“I hate that fucking answer,” Dylan replied.
Alix turned to him and said, “You don’t have much room to talk, mister. You’ve been back and forth to London so many times that it’s making me jet-lagged.”
Dylan had opened an office there, and pre-Alix, he would have just lived in the UK until it was up and running. But he’d been traveling back and forth to be with her, and I knew that had to be a lot on both of them.
“What do you want to bet that if we dimmed the lights and covered us in blankets, the four of us would be asleep in seconds?” Rose joked. “A year’s salary?”
I held up my beer. “I’m Team Rose on this one.”
Dylan looked at me and said, “Jesus, I miss the college version of you. It’s not even nine o’clock yet.”
“That makes three against one.” Alix yawned.
“You all need to snap out of this and buck up,” Dylan barked.
Rose rested her head on Alix’s shoulder. “Maybe this should turn into a Sex and the City night.”
“You mean, fuzzy slippers and soft robes and kicking Dylan into the guest room so we can have the bed?”
“Yasss,” Rose sang.
“There’s not a goddamn chance of that happening,” Dylan said, leaning forward to look at both girls. “You’re going to put your big-girl panties on and go out to dinner and go dancing and have drinks, like you’ve been talking about for days. Meanwhile, Ashe and I are going to drown ourselves in Chef Mark’s barbeque and some Macallan single malt and the NBA.”
“Shit,” I replied. “That does sound sexy.”
“Your man might be right,” Rose replied. “Cosmos and dancing and those extra-greasy slices of pizza we always buy from the pushcarts outside the bar? It does sound pretty fabulous.”
Alix shimmied her shoulders as though music had started playing. “Ohhh, the pizza.”
Dylan kissed the top of Alix’s head. “And then you can call in tomorrow, so we can lie in bed all day, hungover as fuck.”
“Dylan—”
“Rose, have my back here.”
“Alix, listen to your soon-to-be hubby. He’s got a point.”
“Agreed,” I chimed in.
“We all know I’m probably not going to do that.” Alix laughed.
“Rose, get her good and wasted for me.”
Rose stood, holding out her hands for Alix to grab. “I’ll happily accept that mission.”
“Oh God, you two,” Alix sighed, giving Dylan a kiss before she got to her feet. She then came over to me, and we kissed cheeks.
“Great to see you,” I said to her. “You too, Rose.”
The ladies waved and grabbed their jackets and purses from the kitchen and headed for the front door.
Dylan watched them leave and said, “Only a couple more months, and that woman will finally be my wife.”
I turned toward him, swallowing the gulp of beer in my mouth. “Now, that’s a wedding I can’t wait to be in.”
“Everyone I love under one roof while I marry the girl of my dreams, followed by the most kick-ass reception Boston has ever seen. Yeah, I can’t wait either.” He looked at the TV, but I could tell he wasn’t focused on the game; he was inside his head. “And then we’ll be spending a week in South Africa and another week at Mount Kilimanjaro—no work, just Alix and me and not even a goddamn cell phone to interrupt us.”
“And a wedding band around your finger.”
He was quiet for a few moments before he glanced at me. “It’s wild, man; the moment I opened my company, a feeling came over me, and I knew it was what I was meant to do.” He took a drink from his tumbler. “Marrying Alix is no different. She’s the woman I’m supposed to spend the rest of my life with.”
I knew that too. From the moment they’d met, there was never a question in my mind that those two were supposed to be together.
“I’m so fucking happy for you guys.” I gripped his shoulder. “You know I love her like a sister.”
“Wait until you hold your niece or nephew in your arms.”
My back shot off the couch. “She’s pregnant?”
“Not yet.” He shook his head, grinning. “But if it’s up to me, she will be very soon.”
I continued squeezing him, keeping my grip tight. “Dylan Cole, changing diapers and getting spit up on. I’m ready to witness that.”
“Seeing my baby pregnant and rubbing my hands all over her belly …” He exhaled. “That’s what I’m ready for first.”
I took a few deep breaths. “I hear you.”
He had looked away, but his eyes were back on mine, and they were different than before.
Instead of his mouth, they were doing all the talking.
And I knew exactly what they were saying.
Thirty-Six
Before
Ashe
As I was double-parked outside her apartment building, Pearl rushed out the back door, bundled in a jacket, hat, and mittens—things I’d told her to wear for today.
“I didn’t know you had a car,” she said, climbing into the passenger seat.
“I don’t.” I waited for her to get settled before I pulled into traffic. “It’s my mom’s. I borrowed it for the day.”
She was smiling as I glanced at her. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”
“Surprising you will be much more fun.”
She continued grinning as I turned down several streets on the way to the interstate.
Today had taken a bit of research, as the destination was somewhere I’d never been. But because it was so high on Pearl’s fun list and seeing her smile was at the top of mine, I knew I had to make it happen. With some help from my parents, I’d found what I needed, and fortunately, it would only take about a half hour to get there.
I reached across the front seat, holding her hand in mine. “I’m sorry I didn’t make it to the bar last night, like I’d planned. Dylan really wanted to go, too, but that paper took me all night to finish, and it kicked my ass.”
We’d had a month off for Christmas, where I’d gotten to spend almost every day with her, and now, we were back to the full swing of another semester. I missed that time off—when school hadn’t dominated a majority of our life. If I wasn’t attending class, I was preparing for one, or doing homework, or buried under mounds of studying. The amount of work was coming on thick, and the hours I spent with Pearl were thinning out.
“Don’t worry about it.” Her fingers weaved through mine. “It was slow, and I got cut early. I went home and studied for the test I had this morning.”
I quickly glanced at her.
“And that’s the only reason I didn’t come over, knowing we wouldn’t have gotten any homework done.”
I was disappointed to hear I could have woken up next to her this morning, but she was right; we weren’t our most productive when we were in each other’s presence.
I lifted her fingers to my lips. “You’re forgiven but only because I have you for the afternoon.”