Page 103 of Forbidden King (Magnolia Falls)

“Thanks, brother. You didn’t need to do all that. A couple of six-packs and some pizzas would have been fine.” He laughed.

“Fuck no. You’re the first one to get married in the group, and we’re doing this right,” River said.

“Sounds good. Beefcake is pissed to all hell that he can’t come. He’s going to spend the night at JT’s house with Jay and Susannah, so I won’t need to worry about getting home at a certain time.” Nash reached for his sandwich.

“Yeah, he talked to me about it the other day. Little dude hates missing out.” I couldn’t hide my smile. “Did you talk to Doc Dolby about the asthma?”

“Yeah. He said to just stay on the inhaler and keep an eye on it. But his teacher said he’s been having some breathing issues during recess. It fucking kills me, man, because he’s a kid, and he should be out there running around, you know?”

“Dude, he’s going to be fine. You trust Doc, right? I know he’s getting older. If things get worse, maybe you should consider getting a second opinion or seeing a specialist,” River said, and we all nodded in agreement.

“That’s not a bad idea. Doc didn’t seem too concerned. He said for me to just keep that inhaler nearby. But I will keep an eye on it and ask at his next appointment if he can refer me to a specialist.”

“And you know I’ll go with you if you need me,” I said.

“Thanks, brother. But one of us needs to keep an eye on our guys at work at all times. They’d love if we both took a day off.” He chuckled.

“Fair point.” I crumbled up my wrapper and air-balled it into the trash can on the first try. “Damn. I’m on my game today.”

“When are you not?” Nash teased.

“Romeo, the countdown is on. How do you feel about the wedding being in just a few days?” I asked.

“I feel fine. I just want to marry my girl. The rest is just extra, you know? But Demi seems relaxed about it, so I’ll just follow her lead.”

“Atta boy. Happy wife, happy life.” River reached for his soda and took a sip.

“And then I give River two weeks before he runs off to Vegas and ties the knot with Ruby.” Nash chuckled, and we all nodded in agreement. “And then, who will be next?”

“I’m guessing King won’t be all that far behind, once he figures his shit out.” Romeo shrugged, and my eyes widened.

“Not sure what we’re talking about, but I’ll try to figure my shit out,” I said. My voice was light and filled with humor, but I was anything but relaxed. I knew what he was insinuating.

“Not going to talk about it, but Romeo’s right. You better get this shit straight and quickly, brother. Or it’s going to blow up in your face.” River’s gaze was hard.

“Agreed. Without saying it, we see it. We support you, King, but you’ve got to make this right.” Nash shrugged.

Damn. Guilt flooded, and I nodded. I wasn’t going to argue. We’d always been able to communicate without saying much, and it was clear they knew.

Everyone fucking knew.

Except for the one person who should know.

twenty-seven

Saylor

“So your brotheris coming home today, huh?” my mother asked, as we sat at a back table at Magnolia Beans, sipping our drinks and munching on blueberry muffins.

“Yep. He’ll make it to the bachelor party for Romeo a little late, but he’ll get there. And he’ll be here for the wedding this weekend, and that’s the most important thing.”

“I was happy to get an invitation, but I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“You can’t bring Barry, Mom. You just can’t. There’s too much water under the bridge,” I said, shaking my head because we’d had this conversation too many times. “Hayes would lose it, and no one would be comfortable if he were there.”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. We split up,” she said with a shrug. “It’s different this time.”

“Did he touch you?” I asked, my heart racing.

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