Page 43 of Why Not Forever?

“Oh, I don’t need a bachelor party. All my friends are here, anyway.”

She looks around at the people here. There are only seventeen, not including us. “Who?”

“Wyatt and Addison.”

She gives me that smile that tells me she thinks I’m insane. Then Lis comes up to her, stealing her away. “Are you finished being surprised? Can I show you around?”

Spencer laughs. “As the primary organizer, and her best friend, shouldn’tIshow her around?”

“I’m your wife, and I’m more excited than you are. Plus, I’m carrying your baby, and I can do whatever I want now.”

I laugh, partly because it’s funny, but mostly because she’s right. Over the last several weeks, I’ve seen how much Spencer is wrapped around Lis’ little finger and how happy he is to be so. She takes Vic around the room, showing off the games they decided on, the photo booth in the corner, the food and drinks.

I watch as they go around, and Spencer stands next to me.

“Thanks for helping with this,” I say.

“No problem. It was kind of my duty as the man of honour. She said she didn’t want to bother with a bachelorette party, which is code for, I don’t want to bother people with a bachelorette party.”

I nod. Vic will often downplay the things she wants so as not to put people out. I don’t even know if she notices she’s doing it.

“Do you think,” I ask slowly, “if I need help translating Vic, I could ask you for help?”

Spencer considers me for a moment. “You still like her, don’t you?”

“Of course I like her. She’s a cool person.”

He looks at me for a moment and I understand what he’s really saying. But there is no way I’m about to tell him the truth: that “still” and “like” are the wrong words.

I scratch my chin. “That would make things kind of complicated between us, don’t you think? If I have a crush on my wife who is intent on divorcing me in less than a year?”

“Yep. That would probably make things very complicated. But that wasn’t exactly a denial, either.”

The ladies laugh, draping aBridesash over Vic’s head. I sigh. “No. It wasn’t a denial.”

Adalie comes over with a huge smile, holding another sash. “This one’s for you. I just want to point out how difficult it was to find sashes that sayBrideandGroomand not Bride to BeandGroom to Be.”

I bend down so she can settle it over my head. “I apologize for the inconvenience.”

“That’s okay. Next time, if you could do things in order, that would be great.”

“You are incredibly magnanimous, Adalie.” Behind her, I nod at her fiancé, Nate, and he nods back. He’s not a big talker, and I haven’t gotten to know him well over the last few weeks despite him coming out to most of the friend gatherings I’ve attended with Vic.

Spencer claps me on the back. “Shall we get you a beer?”

“Sure. What do you have?”

It’s actually Nate who takes me to the bar, since all the beer they have tonight has come from his brewery. His brother, Taylor, is there with his date, a woman named Syn, and he offers some suggestions as well. I end up with a pale ale just in time for Derek to call everyone’s attention to him.

“Welcome friends and family of Vic and Tanner. We’re here to retroactively celebrate the fact that Vic and Tanner got married.”

There is some cheering from the small crowd.

“Our gracious host, Tanner, and his talented event planner, Spencer, wisely put me in charge of games.”

Spencer shrugs. “We gotta play to our strengths, man. I’m better at keeping everything on track. You’re better at causing chaos.”

Derek flips him off good-naturedly.

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