Page 18 of Endless Love: Novella

“Nothing major.” Colton’s lips twitched like he tried to hold back laughter. “We just went out to the breaker box and fucked with the lights to make the girls think they had made contact with a ghost. No big deal.”

“Remember the way they screamed?” Noah’s head fell back as he let out a hearty laugh. “We could hear them from outside with all the doors and windows shut. They really thought they were opening a portal to another dimension or some shit.”

“Right,” Lucian recalled. “And when they told our parents when they got home from being out, we all got our asses chewed.”

I waved a hand. “I could tell your dads were trying not to laugh, even when they were telling us off. The kind of thing a parent has to do at a time like that.”

“You know that’s going to be us someday, right?” Colton pointed out. “They’ll think we’re hypocrites, the way I always thought my dad was a hypocrite. It hasn’t been too long since I felt that way, come to think of it.”

We fell into silence, all of us lost in our thoughts. It took an event like this to get a man thinking about the past, the future, and the choices he made. I would never regret mine. Hell, it was torture being without Valentina for a single night. I couldn’t remember the last night I hadn’t checked in on Isabel at least once, just to be sure she was all right.

“I would like to make a toast.” Colton tapped the table with his palm, picking up the bottle of scotch. “Come on. Glasses.”

“What are we drinking to?” I asked.

“The hell do you think?” he asked, rolling his eyes. “I swear. They’ll have to engrave ‘It was just a joke’ on your headstone someday. We’re drinking to us. Somehow, we managed to find the women we will never deserve but who, for some reason, put up with us.”

“So we’re drinking to them never running out of patience with us?” Miles asked.

“Something like that.” When we were all ready, Colton raised his glass. “To the future. Whatever it holds, we’ll be able to get through it together.”

“I think I can drink to that,” Noah announced, tapping his glass to Colton’s. We all did the same, toasting each other before draining our glasses.

However, as we did it again, I couldn’t help noticing Miles’ hesitation. The way his smile slipped.

Why the hellwas I so jittery?

“I can’t believe I’m nervous. This is insane.” I had to laugh at myself as I drummed my knees with my hands while the limo pulled out of the Goldsmith driveway and turned onto the street, taking me that much closer to my future. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that I’d found the perfect woman—the other half of my soul.

We had gotten a beautiful day, and I hoped as I stared out the window that Valentina could relax a little now that we knew the weather wouldn’t be a problem today. There were so many little things that could go wrong, though granted, neither of us had anticipated losing the entire bridal party’s outfits so close to the big day.

“It’s not insane,” Colton assured me. “If it is, that means I’m insane too. I was nervous as hell.”

“It only means you’re human,” Lucian insisted. “There’s nothing to be nervous about. Nobody pays attention to the groom, anyway.”

“Thanks for your support.” I snickered while pulling out my phone. I had been texting Valentina throughout the morning, and the last message was to tell her we were getting ready to leave. Sure, a lot of it had to do with making sure she felt all right today. Part of it, though, was my need to reach out to her.

This was a day that had been years in the making. Whenever I thought about it that way, a profound sense of gratitude washed over me. That, and the need to connect with her in any way I could.

Me:I can’t wait to see you. How is Isabel? Behaving, I hope?

Valentina:She’s an angel. Wait until you see her. You’ll die, she’s so cute.

Me:I hope I don’t since that would mean not getting to see you.

“The photographers are here,” Colton observed as we pulled into the front courtyard of the Black estate. “Shit. Whoever was in charge of decorating must have worked through the night.”

When I looked up from my phone, I saw what he meant. It didn’t seem possible for the exterior of the house to be so elaborately decorated in a matter of hours, but the results were in front of me by the time we came to a stop. One of the hired staff opened the limo door, and I stepped out, ignoring the clicking of shutters all around me as the photographers documented this moment. Candid shots were better, anyway, meaning we would always be able to look back on my open-mouthed surprise.

The porch railing was draped in lush floral garland with lanterns hanging from the eaves and vines of flowers wound around the columns. There were more lanterns on posts staked into the ground running along the edge of the driveway and courtyard with the same floral garland draped between them. The scent of the flowers was almost overwhelming, but in a good way, stirred by the breeze coming off the water.

“This is incredible,” Miles announced with a smile as he took it in. “I honestly didn’t expect it to be this… beautiful.”

“Wait until you see what they’ve set up in back.” Evelyn stepped out onto the porch wearing a floor-length, pale pink dress that sparkled a little when she moved. “You won’t be able to believe your eyes.”

“You look lovely,” I told her, kissing her cheek once she reached us. “How are the girls holding up?”

“Like I said. You won’t be able to believe your eyes.” She winked, accepting Miles’ kiss. “I can’t believe it. I’m gaining two sons today. Everything is changing so fast.”

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