Page 83 of Stolen

“A-ha! I knew it!” Keith pointed at me through the camera. “I knew you two were going to make it!”

“Fifty quid! Everyone owes me fifty quid!” Chris chimed into the conversation. “Fuck yeah! Love wins!”

“Where are we supposed to get quid? Is there an exchange machine around here?” Andrew looked from left and right. “How about I just give you $75 American and we call it even?”

“I can’t believe it! Can you guys believe it?!” Diego gave us an excited wave. “It’s like watching a love story come true in real time. And we were there! We were part of this!”

“I don’t know about you guys, but I was rooting for them, all along,” Keith said, and as soon as the words came out of his mouth, the rest of the guys loudly booed.

“Whatever! Everyone has their own truths!” Keith defended himself, just as Diego roughly nudged him in the shoulder. “Anyway, congrats on your wedding, guys. We just wanted to call and say that?—”

“Wait. What?” I looked over at Leo before looking back at the phone. “What wedding are you all talking about?”

“Uh, I think I know what happened.” Leo let out an awkward laugh. “I’m guessing one of you has been following my updates online? And you noticed that post that said I was shopping for a wedding?” Leo’s cheeks burned red as he went on. “Yeah, I was actually shopping to be Jacob’s plus-one for his best friend’s wedding. Notourwedding. I probably should’ve posted that with more context.”

“Not yet anyway!” Diego playfully winked before he shrugged. “Still, hope you two have fun at the wedding!”

“And keep us posted for when it’s your turn! But don’t send me one of those online invitations. It’s tacky. Send me an invite in the mail!” Andrew instructed.

“Bye! We need to get back to the match! Things are just getting heated!” Chris waved, and the rest of the guys waved along with him before they ended the video call.

“Can you believe it? One week snowed in together and it’s like we all went to summer camp,” Leo joked as he set his phone back down on his desk. “Now, where were we?”

“Did you really forget to add the context to those wedding posts?”

“What?”

“I’m just wondering,” I said, trying to sound as innocent as possible. “If there was something else you had on your mind.”

“Who’s to say?” Leo seemed to be feigning innocence, too. He then looked me up and down, like there was something else on his mind. “Shit.”

“Shit, what?”

“Shit, we should probably start getting ready for Parker’s wedding. Didn’t he want the guys in the wedding party to show up a few hours early?” Leo sighed. “Even though, I wouldloveto finish off where we started a few minutes ago.”

“Me, too.” I smirked as I stood up from his office chair. “But there’s always later tonight.”

“One of the benefits of moving in together.” Leo smiled as he pressed a quick kiss against my lips. “Seriously, though. We need to get a move on or we’re going to be in serious trouble with the groom.”

It was almostdusk by the time we got to the venue, which was exactly what Parker and Nicholas had wanted.

They were hosting their wedding at one of the Wild Woods approved sites, a gorgeous cabin settled among the trees. They’d decorated the place with twinkling lights, hanging off various branches, blinking as the sun went down. They’d also added a temporary dance floor behind the cabin, complete with a small space for a band set-up. There was also a fully stocked bar, complete with beer and wine, with a chalkboard resting right next to it that read:

Parker and Nicholas: Two Hearts As One

“Who knew Parker could be so sentimental?” I said, mostly to myself, a warm smile coming to my face. It was nice seeing him express himself like that, being open and honest about who he loved and who he wanted. Parker was known for using humor to brush off how he was really feeling, so it was kind of refreshing to see so much earnest emotion all around me.

“Good! You’re finally here!” Parker hastily pulled me aside. “How do I look? Is the tie too much? If the tie is too much, I think I have a backup around here somewhere?—”

“Parker. You look perfect.” I grabbed onto his shoulders, trying to keep him from freaking out any further. “Nicholas is going to be blown away.”

“Right. Yeah. Nicholas.” Parker let out a nervous laugh. “This would be kind of the best time, and the worst time, for him to realize that he doesn’t actually want to do this. In a way, it’d be a blessing if he ran away right now, even though it’d also be devastating?—”

“You’re spiraling, Parker.”

“Am I spiraling? Or is everyone here just way too fucking calm?” Parker brought a hand to the side of his head.

“It’s the first thing. Trust me.”

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