Sienna curled into me. “This is worth it.”
Tate leaned his elbows on the dark oak desk and steepled his fingers together. “You know, I like that you’re putting a lot of thought into this, ladies. It shows me how dedicated you both are to each other and to everything else you approach in life.”
Sienna and I grinned at one another.
Tate studied us for a long, silent few moments, then waved the piece of paper in our faces. “So, ladies? Are you signing this thing or what?”
We got to our feet and stood beside Tate at the desk. He held the pen toward us, and Sienna and I took turns signing our names.
Augustus picked up his glass. “Now that that’s taken care of, there’s a party to get back to and the little matter of the fireworks we bought.”
She looped her arms around his slim waist. “Let’s go, then.”
“Good. It’s getting close to midnight.” Tate glanced at his watch. “I don’t want to miss the show.”
“Neither do I.” I took Tate’s hand, and together, the four of us went back to the party.
ChapterTwenty-Three
Louisa
“You’ve been gone for a while,” Eric noticed when we arrived back downstairs.
I stepped into his open arms. “We had important business to take care of.”
“Best friend business,” Sienna said with a decisive nod.
We grinned at one another.
Tate held up my folded copy of the contract. “These two made a pact on paper to always stay true to one another. Isn’t that right, ladies?”
“We’ll make certain it happens,” Augustus added.
“Damn right.” Tate tucked the paper into the inner pocket of his jacket.
“Ladies and gents, if I could have your attention, please,” Augustus shouted.
Everyone in the room turned toward us, who was expertly drawing attention to himself.
“Firstly, thank you all for coming along tonight. We know how busy your lives are, so thanks for joining us in my bachelor pad for the best night of the year. It means a lot to all of us. Eat all the food, and if you drink, all we ask is that you crash here for the night. If there’s going to be any kind of accident, we’d rather it be because you fucked a random stranger in the kitchen than a night in the emergency room. Or worse, an eternity in a casket. We all know how much the paparazzi love that kind of shit.”
Everyone laughed.
Sienna stared at the viscount dreamily. “He’s such a damn show-off.”
Augustus glanced at the time on his watch. “Right, then, it’s five to midnight. Get your asses out to the back lawn.”
Now a lot of people moaned.
“Oi.Quit your moaning. My cousin ordered fireworks for you lot, and we’re not going to let them go to waste. Out!” Jeremy opened the sliding doors and urged everyone to head outside.
I met up with Jack, Royce, and Byron on the way, and they automatically surrounded me. “Where’s Harris? He’s not going to miss it, is he?”
“Right behind you, gorgeous.”
I stood on my tiptoes in my pathetic attempt to see over Jack’s shoulder. I shouldn’t have bothered trying. But Harris stepped to the side and graced me with a rare smile. I loved it when he smiled. “Hi, chef.”
He winked.