Page 27 of Enduring Magic

“Wait! What?” Autumn pushed in front of Summer to glare at Alastair. “Are you telling me you stole”—she waved a hand in dismissal when he would’ve protested—“borrowedthe other ring from Coop, too?”

Without waiting for him to respond, she turned to Summer. “Iknewthey were up to something!”

“They?” Alastair asked dryly. So dryly, in fact, Summer had a darned good idea he knew exactly whotheywere.

“Coop and Keaton were running around the house like chickens with their heads cut off,” Autumn replied. “They had to be looking for the lost ring.”

Seized by a mischief demon, Summer smiled evilly. “You don’t by chance still have it, do you, Dad? I mean, knowing you, you left them to sweat it out.”

“I do, indeed. Why?”

“I think you should wait to give it to him until the ceremony. Let him freak out a little longer.”

Alastair’s dark-blond brows shot to his hairline. “You want to start your marriage by torturing your husband?”

“Yes.”

“Since it’s for a good cause, mum’s the word.”

She didn’t miss the delighted twinkle in his eye or the play of a smile on his lips. Alastair was the king of keeping secrets, and he never revealed she was behind letting Coop sweat for a bit longer than necessary.

Summer looked at Autumn. “Do you know your role?”

“To make Keaton just as miserably guilty as Coop? Abso-freaking-lutely. I live for this shit.”

“Then let’s go torture those Carlyle boys. Just like old times.”

Alastair put his arm around Rorie. “I’ve never been prouder of my family than at this moment.”

“I swear, Alastair Thorne, if you aren’t causing trouble, you’re not happy,” she said with an affectionate smile.

Summer snorted a laugh, happy to see her parents together and still so in love after all these years. That’s what she wanted for Coop and her. The unconditional love, the humor, the solidarity, the passion, the friendship. Those were the five things that made a true marriage.

Meeting her father’s considering gaze, she winked. And when he grinned, Summer felt her whole world was right.

“Where’s Olivia?”

“Coop’s parents are with her, Chloe, and Jolyon,” he said as he glanced down at his watch. “You have precisely five minutes to get changed and downstairs. Do you need your mother’s help?”

“I think I’ve got this.” And surprisingly, Summer felt like she did. Her fear of accidentally destroying her dress with magic had passed, and she would welcome the five minutes alone to center herself. “Will you hold on to the ring I intend to give Coop, Dad? Give them to both of us at the same time?”

“So you can pretend you knew I had them all along?”

“Exactly.”

* * *

Coop couldn’t believehis terrible luck. He and Keaton had turned the house upside down to no avail. The symbol of his enduring love for Summer was gone, and he only had himself to blame for letting the ring out of his sight to begin with.

As he descended the stairs to the foyer for the final time before his wedding, he had the sensation of walking to the gallows—but in reverse. One usually ascended steps to a hanging. He shook his head to rid himself of his morose thoughts and tried to recapture the excitement he’d felt earlier in the day, before Summer’s ring went missing.

Alastair greeted him in the foyer, and the sparkle in the other man’s eyes caused all kinds of suspicions to gather in Coop’s mind.

Surely, a father wouldn’t try to sabotage his own daughter’s wedding.

It’s not like Alastair held any love for him, but as far as Coop knew, the guy didn’thatehim.

But maybe he did.

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