AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Trystan canted his head to side-eye Sophie. “Are you marrying Glenda?”
“Yes.” She was grinning ear to ear while also rolling her eyes at his dumb joke. “I don’t know which one of us is luckier, her or me.”
“She’s marryingLogan.” Biyen groaned at their silliness. “He’s gonna be my stepdad.”
“Is he.”
Logan met Trystan’s gaze with a steady look that said,Yes, I am.
“You’re happy about that?” Trystan asked Biyen.
“Super happy. We get along great. He misses Gramps, too, and he likes building stuff with LEGO. It’s a match made by heaven.”
His words were hilarious and a heart-punch at the same time.
Sophie’s eyes turned to watery, helpless pools.
Trystan stuck his hands on his hips as he looked at his best friend since first grade. Sophie had fallen for Logan that day, but Logan, the dumbass, had never looked twice at her. Not until eight years ago. Then he had broken her heart and Trystan had been hard-pressed to so much as speak to the SOB ever since.
“What about you?” he asked Soph. “You’re happy?”
“Super-duper happy,” she said firmly.
“And you?” He looked to Logan, who was gazing on Sophie with such undisguised love, Trystan almost felt sorry for him. Not really, but almost.
“I know which one of us is the lucky one,” Logan assured him. “I won’t ever forget it, either.”
“Then I’m happy for the bunch of you.” Trystan shook his brother’s hand before he hugged the hell out of Sophie. He picked her up and twirled her and kissed her forehead when he set her on her feet. “You know you’re the little sister I’ve always wanted, right?”
“You have a little sister,” Biyen reminded him.
“But I didn’t know I would get her. Your mom is the one I’ve always wanted.” He set a knee on the gravel and opened his arms to Biyen. “Now I get to call you my nephew for real. Come here.”
Biyen gave him a loose hug, then jerked away. “We have to go or I’m going to miss the sea bus to day camp.”
“All right. Have fun.” Trystan stood.
“Congratulations,” Cloe said, waving and looking wistful as the threesome hurried away. “That’s nice news to start the day.”
“It is.” Trystan was genuinely pleased for them. If he had hand-picked a couple of women to become his sisters-in-law, he couldn’t have found a better pair than Emma and Sophie.
He was no dummy, though. He could already hear the “When do you plan to settle down” inquisition that would be aimed at him.
Thinking about that was like touching a broken tooth. He’d been close to proposing when he had realized his potential bride was using him for his money and his fame.
Have you heard the termparasocial… Yes, he had. He very much had.
He let his gaze track to Cloe, half expecting a calculating glint in her eye, but a dark cloud had settled across her expression.
“Okay?” he asked.
“Thinking about Tiff. She always wanted a huge wedding with the big dress and everything.” A haunted look had come into her eyes. “She didn’t want to get married without me there, though. That’s one of the reasons they were going to Vegas. I told her I couldn’t leave the state, but…”
“You can’t blame yourself for them being in the air that day. People make their own choices.”
“I know,” she murmured, but the shadows stayed in her eyes.
They had arrived at the front door so he didn’t say anything more. He knocked once and entered, letting Cloe go in while he unlaced his boots on the stoop.
