“You better not blow him in my house!” I shouted after them.
“No promises!”
“Ugh,” I muttered, turning to Vince, who was smiling softly at me. “I don’t know what you’re so happy about. They’re tearing us apart.”
He rolled his eyes as he started toward me. “Nah. Nothing could do that.”
“Ow. My feelings.”
His smile widened as he pressed me against the counter, his big hands on my hips. “I’m pretty good at those.”
“My feelings? Yeah. I guess you are.”
“If you don’t want me to go, I won’t.” He had his earnest face on again. Goddammit.
I shook my head. “It’s okay. I just like bitching. I know how important this is to Sandy.”
“Yeah, but it’s our wedding.”
I snorted. “If you don’t think this is as much for everyone else as it is for us, then baby, I’ve got some bad news for you.”
“We could always elope.”
I stared at him. “Do you know what Sandy would do to me? To you? Vince, there would be no corner on this earth where we could go that he wouldn’t find us. And I for one don’t want to be on the run for the rest of our lives.”
“As long as I’m with you, I don’t care. That’s all I want.”
I groaned. “What the hell is wrong with you? Are you actively trying to make me lose the bet? You bastard.”
And we were both smiling as he leaned in and kissed me and I remember thinking that yeah, as long as I was with him, the rest didn’t matter.
That was all I wanted.
THAT NIGHT, Corey and Sandy curled up with me in our bed. I felt warm and happy and loved. It was good to feel that way.
“You nervous?” Corey asked me as I pulled gently on one of his tight curls, his head in my lap. I was sitting up against the headboard, Sandy lying heavily against my side.
“I don’t… think so? Maybe a little. I’m sure it’ll get worse tomorrow. Right now, I’m just… excited.”
“As you should be,” Sandy said. “It’s going to be the best day ever. I put too much effort in this for it not to be.”
“You ass,” I said fondly. “And even though I still hate you a little for making Vince leave, I’m really glad you’re here. The both of you.”
“I won’t suck on your wiener,” Corey said. “So get that thought out of your head right now.”
“Moment ruined,” I said with a sigh. “Good job.”
“It was getting too sweet for me,” he said. “That’s not us. We’re snarky and bitchy and mean.”
“Eh,” Sandy said. “Maybe, just for one day, we can let that go.”
“Knowing us, tomorrow will just be one big clusterfuck anyway,” I said. “I’m prepared for it.”
“As long as no one dies and nothing lights on fire, we’ll be fine,” Sandy said.
“The fact that those are the guidelines we set really speaks volumes about us as people,” Corey said. “I like us a lot.”
“And we probably need to come to a consensus on how we’re going to act with Daddy’s new man,” I said. “Do we go for intimidating or standoffish?”