“Of course I’m sure. Cooper and I are done. Over.”
After a beat of silence, Maddie just shrugged. “Whatever you say.”
“Owen’s waving you over,” Lexie said, abruptly changing the subject.
“I’ll go see what he wants,” she murmured.
With a quick squeeze to Lexie’s arm, Maddie drifted away, wondering if the other woman realized what Maddie had seen the moment Cooper’s name had been mentioned. No, she didn’t think Lexie was even aware of it.
But it didn’t take a genius to see that Lexie was in love with the guy.
And speaking of love, Owen had noticed her coming toward him and his handsome face brightened at the sight of her. He held out his arms to her, and a smile stretched across Maddie’s face as she walked into the embrace of the man she loved.
Maddie smelled like heaven. She was wearing some kind of perfume that smelled like honey and sunflowers and Owen breathed her in as he planted a quick kiss on her neck. She looked like heaven too, in a pale-green strapless dress that draped over her long body in Grecian-style folds. The other bridesmaids were wearing the same dress, but Owen hadn’t even noticed them. He only had eyes for Maddie.
“Well, well, what happened to the tomboy I knew and loved?”
Owen rolled his eyes as his twin brother approached them, a champagne glass in his hand. This was the first time he’d seen Jake in nearly a year, and he was still trying to comprehend the subtle change he’d noticed in his brother. Although their features were identical, Jake’s face had a harder edge to it now, made all the more lethal by his military buzz cut and the new scar slashing through his left eyebrow. Owen hadn’t had a chance to ask Jake about the scar—it hadn’t been there last time Jake had come home—but Jake’s missions were usually top secret, which meant Owen wouldn’t be privy to the details anyway.
“Jake,” Maddie said in delight.
Owen experienced an odd spark of jealousy as Maddie hugged his twin brother. The spark died when he saw Jake pinch one of Maddie’s cheeks as if he were her elderly aunt or something.
“You clean up well, Wilson,” Jake teased, his gray eyes dancing with amusement.
“So do you,” she replied with a grin. She gestured to his black tux. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you without camo pants and a T-shirt.”
“Mom would’ve killed me if I wore that to my big brother’s wedding,” Jake said with a sigh.
Owen smiled as he watched the exchange between Maddie and his twin. It brought him a weird sense of pleasure that she got along so well with his family. His mother had already pulled him aside and begged him to let her plan the wedding, a suggestion he’d merely laughed at. He definitely wasn’t ready for that, but the fact that he hadn’t been terrified when his mom said the word wedding told him that his feelings for Maddie were as strong as he’d suspected. He loved being with her, loved the sex, and now he was loving the way she interacted with his family. She was already growing closer to Charlotte, his new sister-in-law, and he’d even seen her joking around with his uncle Rice earlier.
“Are you going to tell us about the scar?”
Maddie’s question caught his attention, but as he’d figured, Jake simply shrugged and gave a secretive little smile. “Nope,” he said.
Her eyes narrowed, focusing on someone behind Owen. “And you,” she called, “don’t tell me you’ve been fighting battles too.”
Owen turned to see his younger brother approach. Austin’s appearance was probably even more startling than Jake’s—his face was thinner, his body a bit lean beneath his tuxedo, and as Maddie had noticed, he had a new scar too, a thin pink line along the curve of his jaw. But it wasn’t just Austin’s looks that troubled Owen. His little brother had barely said two words to their mother in the three days he’d been home, and Owen still couldn’t figure out what had gone down. Della had admitted that she and Austin had had a falling out, but he couldn’t seem to pry any details out of either of them. He knew he wouldn’t get any answers today either, not during Nate’s big day.
“No battles, just a knife fight in Johannesburg,” Austin said as he joined them, flashing his teeth in a nonchalant grin.
“A knife fight?” both Owen and Jake demanded.
Austin ignored the identical disapproving tones. “Some asshole was trying to steal my camera—what was I supposed to do, let him take it?”
“Yes,” the twins said in unison.
Austin looked to Maddie for backup. “Tell my brothers to stop worrying about me. I’m a big boy.”
Maddie grinned. “Big boys don’t play with knives, pal.” She glanced at Owen. “Would you mind getting me an iced tea? I’d get it myself, but your mom is standing by the drink table and I’m scared she’s going to ask me about wedding dresses again.”