiate a new deal, the plan is already in motion. Nothing can stop it now.”
Screw me.
“What the hell are you two doing down here?” Matt asked as he ducked his head under the table.
“Strategizing,” Rob said.
Matt shook his head. “Strategizing what exactly?”
“Just wait for it.”
“I’m going to need you to tell me what you’re planning right now,” Matt said.
“Nothing.” Rob shrugged.
“I’m serious, Rob.”
“So am I,” Rob said. “I’m not currently planning anything.”
Matt sighed. “I know when you say ‘just wait for it’ that you’ve done something awful. And I’ve heard you say that twice tonight. So whatever you’re doing…just…don’t.”
“I’m not currently doing anything. But now that you’re down here, it does probably look like we’re having a threesome under this table, don’t you think?” Rob winked at me. “Sanders really wants one last night of sin with her favorite Hunter brother.”
“For fuck’s sake,” Matt said. “Stop talking to my fiancée like that the night before our wedding. And get back up here now,” he said sternly to Rob. He pushed the tablecloth up and ducked back up.
“James is my favorite Hunter brother, not you,” I said as I crawled back over to my seat.
“You liar. But James’ dick is right there.” Rob pointed to where James was seated across from us. “And I’m no cock blocker. Go have a taste before you get hitched.”
I shoved Rob’s arm.
And Rob slapped James’ shin to get his attention.
James’ chair scooted back and then he dipped his head under the table.
Shit.
“What are you two doing down here?” James asked.
“Talking about your dick,” Rob said.
“We were not!” I felt my face turning red.
“We were too,” Rob said. “Sanders was just telling me how much she wishes she could suck it before she says ‘I do’ tomorrow. She’s always regretted not hooking up with us.”
James laughed. “I’m sure it’s the regret of her life.”
I scoffed.
He chuckled. “But I know it’s much more likely that you were actually down here talking about the prank. And I hope you’ve called it off.”
“Never,” Rob said. “The three of us planned a real winner this time.”
James shook his head. “I only just found out about it.”
“And yet you’re down here whispering, looking like our number three.”
“Shit.” James quickly sat back up.
“You’re so immature,” I said to Rob.
“I do feel young again.” He smiled. “God I love pranks. So about that blowjob…”
He was completely infuriating. “Daphne is going to murder you in your sleep one day.”
“Nah, she’s too busy riding me for us to ever get a proper night’s sleep.”
I slapped Rob’s arm. “Rob, I’m on my hands and knees. Begging you. Call it off, seriously.”
“You’re acting like I’m not being serious. I’ve been so much more serious these last 16 years when you were gone. Now that you’re back, I finally feel like me again. It feels like old times. You and me doing this together.” Something in his eyes softened.
And the way he was looking at me made my chest ache.
“We were all broken without you. I couldn’t even eat pudding for 16 years.”
I swallowed hard. I understood that. But…
“I don’t want to think about 16 years ago when I think of pudding. I want to remember a fun prank. Not losing you. This will undo all of it the only way I know how. A Hunter Sanders mess around to top the last one and erase it from our memories. I’m doing this for us. So we can move forward. I’m just trying to right my wrong.” He had a little frown on his face and he was giving me puppy dog eyes.
Oh, Rob.He was going to make me cry. I hated how much I’d hurt all of them. And in Rob’s weird way, this was how he could let all that pain go. I got it. I did. And I could tell by his determination that there was no changing his mind. He said he was doing this for us. I didn’t need it. But he did. He needed it in order to move forward. And maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.
“Okay,” I said with a sigh.
His puppy dog eyes disappeared and he smiled. And it looked so freaking devious. “I knew you’d come around.”
“But nothing as bad as last time, right?”
“Just wait for it.”
“Promise me.”
“Just wait for it,” he said again.
I sighed and climbed back up into my seat.
Rob took his time coming back up.
Crap, was there actually a string down there that he was messing with?
When Rob finally reemerged he winked at me.
Tanner stood up and clinked his knife against his glass.
“No fucking way,” Rob whispered. “I didn’t know he was going to give a speech. This is better than I ever could have imagined. Game time, Sanders.” He pulled a small remote out of his pocket.
What the fuck is that for?!