“I appreciate that,” I say.
Darius agrees with a nod. “At the end of the day, I’m sure we all want to put this behind us. You will give him a firm talking-to, yes? And perhaps ensure he loses contact with the tabloid.”
“Undoubtedly,” I confirm. “Though, we need to find him before I can make that happen.”
Silence falls, and it’s a heavy silence, full of frustrations.
From day one, none of us has controlled this, and for men who love control, it is certainly something that needs to be regained so we can return to some normalcy again. But it’s not over yet, no matter how much I want it to be.
“On a happier note,” Micah says, the darkness in his expression gone just that easily, “there is another reason that I’ve been wanting to get ahold of you. I come bringing good news.”
“Which is?” I ask.
Micah smiles, fiercely warm. “I proposed to Allie the other night, and she accepted me.”
“That is wonderful news. Congratulations.” I offer my hand, and as Micah takes it, I wrap my arm around him, smacking his back. In all the years I’ve known Micah, I’ve never seen him the way I’ve seen him with Darius’s baby sister, Allie. She’s his, perfectly matched to him in every way. “When and where is the wedding?”
“Well, that’s the thing,” Micah explains, still grinning. “We’re doing this rather fast.”
“How fast?” I ask.
“Next week fast.”
I chuckle. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. When you want something, you go for it.”
“A truer statement has never been said,” Micah replies then shrugs. “We just want to keep the wedding small and low key. We’re getting married on Monday night at a winery in Napa. Nothing big.”
Darius adds with a smile, “That’s Allie’s influence, I’m sure. She never did like people fawning over her.”
Micah nods and says dryly, “I had to force the idea of having it at the winery. She w
anted to go to the courthouse.”
“How romantic,” I mutter.
“My point exactly.” Micah snorts and shakes his head. “Nevertheless, the second she saw the stone castle at the base of Mount St. Helena, she happily agreed, as long as we kept the attendance list small, to all the important people.” His eyes warmed, as did his expression. “I hope you’ll ask McKenna to come, too.”
I cock my head. “You don’t mind?”
“Not at all,” he says with a smile. “I’m sure Allie would love to meet the woman that’s snagged our Gabe O’Keefe.”
I chuckle and rise, pushing my chair back under the table, not wanting to leave McKenna long. “It’s an interesting development for sure.” But right now, I’m more worried about how to fix all this. While I’m pleased about the wedding—thrilled, in fact—the timing makes things a little tricky. I can only hope that I can talk McKenna into coming.
Everyone rises with me and begins filing out of the room, except for Micah. He waits for me at the door. “Listen, there was one more thing I wanted to ask you.”
“Oh, yeah, what’s that?” I ask.
He cups my shoulder and smiles warmly. “My best man, that’s you, right?”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” I reply, returning the smile.
“Excellent,” Micah says. “Any black suit, white shirt, and black tie will do.”
I nod, not worried. I have suits if I need them, I simply don’t wear them often.
Life’s moving on, I see that now. Darius is married to Taylor. Micah will be married to Allie soon. I have no doubt Ryder will be following soon with Hadley, too. I’d never thought about marriage as a possibility for my life.
Until now.