My bed creaked as I tried to roll over, my back aching like I’d spent the entire night sleeping on the ground. I forced my eyes open, squinting in the sunlight. Okay, so not the ground, but an incredibly uncomfortable lounge chair on the deck. I unstuck my face from the plastic and massaged my cheek. Underneath my fingertips I could feel an indentation in my skin.

“Ugh.” I shoved myself to my feet and groaned, every muscle in my body protesting. This shit might have flown when I was in college, but I was not cut out to sleep in random places anymore. Even if I had given up my bed for a noble reason—Jules’s grandma had been too tired to make it back to her hotel, so she’d crashed here.

Scrubbing my hands across my face, I surveyed the wreckage of the backyard. It looked slightly less magical in the sunlight, but the memory of last night still lingered, magic infused in every second.

Dani loved me. She’d said it. After all these years, she’d looked me in the eye and told me she loved me. My heart was still completely high on the feeling.

Turning, I found another slumped figure curled into an awkward ball near the one I’d just vacated. I kicked it. “Get up, dickhead.”

Ben tried to sit and ungracefully tumbled onto the deck with a heartfelt groan. “Oh my God, I can’t move.”

I linked my fingers together and stretched my hands overhead. Man, this dress shirt needed to go. I’d lost my bowtie at some point, but between the shirt, suspenders, pants, socks, and shoes, I was incredibly overdressed. “Serves you right.”

He got on his hands and knees so he could struggle to his feet. “Go suck a dick.”

“Thanks, but I’ll pass.” I sniffed the air. Bacon, someone was making bacon.

I left Old Man Ben on the deck and went in search of food and found nirvana in the kitchen. Praise be to the Mighty Cheesus, he who reigned over delicious food. There were fruit platters, toast, bagels, pancakes, bacon, sausage—literally every breakfast food I could imagine. And juices, pitchers of it. My gaze scanned the counter until I spotted what I was looking for. Coffee: sweet, sweet coffee.

It took me a second to come back from my reverie and actually take in the people that were in the room. Daphne was pitching in by the stove, Bianca was carefully slicing fruit, Rachel was arranging pastries on a silver platter, and Jules, lovely Jules, was holding out a cup of coffee for me.

“I love you,” I told her sincerely, taking a gulp of the steaming liquid.

“Are you seriously hitting on my wife? We’ve only been married, like, less than twenty-four hours.”

It took me a second to find Felix near the other end of the kitchen. “Well, I hit on her before you were married, so I’m not really sure why you think that would change.”

“Boys, please.” Juliet took a sip of orange juice. “I’d really appreciate it if, on the day after my wedding, my new husband and my best friend could just get along.”

Felix’s hands slapped his armrests. “Hold up. This joker is your best friend? I thought I was your best friend!”

Bianca used her knife to encourage some unevenly sliced pieces of oranges onto a plate. “Well, this is going to get messy fast,” she said under her breath.

Jules made a face in response.

“And really,” Felix continued, “he can’t be your best friend. He’s my best friend.”

“There’s plenty of me to go around.” I spread my arms magnanimously.

“You sure Dani won’t mind?” Rachel asked, one eyebrow quirked.

“Where is she anyway?” That question came from Bianca as she concentrated on dividing another orange.

“She had to head home.” I tried to brush the question away. Honestly, I didn’t know the whole reason behind why she had to go, but I’d gotten to the point where I’d accepted that there were times she had to and I had to be okay with that.

Ben barked out a sharp laugh, massaging his neck as he walked past. “At least she managed to say goodbye this time.”

There wasn’t anything odd about what he said, but it struck a chord nevertheless. “What did you say?”

“Forget it, I’m not trying to start a fight with you this morning. I’m just looking for some coffee.”

“No.” I curled my fingers into a fist trying to figure out what it was about what he’d said that was putting me so much on edge. “Say it again.”

“Seriously, man, I—”

“Say it again!”

“I said, at least she managed to say goodbye this time!”

His words circled my head until it wasn’t his voice I heard, but hers. I promise you I won’t leave without saying goodbye.

My heart stopped.

My hands frantically patted down my empty pockets.

“I need a phone, any phone.”

They were all staring at me, but I didn’t care. I didn’t have time to explain.

Rachel’s phone landed in my hand and I quickly dialed the number I’d committed to heart. A tinny voice sounded through the speaker: “We’re sorry, the number you have dialed is no longer in service.”