Adelaide
Ilaid my head down on the table. “Oh my god,can’t we just elope?”
Wren patted my back. “If that’s what you want.”
Iris kicked me under the table. “Nope. You know you want a wedding. Besides, your fans are frothing for the pictures.”
Laughing, I raised my head. “Fans. Pshaw.”
Hope waved her phone in front of me, my Instagram account on the screen. “Girl, you have one point two million followers and you’re scoffing at the idea of having fans?”
Iris rolled her eyes. “No wonder you and Adam took so long to get together. The two of you spend so much time in denial, you should buy property.”
I flipped her off. “For that, I’m making you my maid of honor and going all bridezilla on you.”
She flipped me off right back. “I’d return the favor, but I think June would disown me if I gave you her spot.”
June’s eyes went wide. “I only agreed to be your maid of honor because you promised not to go crazy.”
Iris tossed her long black hair over her shoulder. “I’m totally levelheaded. Ask Ronan.”
Ronan, hearing his name from the living room where he was hanging with the boys, turned his head. “Ask me what?”
“Iris claims to be levelheaded,” Hope said.
Ronan chuckled. “She is when it counts. But I like her when she’s obstinate.”
Iris blew a kiss at her fiancé, then whispered to us, “That’s because he tries to spank the brat out of me. It hasn’t worked, but Ronan isn’t a quitter.”
As I giggled at Iris’s overshare, I caught Adam’s eyes across the apartment. He’d been watching me, his lips tipped at the corners. Warmth spread through my veins, and my teeth latched onto my bottom lip.
He’d planned this day for me. Since leaving my dad’s last weekend, I’d been in a funk. Adam had been there every step, listening and loving me, and that had softened the blow. But I couldn’t beat my blues, so he decided to invite my girls over for an impromptu wedding planning session. That snowballed into all of TSC coming over for drinks and snacks and chill time. It was exactly what I needed.
Surrounded by these people, I realized this was Adam’s real family, and he was sharing them with me. I didn’t have the history with them he did, but I saw my future as Adam’s wife, and they were all part of it.
I’d lost the one family member I’d had left, but I’d gained them. It wasn’t the same. It would never be the same. But it was something new, different, and maybe one day, it would be better.
I still ached from the loss of my dad, but in all the times he’d called over the last week, I hadn’t been tempted to answer. He’d crossed my line, and I didn’t see any coming back from it.
“What if we just take a vacation and get married on the beach?” I asked.
Hope raised a brow. “Are friends invited?”
I nodded. “I wouldn’t want to do it without you guys.”
Iris knocked on the table. “Then it’s done. You’re getting married on the beach and we’re all coming.”
That made me laugh. “So, basically, we’re eloping, like I wanted.”
“But with pretty pictures,” Wren said.
“For the fans,” Hope added.
“Can we talk about Iris being a crazy bride again?” June asked.
I snorted a laugh and settled into watching shy, sweet June debate with her sister over who was a bigger pain in the ass.
Yeah, this was definitely family.