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“Leave the tents and new cake to me. I have made several calls to people and should hear back over the next few days. Regroup and we’ll talk again when I have better news.”
We said our goodbyes and stared at the phone for a few seconds.
“Can we pay her to stop updating us?” Mac sighed and raked his hand through his hair. “What else can go wrong?”
“Don’t even say those words out loud.” Bash’s eyes widened.
“I told her from the start I wanted to be updated on everything as it happened.”
“But did you expect every single call to be bad news?” Mac asked.
“Obviously, not.” I rolled my eyes and then sighed. “Sorry—”
“No, I’m sorry.” He groaned and wrapped his arms around me. “The wedding’s supposed to bring everyone together, not pull us apart.”
“Exactly,” Bash murmured.
Mac rubbed his hands together and rolled his lower lip between his teeth. He was antsy, and I made a mental note to tell Bash to exercise him more. He had a few weeks off and was used to way more physical exertion.
“Let’s go on a walk,” I said, grabbing my sunglasses.
We ended up at the lily gardens, and I hesitated at the front gates. We could keep walking, or we could face our problems head on. We had avoided wedding talk for too long and the retreat had reminded me how good it felt facing my problems and my fears.
“Let’s go walk around the grounds and see how we feel,” I suggested.
Mac kissed my cheek and reached for Bash’s hand. “Sounds good to me.”
Bash nodded, gritting his teeth.
I rubbed his arm, and his shoulders slumped. “You okay?”
He smiled, his jaw remaining clenched. “Yeah. I’m just tired of all this—”
If I didn’t feel the exact same way, I’d be worried he was talking about me or about Mac, but I knew what he meant. This whole wedding thing had gotten so out of proportion and it was exhausting.
I stretched up and kissed his scruffy cheek. “Let’s go.”
The gardens were just as pretty as I remembered. Now that the weather was hotter, there were only a few wispy clouds, and the lake reflected the blue sky.
A couple was walking ahead of us, pointing out the features of the grounds, clutching each other’s arms and whispering so excitedly the wind carried snippets of their conversation.
“I think they’re scoping the place out for a wedding—”
“Or they’re casing the joint.” Mac grinned and pulled me in for a tight hug. “Coming here was a good idea. I want to marry the two of you so damn bad.”
Bash wrapped his arms around us, resting his head on my chin. “Me too. Hell, I’d be happy to elope—”
A small giggle bubbled up in my chest, turning into a full-blown, almost-snorting laughter.
Bash pulled me to arm’s length and raised his brow. “What’s so funny?”
“It’s really not that funny, but of course you would rather elope.” I dried my eyes. “Avoiding all the people and fanfare.”
Bash stuck his tongue out and I laughed harder.
“I thought you wanted a big wedding?” I asked, sobering slightly.
His eyes widened. “I thought you wanted a big wedding? I’m seriously fine eloping—”
