NICK
“Itold you she was fine.” I roll my eyes at Roman.
“It’s not her I’m worried about.” My eyes flick to Bella who doesn’t look happy at all. “The rumors, I’m betting.”
At least six people have mentioned seeing Sophie come out of the closet with Holden and now she’s gone and run off with Gunner. Roman shrugs. “As long as she is safe, that’s what matters.”
Miles comes over with Holden. “So, tomorrow I’m proposing to Diana again.”
I nod. “Good for you. You both deserve to be happy.”
He grins. “I want you all and Sophia to be there. It will mean so much more to her and I know she’s been … a lot, but I hope you can overlook that.”
“If she’s still willing to have you.” Roman teases. “She had her hands in quite a few places.”
“She’s wild.” Miles agrees, watching her dance with abandon on the dance floor. “It’s part of her charm. She brings out the best in me, even when we fight.”
“I hear fighting is healthy.” I nod. “In relationships, as long as it comes to a resolution. It’s better than keeping things in, anyway.”
“It is. Communication is how love is kept alive.” He sighs. “And I neglected it for too long. I’m not going to waste the opportunity given to me, especially considering I nearly lost out on her.”
“That may be the sweetest thing you’ve ever said.” I chuckle.
But Roman nods like he completely understands. His eyes go to me and I get it too. I can’t give up on Sophie. There’s no way I would waste an opportunity with her. If she asked me to take a day off work to go paint, to talk, to spend together, I’d take it immediately.
Holden rubs his arm, but I see the same understanding there.
We all love Sophie. And not in the puppy dog way. We’ve been through enough of that. Enough of infatuation, enough of the confusing maybes to know the real thing when we have it. And somehow we all found it in the same girl.
Miles pats us and goes to steal back his woman. Roman rubs his chin. “I’m going to be busy in the morning. I need to get something.”
“Okay.” I shrug. “Everything good?”
“Yeah. Just … a lot on my mind.” He admits. “And I think it’ll help to do something about it.”
Holden and I exchange a look, but we shrug it off. If last night proved anything to me, it’s being careful with what I assume. I assumed, badly, that Gunner might get drunk enough to agree to give Bella an out. He would have regretted it. Killed himself over it. I know that, but none of us are perfect.
“Our date is gone. Want to say our goodbyes to the happy couple?” Holden asks, looking over the crowd like it’s a potential war zone.
I nod and rub his shoulder. “Yeah. Let’s get out of here. Maybe Gunner will let us in for an after party.”
I text him, letting him know we’re coming up. He promises to order room service. We both shake Matthew’s hand and he’s glowing. Then he pulls me aside as Holden talks to Bella. “Thank you for coming to me about everything last night.”
“Is everything okay – really okay?”
“Yeah.” He nods. “We talked. I know that she was nervous, with a lot of pressure from her parents, but I didn’t realize how much it had gotten to her. Because of you, we talked. You guys saved the wedding.”
“Just keep Bella from Sophie for a while. Sophie was ready to kill her.” I say seriously. “If we hadn’t gotten her away.”
“Jealousy that bad?”
“Imagine if the roles were reversed and one of us forced a girl to kiss us.” I hint. I see the realization bloom on his face. “Yeah. Sophie took that seriously.”
“We start our honeymoon tomorrow in an Air BNB on the other side of the island. I doubt we’ll cross paths.” He assures me, patting my shoulder.
With that, I congratulate Bella who thanks me and I head upstairs with Holden. He sighs. “That was awkward.”
“How?”