Page 73 of My Promise To Keep

‘Wow, guys.’ The sound of his voice has me turning, and holy fuck, I kind of wish I hadn’t, or I wish I had the power to freeze time because that man right there is hotter than hell. His eyes meet mine, then widen, and I see the way his throat bobs as he swallows, and I fight every urge in my body to keep my eyes up when I want to drop them and take in every inch of him in that suit.

‘Leo,’ I say, a little breathlessly.

‘Hey, munch.’

He steps, probably a little too closely, and Bree clears her throat.

‘Um, I need to…’

She backs away, and I notice now that we’re alone. We’re in view but out of earshot of anyone.

‘You look good,’ I say, taking a moment to let my eyes wander, my breath catching in my throat at the all-black suit that fits his body like a glove.

‘You look like I’m about to have a heart attack.’ My eyes meet his, and he arches one eyebrow. ‘You tryin’ to kill me, Zo?’

I laugh. I can’t help it.

‘I just thought it was pretty.’ I shrug.

‘It is pretty.' He nods, 'You’re pretty.’

I smile, my bottom lip caught between my teeth as I fight the desperate need to kiss him. ‘Is it too soon to leave?’ I tease, and he looks up to the sky with a groan.

‘Don’t tempt me, munch. I’d happily get to the naked sleepover part of today right now.’

‘Uncle Leo.’

The bucket of ice water that is Bowie runs into view and attaches herself to Leo’s legs. I take a step back to put some distance between us as Bo releases Leo, and he crouches down to look at her.

‘Miss Bowie, you look like a princess. Let me see your feet.’ He narrows his gaze at her, and she giggles as she picks up her skirt to reveal her little converse. I laugh, and so does Leo. ‘That’s my girl.’ He leans in to kiss her head, then stands as Doug approaches, followed by Cara and Bree.

‘Man, this looks good.’ Doug admires his handy work as he tucks Cara into his side.

‘Daddy, can we dance now?’

We all laugh, and Leo takes her hand.

‘Tell you what, Princess Bo, when it’s time to dance, I’ll come find you, and we’ll be the first ones up there, deal?’

She shakes his hand. ‘Deal.’

Oh my god, swoon… if I wasn’t already gone for this man, seeing him with Bo would do it.

‘Guys, they’re here,’ Mama whisper-shouts excitedly as she passes us with two glasses of champagne in her hands.

Bree nudges Leo’s shoulder, and they head up to the altar Doug and Cara put together. I ignore the pang deep in my belly at the sight of him standing there, and, instead, after one last moment of eye contact, I, along with everyone else, turn my attention to the side of the house, waiting for the guests of honor to come around.

‘Surprise,’ Mama calls out, and whoops and applause erupts around me. I watch as Mama kisses Buck and a stunned Lucy on the cheeks and hands them their champagne, and then Lu turns to Buck, confused, and silence descends.

‘Honey…’ she asks, her tone questioning, and he laughs.

‘Lucy, I got married young, and I thought it would be forever. I got my heart ripped out and never imagined that I would evendate again, let alone fall so completely in love with someone that I’d ask her to marry me. You moved in unceremoniously, we got engaged as part of a casual conversation over tacos, and you wanted just to get it done quietly with no fuss. But you deserve more than that, sweetheart. You deserve it all. So, Lu, if you’ll still have me like this, today is our wedding day, right here, with the people we love most in the world. What do you say, honey?’

‘Buck,’ Lu gasps, then holds up one finger, ‘hold on.’ She raises the glass to her lips and drains half of it. ‘Oh my god, that’s gassy.’ Everyone laughs. ‘Buck Bennett, you romantic fool. I’d marry you anywhere, anyhow.’ She leans in to kiss his lips. ‘But this is perfect.’

‘Let’s get you married then,’ Mama says, beaming.

‘Then we can party,’ I call out, and everyone cheers as Lucy takes Buck's hand in hers and grins as she looks into his eyes.

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