Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 101758 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101758 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
“That means I’ll be without you for hours.”
“You’ll survive.” I pat his cheek, and when I hear the doorbell again, I turn to leave, but he growls and yanks me back to him. “Your sisters are here.”
“They’ll walk right in,” he replies before covering my mouth with his and kissing me like he won’t see me for a year. Even after living with him for all these weeks, it still feels fresh and new.
It feels unbelievable.
“I’ll miss you today,” he whispers before kissing my forehead.
“You’ll have too much fun.” I grin, and then, with his hand in mine, pull him out of the bedroom and downstairs where we find an already-full house. “Hi, everyone!”
Darby and her sister Charlie, who is the premier wedding planner in the state, are chatting with Cassie in the kitchen.
Ava and Harper are chatting with Indigo in the living room.
And there’s already a pile of bags in the dining room, which I know are full of things for us to put together.
“You’re the best for letting us spread out in your house,” Ava says to Xander as he pulls her into a hug. “Wedding stuff takes up a lot of space, and your house is the biggest.”
“You know that you’re always welcome here,” Xander replies and kisses the top of her head. “As long as I don’t have to help out with this, I don’t care at all.”
“The party’s here,” Zack announces as he, Easton, and Tucker stride inside.
“Food!” Easton makes a beeline for the kitchen. “Hey, Cass.”
“Hi, Easton. Stop eating the food.”
“No way.” He scoops something up on a piece of bread and pops it in his mouth. “Too good.”
“Why are you here?” Cassie asks.
“I knew you missed me.” Easton winks at her while chewing, and Cassie rolls her eyes and smacks his hand when he goes in for more. “Ow!”
“Go. Away.” Cassie picks up a spatula and chases Easton out of the kitchen.
“I’ll arrest you,” Easton warns her.
“Yeah, whatever.”
Cassie shakes her head and goes back to checking whatever is on the stove.
I look around and feel my eyes widen when I see that Zack and Indie are in the corner talking. He’s leaning on the wall by her head, and they’re both frowning, and it looks . . . serious.
But then Indie scootches away from him, leaving Zack standing there, looking like he wants to punch the wall.
What. In. The. World?
“We’re out,” Tucker says and pulls Darby in for a kiss. “Have fun, Duchess.”
“Oh, we plan to.”
Xander doesn’t even care that we have an audience as he dips me back and kisses me hard on my mouth, making me smile against him.
“See you later, Red.”
“See you later.”
Easton takes another bite of something, earning him a glare from Cassie, and then they’re gone like a tornado moving through the house, leaving surprising stillness in their wake.
“They’re so . . . noisy,” Ava says, shaking her head.
“This is so fun,” Harper says, rubbing her hands together. “Okay, boss lady, what are we doing?”
Charlie grins, obviously enjoying that title. She’s the prettiest woman, with the signature Lexington family blue eyes and dark hair. She’s in a burnt orange sweaterdress that looks amazing on her.
Darby always says that Charlie is the fashionista in the family.
“We have some party favors to assemble,” Charlie says. “Which I was happy to do, but this is way more fun. And of course, Cassie is letting us sample all of the food options for dinner, from appetizers to the main course.”
“And Noah, the baker of the century, has sent over cake samples for everyone too,” Cassie adds just as the bell rings again, and I walk over to open the door, grinning when I see Juliet Blackwell.
Jules is one of Darby and Ava’s best friends, and she owns an awesome restaurant in Bitterroot Valley.
“Sorry I’m late,” Jules says. “It’s been a crazy morning, but I’m here, and I’m ready to be put to work. Hey, Indie.”
“Hi.”
I love that everyone is here and that they’re my friends. In the past couple of months, I went from having basically no friends to having a whole community of people, thanks to Xander.
It’s just one of the many reasons that I love him.
“Before we eat,” Charlie says, “I have a surprise for Ava.”
Ava’s eyebrows lift. “What?”
“Your dress came from the seamstress, freshly altered and pressed, and you can try it on for everyone.”
Ava’s eyes go glassy as Charlie rushes out to her car and comes back in carrying a big dress bag.
“You can use this guest room,” I say, leading them down the hall. “Help yourselves.”
I leave Charlie and Ava and return to the others just as Cassie starts putting food out on the huge island.
“The actual dinner at the event is a sit-down,” Cassie says. “Not buffet style, but I’ve prepared everything today to be eaten at your own pace.”