Page 58 of Manhattan Bossholes

“Hey, did someone call a meeting without alerting the rest of us?”

Paul and I turned to find Trent, Aiden, and Dominic storming toward us.

“Yeah, what’s going on over here?” Dominic asked. “You guys look intense.”

Once again, Dee’s Lost Boys showed up for each other. It didn’t matter how much we’d grown and changed in the years since college; we had an unbreakable bond. When things got tough, we were there.

I felt so lucky to have this crew in my corner.

Paul gave them a halfhearted wave. “Hey guys. Just trying to keep calm and carry on, you know?” He hitched a thumb over his shoulder toward the steep stairs behind him. “Guess we need to get used to these.”

“Nope, absolutely not,” Aiden said with authority. “We’re getting that elevator fixed if we have to do it ourselves.”

“Yeah, it’s not like Nana Dee and the old aunts and uncles can make it up those steps,” Trent added.

Paul sighed as he nodded.

“Hold up. Whatever has you upset is bigger than the elevator, isn’t it?” Aiden asked. “What’s going on?”

Paul looked around at us. “Too much to get into now. Let’s just say I’ll be happy when tomorrow is over, and I can get back to real life. I want to be married to Chloe, but the wedding can go fuck itself.”

Dominic snorted. “Good luck with that,” he said, almost to himself.

It was no secret that our sole married friend wasn’t having the easiest time in his marriage. The one bright spot in his life was his three-year-old daughter, Hailey.

“Hey,” Trent said. “Are you sure? Because we could kidnap your ass and get you out of here⁠—”

I scowled at him. “Trent, stop. He doesn’t need that right now.”

“Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood. You know we all love you, man. And Chloe.”

Paul’s shoulders sagged. “And so do I. That’s not the problem at all. Chloe is incredible, and I hope you guys find someone as special.” He glanced toward me, Aiden, and Trent.

My stomach dipped when my mind immediately conjured up a vision of Piper. Yeah, she was pretty amazing. I wasn’t exactly sure where things stood between us, but I was enjoying it too much to question it.

“Maybe you’re getting all the tough stuff out of the way in the beginning. When everything seems perfect at the start, you never really find out if you know how to work your way through problems,” Dominic said, sounding injured by whatever he was facing.

I knew that for a fact. Just look at my parents. They were deeply in love, and they still wound up divorced. And my dad had kept trying to recapture the magic, only to fail time after time.

“Hey, no matter what, you know you’ve always got us, right?” I asked.

“I do,” Paul agreed. “Thanks for always having my back.”

“Listen to you with the ‘I do,’” Aiden laughed. “Are you practicing for tomorrow?”

“Don’t need to. That part will come easy,” Paul lightened up a little at the thought. “It’s all of this,” he gestured around the space, “that’s going to kill me.”

“Stop worrying—we’ve got you,” Dominic said. He glanced past us to where everyone else was gathered. “Not so sure about your bride and her crew, though. Looks like they’re all arguing with someone at the door? Let’s go see what’s up.”

The three of them stalked out toward the hubbub, leaving Paul and me alone once again.

“I’m only going to ask one more time; you sure you’re okay?” I said pointedly, locking in on his face so I could watch his expression and make sure he was telling me the truth.

“Yeah, I want to know too,” a soft voice drifted over to us.

We both turned to find Piper standing in the doorway, her face creased with worry.

“Hey, you,” Paul said, brightening a bit. “What’s going on over there with Chloe?”