Page 82 of Hooked on Trouble

Panels line the walls, floor to ceiling, painted like the night sky. Or maybe wallpapered. The purples, blues, and blacks flow onto the tables, the ceiling covered in something similar. Moving lights dot the ceiling with stars, more candles than I’ve ever seen filling the space, some as tall as a man, all encased in glass. The flowers are wilder than the ones inked on Raven’s chest. It’s sexy and otherworldly, and I wish she were on my arm to enjoy it.

I scan the room, ready to bulldoze the place until I find her, but Sawyer’s mother blocks my way. “Thank God you’re here.”

Evelyn West is in a black, sparkly dress, her dark hair pinned on her head. She’s all class, as usual. “Did you think I’d bail?”

“Don’t be silly. But Sawyer needs your help.”

“Has he forgotten how to tie his tie?” My gaze slips past her, scanning, searching. What sounds like a harp plays from somewhere, each strum flowing over the guests. None of them Raven.

She fusses with the handkerchief in my pocket. “If I know my boy, his nerves are getting the best of him. The men’s area is sectioned off with the kitchen, and I’ve been banned. Would you mind checking on him?”

I mind not searching for Raven, but I can’t say no to the woman who’d let us boys tear up her lawn with our football games and raid her always-stocked fridge. “Sure. And trust me, nothing will stop him from marrying Lily.” Except I’ve seen Sawyer at his lowest. There’s a good chance he’s freaking out.

She pats my arm as I push through the crowd to find the groom. I find Kolton and his son instead. “Hey, little man.”

Jackson’s eyes light up, and he tries to tackle me. At eight years old, four-foot-nothing, and thin as a reed, he doesn’t make a dent, but I stumble back. “When did you get so strong?”

“I went to karate with Daddy this week and learned how to stand and do a snap kick and block a punch, and I think my muscles got really big.” He steps back, pushes his glasses up his nose, and shows me his kick.

This damn kid. Moving in with him and Kolton was one of the hardest and best experiences of my life. Losing his wife shook Kolton so thoroughly I’d be the one to wake up and feed Jackson, and I’d fall asleep with him on my chest. He peed on me. His diapers were a horror show. But when those brown eyes locked on mine, I was a goner.

I ruffle his hair. “I wouldn’t mess with you.”

Kolton fixes the little man’s suit jacket and squats in front of him. “Can you run this over to Shay?” He holds out a note.

Nodding, Jackson grabs the paper and jogs out.

“You passing notes to your girlfriend?” I ask.

Kolton straightens, a smirk in place. “I write her notes all the time.”

“You sure you want your kid accidentally reading it?”

“I kept this one PG and left out the dick pic.”

Such a comedian. “Probably for the best. Don’t want her thinking you’re romantic.”

“Too late for that.” He punches my shoulder. “Your sappiness rubbed off on me.”

Early on, with Raven, the comment would have worried me. I would have wondered if my feelings for her would fade like always, my sentimental side a constant joke with the guys. But everything with her is different. I want her more, think about her more. I wake up wishing she were beside me. I run with my weight vest on, the fire in my lungs no match for the dull ache behind my ribs. An ache that’s intensified since seeing her exhibit.

“Pretty sure that’s all Shay,” I say. “Should I be expecting another wedding soon?”

His blissed-out eyes are answer enough. “Hopefully. I’m trying to figure out the best way to ask. I was thinking of taking her back to Aspen.”

“Back to where it all began?”

“Yeah. I just don’t want it to be cheesy. And we fought a lot there. Might not be the best place.” He looks out over the city, the lights bright against the night sky. More voices drift from the main room. “It feels weird to want to marry someone else.”

He doesn’t mention Marina’s name, but he doesn’t have to. He lost so much the day he lost her, but he gained Jackson. “She would have loved Shay. Loved that she doesn’t take your shit.”

He laughs at that. “She would have.”

A makeshift kitchen is set up at the far end of our narrow space, cooks milling about as things sizzle and pop. We watch them fuss over hors d’oeuvres, the bites so small I’d need fifty to stave my hunger.

Kolton turns back to the window. “I’ll probably end up rolling over in bed one morning and asking. Not sure how much longer I can wait.”

If Raven and I can bridge the distance between us, I don’t imagine I’d be much farther behind. But tonight isn’t about Kolton or me. We’re here for Sawyer and Lily, and as his mother suspected, Sawyer’s nowhere to be seen. “Has the groom bailed?”