THE DAYS FLY BY IN a blur of work, rushed dinners, and last minute preparations for our big day. Last night I came home to Evie’s family and a temporarily constructed assembly line of tulle, chocolate, cards, and ribbon in our kitchen. I offered to help, but when they realized my bow tying skills were severely lacking I got put on kid duty. Fine by me. It’s no punishment to play with Miss Claire in the other room. After we built a castle using blocks and played way too many rounds of peekaboo, she snuggled in my lap while we watched one of her favorite shows on television until we both fell asleep. Evie woke me after nine, another wedding project checked off her list, and I loaded Claire into her sister’s car.
I know this stuff matters to Evie, at least I hope it does since it’s consuming every free moment, but I am counting down the days until it’s behind us and we can spend our evenings the way we used to: preparing a meal together, watching a show, and then making love until we fall asleep. Happy. Together. My wife. Yeah, it’ll all be worth it in another week. Getting there is the challenge.
Today’s pre-wedding agenda isn’t so bad, though. Bachelor and bachelorette party plans for both of us on this gorgeous April day. Mine starts before the sun breaks over the mountain peaks to the east. My phone buzzes atop the bathroom counter while I’m brushing my teeth—my ride—and I pocket it on my way out. Along the way, I steal a kiss from a very sleepy Evie.
“Be safe. Have fun,” she says, her eyes still closed.
“You, too. No strip clubs,” I say as a joke. Mostly.
Her voice, thick with sleep, comes out in a chuckle and she curls back into the covers. “Can you imagine? With my preggo sis and Kate? I think I’m safe.”
“With them, you’re never safe.” I chuckle and kiss her forehead, breathing her in, the scent of her shampoo as sweet as she is. “Love you.”
“Love you,” she answers. I hustle to the truck waiting in my drive and hop into the passenger front.
“Mornin’” Jon says with a nod of his baseball cap.
“Hey, man.” I smile and buckle up. “How’s it going?”
He gives in to a smile as he navigates toward my sister’s house. “Long week, but nothing that blowing up shit can’t fix. It’s been too long.”
“Hear you there. With all the extra hours I’ve been putting in at the gym, and then Evie being so distracted with the wedding, I’ve barely spent any time with her.”
Jon grunts, his gaze trained on the road.
“Seriously, you’ve known Evie forever. Have you ever seen her so wound up? I know it’s normal, but I guess I didn’t expect her to be like this. I’ll be so glad when I make her my wife and we can move past this.”
“At least she wants to marry you. I’ve been asking Kate for months and I’m about ready to give up.” He blows out a deep breath. I can understand his frustration. Kate’s feisty and stubborn, but her love for Jon is clear to everyone. Hell, she’s carrying their child with nothing but pride. But she’s also got it in her head to refuse his endless proposals for marriage.
“But will you?”
“Never.” He grins wide and swings the truck into my sister’s driveway. It doesn’t take more than a second before the front door flies open and Ezra and Elijah race out. Derek follows seconds later with a backpack slung over his shoulder.
“Good morning!” Derek pulls open the back door and my nephews cheer, their smiles much too bright for the early hour.
“You two little dudes ready to help your uncle celebrate his last day of freedom?” Derek says as he helps them climb into the back seat of the cab. They answer in a chorus of excited shouts and Derek shuts the door. “Buckle your seatbelts.”
This is why I want a non-traditional bachelor party. Evie would easily tolerate me taking a drunken trip to the strip club with a bunch of my co-workers, but I don’t want any of that. There’s only one woman I want naked on my lap. Add in that two of the best humans on this Earth, my nephews, are still under the age of ten, and the result is a party suited for a more youthful audience.
“You boys ready to go shooting again?” Jon tips his chin and checks their response in the rear view mirror before pulling out of my sister’s driveway.
“Yes, sir, Mr. Jon. We’ve been practicing.”
“Practicing how, exactly? You’re not to touch guns without a safe adult to supervise.”
“Not real guns, Mr. Jon!” Eli laughs.
“There’ve been some epic Nerf wars going down this week while mama was working. Right, little man?” I twist in my seat to catch Derek shuffle Eli’s hair into a crazy mess. I’m so thankful for Derek, a feeling I never anticipated toward my sister’s boyfriend.
After the hell Carly’s ex-husband put them through, I stepped up to help take care of them until she got back on her feet. She deserves all the best, and Derek treats her and the boys with so much love. He’s also around to take care of the kids while she’s working her twelve-hour shifts at the hospital. The injury that caused him to give up traveling with his band was a bad break for him, but his newfound career as a songwriter has its perks.
“That’s right.” Ezra glances up at me, his eyes almost a mirror of my own, but his smile fades with concern. “Is this really your last day of freedom, Uncle Tate?”
Jon and Derek let loose a few laughs, but I smile and shake my head. “Nah, Ez, I’ve been waiting my whole life to marry, Evie.”
“But Grandma said you just met her last year.”
“Sure, but she and I were meant for each other.”
“Like beavers. We learned in class that beavers mate for life, and even if they get separated, they’ll never stop coming back to each other. I’ve never seen a real beaver, but Mama says maybe we can visit one in captivity someday soon.”
“That’s right, buddy. We’re just like beavers.”
“’Cept you both wear clothes!” He laughs at his joke.
Jon chuckles under his breath, but I catch him murmur, “Sometimes,” causing Derek to laugh too.
“Drew’s not joining us?” Derek asks. Before I can answer, I notice Jon’s smile drop to a tight grimace.
“Claire has a cold so he’s staying home.” I respond.
Derek nods. “That’s too bad, but I understand. We’re still gonna have a great time, aren’t we guys?”
“Yeah!” Eli shouts and Ezra does the same. Their energy is infectious. Today will be a great day. Some much needed guy time with a few of my favorite people.
A morning out in the desert leaves us starving and Jon drives us to my favorite new joint. “This place rocks. Best hamburger in the city, hands down.” I rub my grumbling stomach through my cotton T-shirt as we climb out of the truck.
“That’s what you said about Joe’s Farm last year.” Jon laughs.
I tug my lips into a smile. “Yeah, but then this place opened.”
“I’m not picky. I’m just starving.” Derek groans.
“Us, too. Aren’t we, Ez?” My younger nephew agrees.
“Yeah, Eli. I’m ravished.”
“Ravished, huh? Big words they’re teaching you in third grade.” I rub Ezra’s hair, messing it up with my fingers as we step inside The Counter, a build your own gourmet burger kind of place in downtown. Evie and I come here all the time. I love the quality and she appreciates a fantastic meal. We’re a match made in foodie heaven.
“Table for five,” Jon requests of the hostess when she greets us, and she leads us to a spot near the bar. Rolling garage doors serve as windows and open up to the street, allowing a light breeze to cool my skin. We peruse the menu, order drinks, and catch the end of the Dodgers game on the TV screens that line the bar while we wait for our food.
“Tate? Tate.” I glance to the right where my client Lindsay is walking toward our table.
“Oh, hey, Lindsay.” I stand to greet her but she opens her arms wide and squeezes me in a tight hug before I can wave or shake her hand.
She pulls out of my arms and steps back to place her hands on her hips. “It’s so funny to see you here! You’ve been going on and on about this place so I thought I’d give it a try. You must really love it!” She laughs and my smile broadens. I do have a tendency to go overboard about the great food finds Evie and I come across, and with Lindsay new to town, I feel inclined to give her some pointers.
Lindsay glances over my shoulder, then points behind her. “Well, I better get back to my table for one and let you get back to your friends.” She takes a short step back, but I feel bad for her. I get the feeling she eats alone more than not.
“Do you want to join us?” The question tumbles from my lips, but when her smile brightens, I know I made the right choice. I remember how lonely it was moving to a new city, but at least I had family. Lindsay’s social calendar involves going to work and the gym.
“You sure? Looks like guy time.” She pulls the corner of her bottom lip between her teeth.
“It’s fine. We can pull up another chair. But only if you want.”
She meets my stare and her eyes crinkle with her smile. “Thank you.”
I turn back to our group and ignore the way Jon’s brow lifts with his frown. “Lindsay, this is Jon, Derek, and my nephews, Eli and Ezra.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Lindsay’s a client from the gym. We knew each other back in Cali, and she recently relocated to Arizona for a job.”
The guys offer polite greetings and I pull over an extra chair.
“I thought no girls were allowed.” Ezra pouts.
“You’re really pretty,” Eli says.
She opens her mouth with surprise but doesn’t answer as the rest of us chuckle.
“Future heartbreaker here.” Derek clasps his hand over Eli’s shoulder and Lindsay laughs.
“He’s in good company,” she says. It’s one of those compliments that could be construed as flirty, but I don’t have any interest in it.
Our waiter comes back with our food, and the aroma stirs a loud gurgle from my belly. Lindsay explains she placed her order at the bar, and the waiter hurries off with a promise that her food will be up soon.
“Don’t wait on me. Eat!” she shouts and that’s all it takes for us to stuff our faces.
Lindsay’s friendly. Funny too, and it’s easy with her at our table. I’m thankful it’s not weird, because the further into the meal we get, the more I realize how uncomfortable it’ll be to explain to Evie that one of my ex-girlfriends joined our bachelor party lunch.
After our meals are polished off, she leans over and whispers in my ear, “I know it’s a long shot, but any chance Jon or Derek are single?”
I chuckle and shake my head. “Happily taken.”
“Damn it. I figured, but had to ask. Any single friends?”
“Well . . .”
“Hey, secret keepers. If you’ve got something so entertaining, let the rest of us in on it.” Derek’s announcement has all eyes zeroing in on where Lindsay and I lean together.
Her eyes widen and her spine straightens. I’m sure she doesn’t want me to blast the entire table with her inquiry. I also don’t need to be harassed for playing matchmaker, because I actually do have a friend she might connect with.
I shake my head and grab for my beer. “Telling her about what a crappy shot I am. Nothing like Jon, who could’ve taken out that Gila monster if he wanted.”
“Where do you go? A range?” She directs her question to Jon.
He shakes his head. “Nah. We drive out of the city and find a spot in the desert.”
Derek’s chuckle draws her attention. “Yeah, and if you ever go with this guy make sure you have witnesses. I thought Jon and Tate were gonna bury me in a shallow grave the first time I went.”
“We might have if it weren’t for the little dudes,” Jon jokes.
“Good thing you treat my sister right.” I add.
Derek winks and I try not to visualize just how well he treats my sister. He catches the attention of our server and slips her his credit card. I shake my head because he didn’t have to pick up the tab, but he only smiles.
“Thank you again for letting me join you all for lunch.” Lindsay’s chair scrapes across the cement flooring and she stands to wave. “See you tomorrow night,” she says to me and I nod.
“Yep. Be ready to work off that double cheese sirloin,” I tease and she laughs before leaving the restaurant. I turn back to my nephews. “What’s up next, boys?”
“We did shooting,” Ezra says.
I nod. “Yep.”
“And manly burgers,” he adds.
“Mmm hmm.” I rub my belly and Eli grins.
“So, up next is the big surprise!” His eyes widen and he looks from Jon to Derek, and back again. “Can we tell him?”
“There’s a surprise?” I sneak a glance at my friends because we really hadn’t discussed more than this, except maybe a trip to the park to play a few games of two-hand touch football.
“Can we tell him? Can we please?” Ezra begs and when Jon nods, a sneaky grin on his face, my nephew jumps up from his chair. “We’re going to a baseball game!”
“Wow, really?” I exaggerate my excitement because both he and Eli jump with joy. “Giants are in town, right?”
“Yes! And Dad—I mean, Derek—called his friend and we’re sitting by third base! Isn’t that cool?”
“Totally cool.” My eyes flick up to my sister’s boyfriend and it fills me with hope when I see him smile adoringly at Eli. The way a father would to a son. I can only hope he and my sister continue down the path they’re going. Derek’s become like family in only a few short months and I can’t imagine him not around anymore.
“All right, guys. We better head over. First pitch is in less than an hour.” Jon stands from the table and as we make our way outside I hang back with both him and Derek while the boys pile in the cab of the truck.
“Thank you, both. For being a part of our wedding. For being an important part of our lives. For today. I’ll be proud to have you both at my side when Evie walks down the aisle next week.”
Derek holds out his fist for me to bump. “Anytime, brother. You know I love your family. I’m the lucky one to get to be a part of it.” I meet his fist and nod.
“And I don’t hate you anymore,” Jon says, his lips in a tight line. “So there’s that.”
I burst out in laughter and his lips twitch up with his smile.
“We’ve come a long way.” I pat him on his back before I walk around to the passenger side of the truck. We really have. A year ago I didn’t know either of these men. Now they’re two of the best friends I’ve ever had. Maybe bachelor parties—at least the way we’re doing this one—aren’t so bad. I only hope Evie’s having as much fun with hers.