Page 35 of Sprite Wedding
“Hey, I’m just pointing out what I see.” Sebastian pointed to his eyes.
“It’s nonsense,” I said, but his words bothered me. Was that the only reason I wanted to marry Zoe—to prove I wasn’t the fickle dragon my father was? That wasn’t cool, and it wasn’t right. Damn him. “I regret this conversation.”
“You brought it up, man,” Diego said.
“And I’m killing it.”
Diego and Sebastian exchanged a glance.
“Don’t give each other looks,” I said.
“We can’t talk, and now we can’t even look at each other?” Sebastian asked.
“It’s what you’resayingwith that look.”
“And what might that be, Dr. Freud?” Diego asked, bringing his fingers together and raising them to his chin.
I huffed.“Lucas doesn’t get it. He’s trying to prove to himself that he’s a better person than his father by committing to his mate, but he can’t see it.”Now that Sebastian put that thought in my head, it slithered beneath my skin. Maybe there was a kernel of truth to it. Until Zoe, I thought I wasn’t cut out for a mate. That, like my father, I’d jump from partner to partner.
Sebastian snorted. “And you thought I was the one playing shrink.”
Since I fell in love with Zoe, I’d dismissed that idea. She was my one and only mate. But did my desire to marry her come from that deep-rooted belief to differentiate myself from my father? If so, it wasn’t the right reason to get married. Marriage should be out of love, not spite.
I needed to think. If my reason for wanting to propose wasn’t the right one, it wasn’t fair to her.
Or either of us.
Maybe I wasn’t ready to get married after all.
ZOE
Over the next couple of days, things seemed to return to normal with Lucas. I attempted to brush off my concerns as unwarranted.
It was the night of the Gogol Bordello show. The six of us met up at the house to drive down to Boston.
“It’s my fourth time seeing them live,” Lucas declared with a proud smile. “You’ll love it.”
“I’m sure I will,” I replied.
He’d taken me to several shows since we started dating, generally at least once a month. Lucas and the guys loved going to see bands, which often required going down to Boston or up to Hampton Beach, New Hampshire.
“We’re all going, so it should be fun no matter what,” Nova said.
Especially with Lucas. He loved to seek out enjoyable experiences. The more I went with them rather than question his ideas or worry, the better.
We waited for the sun to set before venturing out in Sebastian’s car.
“Let’s stop for something to eat,” Sebastian insisted.
“Will we have enough time?” Gianna asked.
Sebastian glanced at the time on the dash. “Maybe not for a proper dinner, but we can stop for a drink and apps.”
Diego groaned. “Always thinking with your stomach, man,” he teased.
“One of us has to.”
Fortunately, traffic into Boston wasn’t brutal at this time. He steered us off the highway and into the city, where we hit more congestion. After parking in a lot, we stopped in a nearby pub and ordered drinks, nachos, and other apps. Once our stomachs were happy, we headed down the block and into the venue. The sound of fast, upbeat music drifting out from behind the closed doors meant we were late, but since it was an opening band that we didn’t know, nobody complained.
