Hailee laughed. “I love your mum. She’s so much fun.”
My phone sounded with a text.
King: Can you be ready in about an hour?
I called him.
“Did you get my text?” he asked, in greeting.
“Yeah. Are you nearly home?” My tummy fluttered at the thought of seeing him. Or maybe nerves. Either way, I felt like my entire body was smiling.
“I’m sending the boys to pick you all up and get you to the wedding. I’ll meet you there.”
“So we’re doing this before two?”
“Yeah. I’m not taking a chance on the weather holding out until then.”
“Hang on, let me check something,” I said as I headed to Monroe and Tatum. When I had their attention, I said, “Can we all be ready in an hour? King wants to bring the wedding forward in case it rains again.”
My mother’s eyes widened in horror. “Darling, no.”
I still had my phone to my ear, so I heard him say, “If you can’t make it happen, we’ll stick to the original plan. But I’m looking at the sky here and it’s not looking good.”
“And we’re getting married outside?”
“Yeah.”
“King, just tell me where already. The freaking suspense is killing me.”
He ignored me and said, “Can you be ready? I need to know so I can put new plans into action.”
“You’re seriously not going to tell me, are you?”
“Fuck, Lily, yes or fucking no?”
I made a snap decision that my mother would have to live with. “Yes, but because I’m giving you what you want, you should give me what I want and tell me where.”
“Trust me, I’m giving you what you want.”
And then he was gone and I was left with every set of eyes in the room staring at me with the same horror that had been in my mother’s eyes a moment ago.
“Are you out of your mind?” Monroe asked. “You think we can all get ready in a fucking hour?”
I grinned. “It’s tradition for the bride to be late. It’ll do King good to wait for something for once in his life.”
Kick and Devil arrived right on time, one hour from when King called. I only made them wait half an hour.
“Fuck, Lily,” Devil said with a shake of his head, “I like your style of keeping King on his toes, but I’m the fucker who’s gonna have to listen to him lose his shit over this.”
Hailee snaked her arm around his waist with a smile. “I’ll make it up to you tonight.”
He brushed a kiss over her lips before saying, “If it rains, we’re all going down for this. Kick and I aren’t copping the full force of his wrath.”
“Devil,” I said as I put my jacket on, “No one but me will cop the full force of King’s wrath over this, and I’m pretty sure when I whisper in his ear and tell him what I have planned for him tonight, there’s not going to be any wrath.”
Monroe grinned. “There’s my girl.”
Kick came into the house and eyed me. “You’re gonna need to swap those shoes for the gumboots.” Then, looking around the room, he said, “There’s enough pairs for everyone.”