Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
ariana
“I know. Listen, take a breath.”
I glance at my brother. He’s leaning against his G-Wagon after loading up our luggage, a patient smile on his face. He nods, as if the person on the other end of the phone can see him.
“Sweets,” he says calmly. His grin grows a bit before he cuts her off again.
“Sweets! Listen. I’m going to stop at your place before I leave—no, he can’t.
Boston’s flight took off an hour ago. I will stop by the house and make sure I grab their outfits, okay?
It will take me forty minutes and we’re way ahead of schedule. ”
Arden walks out of the building, her eyes wide. When she sees Carter on the phone, speaking calmly, she relaxes. Running a hand through her red hair, she pulls her sunglasses onto her nose.
“She forgot the matching collars for the dogs when they left yesterday.”
“This is about her dogs?”
She lets out a breath of relief. “Those are her babies. They’re the whole reason they’re driving up there instead of flying. Declan texted me to try and rectify it, and she must have called Carter at the same time. Apparently, she is a wreck.”
Dog people. So weird.
“The wedding week anxiety,” I muse, shaking my head. I’ve seen it time and time again and it always manages to work itself out in the end. “She’ll be fine once we’re at that lakehouse and she’s home.”
Arden shakes her head, chewing on the side of her cheek. “She’ll be fine once she’s with the crew.”
“I got this, Sweets. Anything else?” Carter asks calmly, shutting the trunk. He gestures toward the car, telling us to get in.
Arden and I both glance at each other before we take the hell off.
This has been a thing since their relationship started—fighting for the back seat so that the other can take the front. I’m faster, and I launch myself into the back and slam the door shut behind me, watching her glare at me through the tinted window.
She storms to the front and gets inside, whirling on me. “It would really make me happy if we started alternating.”
“You’re his girlfriend, you get the front.” We’ve had this conversation five hundred times by this point.
“You’re his sister.”
It goes the same way every single time.
“I can assure you, he’d rather have you up there.”
Carter opens the door and slides inside the car, phone still at his ear. “Let me talk to Lowesy, alright?”
There’s a pause as he starts the ignition.
“Hey, man. Take me off speaker,” he says. There’s another beat of silence. “Get her a fucking cinnamon bun at the next exit. Don’t let her touch another coffee unless she actually needs it. I’m going to get the kids’ shit right now, and I got your text. Where are the rings?”
Arden and I gasp at the same time. He holds up his hand to shut us up.
I cover my mouth, shock running through me.
He didn’t!
“The collars might be by the…bowl by the entryway. Got it.” Declan must be speaking in code, since the bride’s ear is only a few feet away from the groom’s balls.
“Don’t worry. Don’t tell her. If she asks about them, tell her they’re packed away somewhere safe.
If she wants to see them when you get home, say that you gave them to Seth for safekeeping. ”
He did!
Carter stares out the window for a second. “Don’t freak out. She’s going to fucking smell it on you, man. I’ll sort it all out.”
Arden is wide-eyed, staring at the side of his face. This is the next-level type of bad. The rings are the worst things that you can forget, second maybe to the dress and the dress alone.
“I’ll see you in a few hours. Relax and drive safe, alright? If you think of anything else, let me know. Our flight leaves in three and half hours.”
Another pause.
“Love you, too, Handsome.”
Carter hangs up and lets out a long breath, resting his head against the seat, his eyes shutting behind his black sunglasses.
“He forgot the rings?” Arden whispers, terror woven through every syllable.
“He forgot the fucking rings,” Carter confirms, sitting upright and pushing the vehicle into drive. He shakes out his shoulders a bit. “But we’ll get them. It’s all going to be just fine. Nothing is ruining this wedding.”
“Oh my god,” Arden says, covering her mouth with her hands.
We get the dog collars and the rings. Carter says nothing when he returns with Declan’s shoes, too, which he also forgot near the door. Clearly, the anxiety is going both ways between the bride and the groom. I’m surprised all three dogs made it into the car at all.
The rest of the trip is effortless. Our flight is on time, our layover is short, and we touch down on Canadian soil, exit the small airport, and step into the sweetest little city.
I smile, glancing around at a new place, excited to discover a part of Declan and Penny’s history.
Their home. They talk about this city like it’s infused with magic.
A black SUV waits at the curb, its hazards on. Carter waves his hand.
A handsome, long-haired man with darling green eyes hops out and heads back to the trunk. He blows a bright pink bubble, a little smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
Arden doesn’t look at me when she speaks. “Oh, look. It’s your date.”
“Plus one,” I correct, biting back a smirk. He is so my date.
The boys load up our luggage and our garment bags. Carter checks that he has the collars, the rings, and Declan’s shoes three times before he gets in the car. None of us mention the fiasco to Boston. It feels like something that should stay between the three of us and the groom.
“We’ll spend the night in the city,” Boston says, telling us the plans as we pull from the curb.
“I think they want to hit their favourite bar tonight, and then we’re headed to the lake in the morning.
We still have about an hour until they get here.
Caulfield said Lowesy’s parents want us over for dinner. ”
He’s relaying a lot of information, all of which technically doesn’t apply to me. I’m not in the wedding party. I wonder where that leaves me. What am I expected to do during this dinner?
“We’ll drop your stuff off at the hotel, get you checked in, and then head over there,” he continues.
Maybe I’m supposed to wait at the hotel for them to get back, and then we’ll all go to the bar.
Boston’s eyes flicker to mine in the rearview mirror.
“I already told them you’re coming, too.
They made it clear it was never a question. ”
Oh, well, that answers that.
I smile gratefully, and he looks away before I can test out the little theory about him being afraid of me.
I feel Arden’s grin as she turns her head to look out the window, but I proudly wear mine, staring into that rearview mirror, daring my date to meet my eyes again.