I couldn’t agree with her more. A mild seventy-six degrees, it’s sunny with white fluffy clouds rolling lazily by.
Joslyn and Kynan have been planning this wedding for a few months. They wanted low-key for only close friends and family. Joslyn wanted it at their house, which Kynan had bought for them upon moving to Pittsburgh permanently.
A beautiful log cabin home with a forest-green metal roof and matching shutters, it sits on the side of a hill that overlooks the city of Pittsburgh down below.
We’ve been asked to take our seats as the wedding is starting soon, but we’d done some socializing early on after arriving. Of note, the entire Jameson Force Security team is—for the first time since I started—all together. Every member from Vegas flew in, including the prior owner, Jerico Jameson, and his wife, Trista.
It’s good to see Tank and Merritt. They’d convalesced back in Vegas, which is where they’re normally based—Tank with a gunshot wound to his shoulder, and Merritt with some shrapnel wounds from explosives.
Noticeably absent are Jimmy and Sal, and, of course, Malik. There’s been absolutely no progress in finding him. Things on that front feel… hopeless.
Which is why I’m glad Kynan and Joslyn are going forward with the wedding. There’d been some talk of canceling it—making a quick trip to Vegas to do the deed—because maybe it would be a little inappropriate to celebrate happiness when there had been such tragedy this summer for our Jameson family.
But fuck that is what I’d say if someone asked me.
Bad stuff happens, and it sucks. It’s probably going to happen to one of us again. We can mourn and grieve and have respect for those we lost, but we have to move on.
Most of us feel that way.
“Hey,” Cruce says as he enters the row, leading Barrett by her hand to their seats.
“Hey,” Sin and I say in unison.
Sin leans forward from my right and Barrett from Cruce’s left, so they can survey each other’s outfits.
“I love that dress,” Sin gushes as she eyeballs Barrett up and down.
“Please,” Barrett says with a dismissive wave of her hand. “You look like you walked off a runway.”
Then it starts… the chatter.
The women have bonded since Sin moved to Pittsburgh to be with me. Both Cruce and I decided to move out of the apartments at headquarters—those being better suited for single guys—and bought homes in Squirrel Hill near each other.
It’s not that we’d planned it that way.
It’s that we made the mistake of house hunting together… and the next thing I know we’re neighbors, living only a few blocks from each other.
This meant Cruce and I sometimes carpooled into work, and it obviously meant Barrett and Sin hung out frequently. Barrett’s doing contract work with the government to test her scientific formula for free energy, and she travels to the West Coast a few times a month. But in her off time, she’s been invaluable in helping Sin try to navigate her new life in the States.
“Where did you get that dress?” Barrett asks.
“I found this cool little boutique—”
“Hold up,” I interrupt, waving my hand. “Let’s rearrange.”
Without a word, Cruce and I stand, pulling our women up by their hands. With my palm at Sin’s waist, I move her in front of me, then push her down into the chair I’d vacated. Cruce does the same until Sin and Barrett are now sitting next to each other and Cruce and I are on the outside, thus sparing us from fashion talk until the wedding starts.
Luckily, soft strains of music start to play over the speakers, and everyone moves quickly into their seats.
It’s not the Wedding March but an actual love song Joslyn herself had recorded years ago. We all turn to see Kynan moving up the aisle with Joslyn by his side. Her father had died years ago. While I was introduced to her mom earlier, who sits in the row in front of us, it appears the bride and groom decided to go non-traditional and walk up the aisle together.
“Oh, wow,” Sin murmurs beside me as she takes my hand. “She’s stunning.”
And yes… Joslyn is. Her dress is long and informal, flowing in a bohemian way. She has no veil. There are flowers in her long blonde hair and her feet are bare. It’s the glow of walking next to the love of her life that has her simply radiating a beauty that’s almost indescribable.
Kynan’s also casual, or as casual as he gets if I consider his penchant for designer suits. He’s wearing a pair of dark grey tailored pants and a pale blue button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to mid-forearm. He’s also barefoot as they breeze by us with quick smiles.
There’s a minister at the front, a wooden trellis covered in white roses above him. Kynan and Joslyn come to a stop before him.
I shift my attention to Sin, who sits beside me, a dreamy smile on her face. We’ve talked a lot about marriage in the two months since I went to London to get her back. Tossed out ideas from a big fancy event to running down to the justice of the peace on a weekday when it’s not so busy.
But we aren’t in a hurry. We’re committed to each other as deeply as if we’re already married right now. People can’t go through the things we’ve been through and not come out bonded tightly. Not sure a marriage license or rings can strengthen what we already have.
Sin tilts her head, realizing my eyes are on her.
“What?” she whispers as Kynan and Joslyn start their vows.
I lean in toward her. “We should get married sooner rather than later.”
She scrunches her nose, thoughtfully digesting my words. Finally, she smiles. “I’m down with that.”
“Like… we could do something like this… or I’m fine with a church.”
“Shh,” someone says from a few rows back as Cruce shoots me a chastising look.
Sin ducks her head in embarrassment, returning her attention to Joslyn and Kynan. I merely loop my arm around her shoulder and settle into my chair, thinking of how quickly we could pull off a wedding.
♦
The reception is amazing, the backyard set up with a massive white tent, the ceiling of it covered in thousands of twinkling lights that come on as the sun goes down. There’s a band, amazing food, and free-flowing alcohol.
Sin is off talking to Joslyn. For a moment, I find myself alone while I nurse my beer until my eyes latch onto Anna Tate sitting at a table holding her baby. She gave birth a little over two months ago, and I’m not surprised she’s here. Kynan and Joslyn have kept her inside the fold of Jameson, refusing to move on from Jimmy’s death without her still in our lives.
Kynan had told me that she hung out at headquarters a lot at first, trying to understand what had gone so horribly wrong. There were no answers. Then the stress of Jimmy’s death had put her on bedrest, but Joslyn had been her constant visitor. Even though Anna has family in the Pittsburgh area, it had been a community effort to help Anna through the remainder of her pregnancy.
And then little Avery was born—a sweet baby girl I had been told Jimmy had wanted instead of a little boy as he’d felt he could spoil her a lot more than he could a son.
Barrett had told Sin and me one night at dinner that Anna had started coming around more after the birth. She’d bring Avery by to show everyone, especially because she looked so much like Jimmy.