Page 8 of Reclaiming Kendall

Wedding Day

“God, I think I need at least five more of these before we leave the house,” I tell Ry, cradling my cup of coffee. My nerves are so jittery, I don’t see how I manage to not spill it all over myself while trying to take a drink.

Ryleigh snorts from over by the toaster, where she’s waiting for her breakfast to pop out, “If you drink any more caffeine, you won’t be sleeping for days.” She taps her chin, “Though, you will be leaving for your honeymoon tonight, so the guys probably won’t consider that a bad thing.”

What I’ve managed not to do with shaky hands, Ry does with her words instead. I miss my mouth as I sputter at her comment, and coffee dribbles down my chin, throat, and down onto the front of my robe.

“Knock, knock. Brought you ladies some chocolate chip muffins,” Logan says, strolling in to set a box on the counter beside me. “But I’m thinking now, maybe a bib would’ve been better.

I scowl at him, but thank him for the breakfast, nonetheless. He brushes it off like it’s no big deal before muttering about getting over to the house as he walks back out.

“You have to admit,” I smile at her, “It was a nice gesture.”

She narrows her eyes at the box full of muffins, “Yeah, but he’s nowhere even close to being out of the doghouse. Besides, I’d bet my life these are instant things you make straight from a bag.”

I pinch my lips together to fight the smile trying to break loose before saying, “It’s the thought that counts.”

Her lips purse as she lets out a huff of air, and it makes a sound that makes us giggle. At least it pushes Logan and my nerves to the back of our minds. Until minutes later when Lane Rowe, Lucas and Logan’s mom, walks into the room asking if we’re ready to do our hair and makeup. I have a moment of almost accidentally sucking the rest of the coffee up my nose before I give it up as a lost cause and follow her and Ry upstairs.

Hours later, after being puffed, pulled, and primed, the three of us load up in Lane’s SUV and head towards my house where my fiancés wait. I can’t stop my knee from bouncing. I’m back to being so nervous that I want to tell Lane to pull over and let me puke or run it off. Yeah, that’d be good. Running the rest of the way to the house and show up all red, splotchy faced. Maybe the guys will change their minds, and we can shut this whole wedding thing down, just make it a courthouse thing. It’s not that I don’t want to marry them. That’s not it at all. I love those four men more than I’ve ever loved anything in my life. Each one brings out the best in not just me, but all the others, too.

Teagan’s liveliness never lets us get too caught up in life or forgetting that being a grownup doesn’t always mean being serious all the time. Lucas always knows the right thing to say. No matter whether someone is hurting, or just needs simple encouragements, he’s always there. Maverick is our rock. The one who isn’t afraid to call any of us on our bullshit, and grounds us in a way that the rest of us would never be able to. Then there’s Goose. My sweet Grant. Pushed to second best his entire life, he is the first one to lend an ear to listen or wrap one of us in a hug just because he thinks we need one.

I love them all separately as much as I love them together. It’s that thought alone that has my heart settling into a more normal pace in my chest. By the time we’re pulling up to the house, it’s all I can do not to jump out of the car and go find them.

Ryleigh hops out with our dresses slung across her arms in their bags, “Okay, all the guys are downstairs in the movie room. We’re safe to go inside.”

We’re here before any of the guests which is good, but that means I have to sit in my room for close to two hours, knowing my men are somewhere in this house, and I can’t seek them out.

“This is going to be the longest two hours,” I think, not realizing that I’m saying it out loud. Ry and Lane both laugh softly as we walk up the stairs.

---