As I devour the smoked turkey pasta salad Maddie tells me all about the wedding.
It’s not too fancy. Not too far from here. No gifts. And open bar.
It all sounds good until Maddie explains that Elouise is staying at her place tonight and they’ll be together until the wedding starts tomorrow. So, I’ll have to occupy myself until then. But the second that cake is cut… Maddie’s all mine.
Chapter44
Axel
A whistle greetsme as I come down the stairs.
“Damn, Dad. Really going for those mobster vibes.”
I allow Brian to see my exasperated expression.
I don’t have a lot of dress-up clothes. And even though Maddie said it wasn’t fancy, it’s still a wedding – and the first time I’m gonna meet her friends – so I’d rather be a touch overdressed than underdressed.
With my limited choices I stuck with black. Black pants, black shoes, and a black button-up shirt.
“You got a holster to go with that?” Brian laughs at his own joke.
“You need to watch less movies.”
“Nah.” He snorts and turns away from me to pull the wrapper off a frozen pizza. “I take it you’re going out with yourlady friendagain tonight.”
A grunt is my only reply.
I know we should talk about this. About me dating. AboutwhoI’m dating. But… not yet.
“Just so we’re on the same page,” Brian slides the pizza into the oven, “if you two get married, I’m not gonna call her mom.”
My laugh turns into a choke halfway up my throat. “Jesus, kid.”
“What? I’m just saying,” he snickers.
“She’s not even old enough to be your mom,” I mumble, while I pick my wallet up off the island.
“Damnnn,” Brian drags the word out, a huge grin on his face. “Nicely done. Maybe instead of me calling her mom, she can call you Daddy.”
I’m not sure what emotion is showing on my face – shock, horror, guilt – but whatever it is, it gives me away.
Brian’s eyes widen and his face twists into a mixture of disgust and amusement. “Oh my god! I don’t know if I want to high-five you, or puke.”
“How about neither and we pretend this never happened,” I suggest, slapping a handful of bills on the counter.
“Deal,” Brian nods.
Chapter45
Axel
I takein the grounds as I head up the sidewalk to the medium sized building.
We’re just outside of Darling Lake, in a county park, and this chalet-style building is some sort of event center.
Maddie said it was going to be a small crowd, but I can see a fair amount of people milling around inside, and more walking up. But she was right about it not being too fancy because there’re guests in everything from t-shirts to suits, so I blend in perfectly.
Following a family through the front doors, I step off to the side and am quickly reminded that I don’t know anyone here.