Page 116 of Worth the Trouble

Eight Months Later

Loveisstrange.It’snot what people say it is—all fairytales and fluffy things. It’s painful. Ithurts.

It’s everything good and hard, and I’m in so deep that when our eyes connect through the crowd, I swear hers peel the flesh from my bones. She makes me strong and vulnerable all at once.

Lili’s sipping water, sitting at a table to the side of the room, and I love that she’s just watching me from where she is. I feel her eyes roam me every so often and it might as well be her hands. Or her mouth. I’d go for either.

“You and your chick seem happy,” Jude says. He lifts his drink and I tip mine against it.

“Hard to not be happy when you’re with the hottest chick on the planet.”

He laughs, but I’m being serious.

“It’s good to see you, man. Long time,” I say. “Didn’t know if you’d make it.”

“Sebastian threatened my nuts if I didn’t make it to his wedding. Although he failed to mention there’d be so much fucking pink.” Jude looks around the reception, frowning.

“They’re fucking weird.”

“Says the dude who can’t go five seconds without staring at his chick?” He nudges my arm, and even in a suit, his tattoos peek out from every corner.

I shrug, not bothering to explain it. Jude isn’t the kind of guy who’ll be caught dead in a relationship. Sage told me it has something to do with Jude’s past, and that he doesn’t talk about it. All we know, is there’s no getting beyond those walls with him, no matter how close a friend you are.

“How are things at the shop?” I ask him.

Jude shrugs. “Fine. Busy.”

Jude, Sage, Crew, and Echo took over Twisted Roses when Blaze stepped back, and I hear from them less and less lately.

Not that I’m one to talk. The band has been so occupied with the label; we’re swamped with meetings every time we’re in Los Angeles.

But he’s here now, and it feels good to see a friend who knows me from when the band was living in California recording our first album. That’s the only good thing about weddings, I guess, catching up with people you wouldn’t see otherwise.

“Rome, where the fuck have you been?” Sebastian comes up to me, looking out of breath.

“Here?” I quirk an eyebrow at him.

“Alright, well Cassie wants to get the wedding photos done, and I want to fuck my wife, so let’s get on with this shit.”

Jude laughs and drains his drink. “You two have fun with that. Catch you next time you’re in LA.”

I nod at Jude before he retreats into the mass of people around the dance floor. He says he’s in town for Sebastian’s wedding, but I know better. Something’s up with him, and I make a mental note to check in when everything settles.

Turning to Sebastian, he looks stressed as fuck. I’m sure this is supposed to be a special day, but I don’t understand putting yourself through this kind of stress. Maybe Lili and I will end up at the courthouse someday, but this crap is ridiculous.

“I’ll grab Lili,” I tell him, and he relaxes the slightest.

“Thanks, man.” Sebastian claps me on the shoulder before disappearing through the crowd, and I make my way to Lili.

Sometimes I think there are magnets inside the two of us because the closer I get, the stronger the pull is.

I used to think it was crazy to settle down. The idea of fucking one chick for the rest of my life sounded like a waste of time for my dick. But the second she comes into view, I’m reminded all over again how it was only because I hadn’t met her yet.

“Picture time, sweetheart.” I hold out my hand and she takes it. “Your feet feeling up to it?”

“My feet, yes.” She grips my hand and lets me help her to stand. “But I swear there’s no room left inside me. How do I still have two more weeks?”

I plant a hand on Lili’s round belly and smile at her, knowing better than to actually answer her question. If there’s anything I’ve learned since Lili got pregnant, it's that if I don’t watch my tongue, I’ll be sleeping on the couch because her hormones have made her savage. Not that I mind it.

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