“Noah, are you and Jordan happy? Remember, my offer still stands to kill you in your sleep if you hurt her. You can see that I am not above traveling long distances when the reason is important.”
At this, Noah cracks a smile, and Jordan materializes next to him, her and Maggie somehow forgotten by us for the moment. Maggie stands to my right, hesitating.
Jordan wraps her arms around him, edging Elaina out of the way, and the glint in her eyes says it all. She is happy, a type of happy I wasn’t capable of giving her, not then. Any doubt I had about Noah, about what he was willing to give to her, vanishes when I see him return her look, like she is the only person he sees, even after two years. And that’s all it takes for the tension to vanish.
“I’m really happy for you guys,” I tell them, ending Maggie’s hesitation by grabbing the belt loop of her coat and yanking her close, so there’s no more visible space between us.
“I’m Maggie,” she says, beating me to the introduction, her words coming out with a laugh.
“Maggie,” Jordan says, “this is Noah, and the bossy one is Elaina.”
Elaina’s brows shoot up, but then she says, “It is true. I am the bossy one.” Elaina glances pointedly at Duncan, then back at us. “Why does no one look surprised to see me?” But she doesn’t wait for an answer.
She wraps Maggie in a hug and kisses her on the cheek.
“He is a good one,” Elaina says, nodding her head at me. “He drank my coffee, the first time I offered.” She crosses her arm and huffs out a breath. “Jordan never drank my coffee. Where I come from, it is a great dishonor to refuse food or drink offered to you.”
“What?” Jordan interrupts. “You never said…dishonor?” Her expression looks crestfallen.
Elaina smiles. “I am fucking with you, * lightweight. Let’s see how you can hold your alcohol after two years of practice, yes?”
Jordan pouts, but a smile hides underneath the expression.
“No snakebites here,” I say. “You have to have one of their specialty drinks even though they cost, like, a hundred dollars.”
“Or…” Duncan says, resting his head on Elaina’s shoulder from behind. “We could all share the bottle of expensive champagne I ordered. Because Elaina has something she wants to tell everyone.”
Elaina pats his cheek lovingly, and I do my best to forget what she’s about to say so I can act surprised.
Her smile takes over her entire face. “I am going to wear a dress to my wedding…and the groom is going to wear a skirt.”
Maggie nudges my leg with her knee, reminding me this is where I’m supposed to say something, to react, but I already know I won’t get anything past Elaina’s radar. When I do open my mouth to finally speak, Maggie beats me to the punch.
“You’re getting married?”
The question is tinged with sweetness, with joy, and I know Maggie means it, despite her already knowing the news. While I want to hug her for rescuing me, I realize that no one is any match for Elaina.
Her eyes narrow on Maggie, who flinches at her stare. When Elaina’s gaze shifts to me, I’m positive she reads the word guilty stamped on my forehead. It’s when she cranes her neck to look at her fiancé that I want to run for cover. Nobody should watch what’s about to happen to Duncan.
“You told them?” Elaina’s voice is a low tremble. Then she does the strangest thing. She…smiles. “Who the fuck cares? I am getting married, and I am happy, and I want to share it with all of you. Let us drink the champagne and then decide if Jordan is still a * lightweight!”
“She is,” Noah assures us.
“I am,” Jordan adds.
At that, all of us burst into laughter as a server brings over a bottle and champagne flutes.
“Let me take your picture!” Maggie says, attempting to line us up in front of the unbelievable floor-to-ceiling windows.
“No fucking way,” I tell her, grabbing the camera from her hands and then tapping our server on the shoulder as he’s about to head back to the bar.
“Hey, man. Can you take our picture?”
“Sure,” he says, taking the camera and backing up while we get resituated.
I wrap my arms around Maggie, her back against my chest. When I lean down, intending to say something in her ear, she’s the one who speaks first.
“This isn’t my place, Griffin. I don’t belong here, as part of this special moment.”
Her voice strains, and it’s more than a need to keep the conversation private. She believes what she’s saying.
I start to answer, and she cuts me off again.
“These are your friends, from this amazing year that I wasn’t a part of, and…”
“Pippi,” I interrupt when she pauses for breath. “Can I say something now?”
She exhales and nods against me while we face the server, who waits while Elaina decides which angle best shows off her ring.
“You are here with me tonight because it’s exactly where I want you to be…and where I hope you want to be, too. That means every part of tonight includes you—with me. Every part. Because this is where you belong.”