Page 60 of What About Us
“Are you guys coming?” Paige hollers when she opens the door from inside the garage.
“We’re coming!” I call, and Finn chuckles.
Hutch is nowhere to be found when we arrive at his place almost an hour later. He’s not in the van or the workshop, and Oakley is missing, too.
“Do you think he forgot?” Finn asks, her face twisted with worry. “Maybe something came up with work?”
I pull out my cell and hit his contact. It starts ringing, but he doesn’t pick up. When I first approached him about this whole thing, he laughed at me. That was, until he realized I was serious. He was understandably concerned, knowing how I feel about her and wanting to make sure I was making this decision for the right reasons.
But after I explained the problem with her insulin, and how she’s been rationing, he completely understood why I have to do this. It was one of those rare moments when he wasn’t giving me a rash of shit. But it didn’t last long. Once he’d agreed to do it and keep it a secret, he immediately started in on it being about time and how much easier it’d be to finally get into her pants. Such a dick.
I think about it all with an amused smirk.
“Maybe he’s down at the lake already?” Finn asks, turning toward the trail that will lead us down to the water.
“Maybe,” I say and take her hand, so she doesn’t slip on the loose rocks.
Just before we head down the trail, tires crunch on gravel, and I look up to see Allie and Skye pulling in behind my truck. I wave to them, so they’ll know which direction to head once they’reout of the car.
The lake is just a hundred or so yards through the thick pine trees, and when it comes into view, Finn gasps beside me. The sun glitters off the surface of the water, and at the very edge of the brand-new dock we finished building just a couple of days ago is my youngest brother. Sitting at his feet is Oakley, wearing a tiny, light pink bow tie. Oakley licks his chops and shuffles his front paws excitedly, his tail going crazy, but doesn’t move otherwise.
As we approach, I can see that Hutch has pulled together the little details I asked him to. In his hand is a bouquet of wildflowers, and he’s dressed in a pair of charcoal gray slacks and a cream-colored, short sleeve button-up shirt. Flower petals are scattered along the length of the dock, stopping just shy of where we’ll be standing.
Finn’s gaze snaps to mine, and her delicate fingers go to her throat. “Did you do all this?”
I duck my head and nod. I don’t know why I feel nervous all of a sudden. Does she think it’s stupid?
“Is it too much?” I ask.
She lets out an incredulous laugh, and it’s a little high-pitched. “Are you kidding?” She gapes. “Huddy, this is…amazing.”
I bring my gaze to hers. “Yeah?”
She nods, looking back at the scene Hutch has set at my request. “Yeah,” she breathes out.
I watch her eyes shimmering with what I hope are happy tears. This moment means the world to me. And not just because I want to help her. This woman means everything to me. I love her with my whole soul. She’s a part of me. She always has been. And even though this isn’t a real marriage, she deserves a day as beautiful as she is. She deserves to feel cherished and adored and wanted.
I squeeze her hand, grabbing her attention. “You ready?”
She lets out a steadying breath and nods. “Come on, bestie,” she says. “Let’s get hitched.”
Allie and Skye catch up to us shortly before the dirt and gravel meet the dock.
“You look so beautiful,” Skye says, pulling Finn in for a hug, and Allie follows suit.
“I know I didn’t give you guys a lot of details, but we really appreciate you being here,” Finn tells them. If they’re curious why we’re getting married so suddenly, they don’t ask. They just nod and walk with us to the end of the dock.
When we reach the end of the dock, Hutch wraps Finn in a hug. Then, he tips his head in greeting to Allie and Skye.
“Thank you for doing this, Hutch,” Finn says softly.
He looks down at Finn, giving her that signature, lazy smile of his. Chuckling, he lifts his chin in my direction. “Like this asshole would let me say no.”
She laughs, ducking her head, and he hands her the bouquet. She holds them to her nose while I clap him on the back and thank him, my voice a little gruff. He holds my gaze for a couple of beats, as if to ask if I’m sure about this. I nod and clear my throat, turning back to Finn. She hits me with the most dazzling smile, and it feels like lightning to the chest. I return her smile with a grin of my own.
Allie and Skye stand just behind Finn and me, hands folded in front of themselves, waiting.
“Ready?” Hutch asks me, then glances at Finn.
