Emotion lodged in my throat as a tear of my own slipped from the corner of my eye. “I hear Bowen’s really boring without me.”
“Completely,” she choked out. “Absolute snooze fest. You didn’t miss a thing.”
I attempted to dry my cheeks and collect myself. Now that my nerves had been put to rest, I had a few things I needed to get off my chest. “I want to say thank you. To all of you. For taking care of me.” I looked at the kids. “Before and after I, uh, moved to Mexico.” There was a symphony of sniffles and laughs and I focused on Paul. “Especially to you. For stepping up to be there for my dad when I couldn’t.” I leaned into Bowen’s side. “And for taking care of this guy. I’m…I’m just so sorry.”
“Don’t apologize,” Paul soothed. “You’re our family. This is what family does. Well, this and give each other endless amounts of shit. But you’re stuck now, so good luck with that.”
There were more laughs, but as I glanced around the room, there wasn’t a dry eye in sight.
“I need a drink!” Tyson said, flying through the door and interrupting the silence.
A shorter gentleman who was dapper and insanely attractive in a regal type of way sighed as he shuffled in behind him. Jared, no doubt.
Ranting, he marched straight past me to the kitchen and opened the fridge to retrieve a beer. “My florist for the wedding called. Apparently, tulips are out of season at the moment and will have to be flown in for the low, low price of my left kidney. The officiant isn’t sure if she can do a six-p.m. wedding because her son has a baseball tournament that weekend, and gee, wouldn’t that have been nice to know before the wedding was six freaking weeks away.”
Jared saw me first, recognition dawning in his eyes. I didn’t remember him, but based on that cheeky grin alone, he definitely knew me. I was certain we’d be fast friends again.
“Ty, honey,” he called.
Tyson tipped his beer back for a long pull and ignored his fiancé. “Then, to top it all off, the venue decided to get new tables. White. Acrylic. What is this, nineteen eighty-four?”
Smirking, I said, “Oh I don’t know. I think white acrylic could be gorgeous. Maybe we could go halvsies on the decorations.”
He planted his hand on his hip, turning his attitude on me. “And what decorations will—ohhh shit.” Nearly dropping his beer, he stumbled back a step. “You do not belong here.”
My stomach sank. Shit. Okay, maybe Tyson didn’t love me as much as I thought.
“Excuse me?” Bowen snarled.
He lifted a finger in the air. “Nope, not what I meant. That came out wrong. Fan-fucking-tastic to see you again, Remi. But what the hell are you doing here?”
“Oh, you know. The usual. Being in love with your brother. Moving in with him.” I flashed him my ring. “Getting engaged.” I shrugged. “Same shit, different day.”
Bowen chuckled and peered down at me. “Nice.”
“Thanks. I thought so.”
Tyson was definitely Linda’s son. He didn’t burst into tears, but he slammed into a wall of emotions all the same. He barely got the beer upright on the counter before he rushed toward us. I braced, ready for impact, but he went straight to his brother.
“Holy shit,” he chanted, slapping Bowen on the back. Stepping away, he gripped Bowen’s shoulders and gave him a hard shake. “How fucking happy are you right now?”
Bowen nodded, his smile unrivaled, even if his reply was choked. “Yeah.”
Tyson moved his grip to the back of his brother’s neck. “You deserve this. Do you hear me? Every single minute of it. You live it up. Don’t get in your head, okay?”
Bowen gave him a hard shove away. “She won’t let me. I’ve tried already.”
“I figured. That’s why we love her.” No less exuberantly, he wrapped me in a bear hug, lifted me off my feet, and spun me in a circle. “It’s so damn good to see your face again.” He set me down and grinned. “Just in time for my wedding. We’re going to need to get you fitted for a bridesmaid dress stat.”
I cringed. “Is that like a family requirement?”
“Yep,” Cassidy replied, walking to the kitchen. “And I should warn you, he went with pea green. The universal color of puke.”
“It’s not pea green. It’s agave.”
“It’s vomit,” she shot back.
Fully affronted, Tyson followed after her, arguing, “You know what? You are officially uninvited.”
Cassidy laughed. “I should be so lucky!”
Linda squeezed my shoulder as she trotted after them. “Would you two stop fighting already?”
Bowen leaned into my side. “You sure you’re ready to sign up for this madness?”
I drew in a deep breath and looked up at him. “I remember this. Well, not this exactly. But this feeling. So much love under one roof that even the chaos is intoxicating. I don’t know how, but I think I’ve missed it.”
