Based on V’s enthusiastic reaction that morning, she had loved it. Which had been almost the best present he could’ve asked for. At least he had thought so. But that was before she handed him a slender envelope with his name scrawled across the front.
After opening the glued edge, he watched her carefully as he pulled the card out, a small piece of tissue paper falling out along with it. When he looked down, he nearly lost his breath.
A wedding invitation.
Their wedding invitation.
After all this time, V had never confirmed a date with him, but the invitation had all of the details listed out, including the date. And according to her, they’d be getting married less than a month after Zoey’s and Kaleb’s son was born.
Right then and there, she’d made his world spin out of control. He hadn’t thought he could love her more than he already did, but to know that there was a date set and a wedding in the works, he hadn’t been able to control himself.
Squeezing her hand, Zane glanced over at V. He smiled. There was no need to tell her why he was so happy. She knew. He knew she did. Because they were connected. Two hearts that beat as one.
“I love you,” he said, just because he wanted to tell her.
♂
Sawyer
Happy go lucky had a time and a place and Sawyer knew he was supposed to be the one to keep everyone smiling and laughing on days like this. But based on what he saw as he looked around the room, his witty antics weren’t needed. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever seen a group of people smile quite this much.
The twins were bickering back and forth over Jessie, laughing and joking as they did while she stared at them both like they were crazy. The subtle glances she shot in Braydon’s direction weren’t missed either. Not by him, and probably not by Braydon or Brendon. Sawyer wondered what was going on there, but it wasn’t his place to ask.
From his perspective, they appeared to be acting normal, keeping up a front, but he could see a storm brewing underneath. He knew his brothers well enough to see that there was tension between them. And whatever it was, it was huge. Something was about to change in the twins’ world, and he had a feeling that Jessie was going to be at the center of the epic shift.
Sawyer wasn’t sure he’d want to be anywhere within a twenty mile radius when that happened.
His attention was diverted when he saw movement out of the corner of his eyes. There on the couch, Kaleb and Zoey were looking at one another like they were the only two people in the room. And perhaps in their minds they were. Their love for one another was so obvious, it radiated outward from where they sat. Sawyer couldn’t help but wonder what that sort of love felt like. On top of that, he couldn’t imagine he would ever even remotely come close to feeling that way about someone.
Sure, he had a good idea that there was one woman who could make him look like a complete and total sap and not give a damn who saw, but… well, he just didn’t know if he’d met her yet. And quite frankly, maybe he just wasn’t ready to let go of his wild and crazy ways.
Either way, this year, Sawyer would have to settle for enjoying what his brothers had found, living vicariously through them. And truthfully, this was all he actually needed. To be here, with all of the people he cared about, was what made Christmas so special. A day when nothing else mattered but the love of family and friends.
“You all right?” Greyson interrupted his thoughts.
“Yup. You?” Sawyer turned to look at his friend who had dropped down on his haunches beside where Sawyer was sitting on the fireplace hearth.
“Good. Thanks for inviting me.”
“Anytime, bro. Anytime.” It wasn’t like Sawyer could imagine a holiday without Greyson. They’d been attending one another’s family functions since they were in elementary school. And he hoped that they’d continue the tradition for years to come.
“What’s going on after this?” Greyson asked, obviously trying to appear casual.
“No idea.” Sawyer had a good idea that he knew what Greyson was about to ask, but he figured he’d let him work for it.
For long seconds, Greyson appeared to be interested in the goings-on in the room, but finally he pushed to his feet and thrust his hands in his pockets, looking down at Sawyer.
“Wanna head over to Moonshiners after?”
“Sure. Why the hell not.” Wasn’t like he had anything better to do. And if he was lucky, maybe he’d find Ms. Right Now to pass the time with.
Because he sure as hell wasn’t going to get what he wanted for Christmas this year.
Chapter Twenty Three
♂♀♂
Travis
For the first time in as long as Travis could remember, he sat quietly on the couch in his parent’s living room listening to the chatter and reflecting on the events of the last few months. It was true, this time last year, Travis had no idea what happiness even was. He had personally sabotaged his own for so long, he hadn’t even thought it was in his future.