Page 98 of Leave Before I Love You
“You know what’s wild?” Beau questions after another long and excruciating pause. “I actually know all that to be true. You took care of Avery on that island, and fucking hell, it couldn’t have been an easy feat being stranded with her.” He laughs softly. “But I know you’ll take care of her, Hen. Damn, though. My best friend and my sister. Who would’ve thought?”
“So, you’re not mad?”
“Let’s just say I’m adjusting to the idea. Might need a little time to fully wrap my head around it.”
Avery appears at the top of the plane stairs, gesturing for me to hurry up.
“How much time are we talking?” I ask. “Think you can wrap your head around it in, say…five hours?”
“Five hours?”
“Yeah, five hours. That’s when we’ll land. In Vegas.”
“Vegas? What the fuck are you talking about, Hen?”
“So, there’s another thing I’ve been meaning to tell you,” I say and shut my eyes for a brief moment, clutching the back of my neck with my hand. “Your sister and I are getting married. Today.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Beau mutters, but then he starts laughing. “You’re such a bastard, you know that?”
“I do. But just remember, I’m a bastard who loves your sister more than anything in this world,” I say, grinning. “Now, I gotta go. See you on the other side,bro-in-law.”
“You’re such a dick,” Beau laughs before the line goes dead.
Sliding my phone into my pocket, I head toward the plane, but I get a series of texts as I climb the stairs.
Beau: You’re a total asshole.
Beau: But I love you so much, Henry!
Beau: You’re a total dick.
Beau: But I’m so, so, so happy for you!
Me: Why do I get the sense this is both Beau and June texting me?
Beau: Probably because it is. I’m on my phone, and my nosy wife is texting from my iPad.
Beau: Nosy wife? Excuse me?
Beau: BEAUTIFUL wife, I mean.
Beau: That’s what I thought.
Shaking my head, I step inside the plane and find Avery already seated comfortably in one of the leather chairs, her legs crossed. I sit across from her, immediately pulling her feet into my lap. I remove her heels and start massaging her feet.
She smiles at me. “If you keep doing shit like this for the rest of our lives, married life is going to be grand.”
“I rub your feet, you rub my cock kind of thing?”
Avery laughs and rolls her eyes, and I just grin back at her, tickling her toes. She giggles, her laughter filling the cabin and settling something deep inside me.
This is it. This is us. And in just a few hours, she’ll be my wife.
The lights of the Vegas Strip twinkle outside the chapel’s stained-glass windows, neon blending with soft candlelight. It’s almost surreal, standing here in a black suit Avery picked out for me, feeling more nervous than I ever have in my life. And I’ve jumped out of planes and bungee-jumped off fucking mountains.
But nothing compares to this. This moment right here is the most important of my life.
I turn my head slightly, and there she is.
