Staying For Good
Page 26

“You’re a saint.” Zoe kissed Miss Gina’s cheek good night before she walked out the door.
Mel filled a serving tray with empty glasses and headed toward the kitchen while Zoe followed behind with a tray full of dirty plates.
Luke and Wyatt sat down in the empty room.
“What a whirlwind.” Wyatt kicked his feet up on the coffee table and rested his head on the sofa.
“I think it went well,” Luke said. “No family drama, no one puked on the carpet.”
Wyatt laughed. “Your bar is really low, my friend.”
“I have yet to attend a wedding without both.”
“Apparently engagement parties don’t have the same effect on people.”
Zoe and Mel walked in side by side.
Wyatt scooted over on the sofa and patted the space beside him. “You heard Miss Gina . . . tomorrow is soon enough.”
Mel didn’t argue and hit the couch with a heavy sigh.
Zoe, however, continued to put glasses on a tray.
“You’ve done enough, Zoe. Don’t make me feel guilty for sitting,” Mel said.
“I’ll just put these in the dishwasher.”
Luke lifted himself off his ass and walked behind Zoe. He took the empty glass in her hand away, set it down, and pulled her away from the mess.
She started to protest and noticed everyone watching her.
Much as Luke wanted to pull her into his lap, he directed her to a chair beside his and pushed her shoulders until she was sitting. “There, much better.”
“The food was amazing,” Mel told Zoe.
“It’s what I do best.”
Luke could argue that, but didn’t. He watched Zoe tuck a finger into the back strap of her left shoe and kick it off. After the right one followed, she slowly rubbed her instep. Without a second thought, he reached down, encouraged her to lean back, and lifted her feet onto his lap.
The woman had beautiful feet.
The first press of his thumb against her instep had her moaning and closing her eyes. “You’re hired.”
“We’re going to have to figure something else out other than you cooking for the wedding. I don’t want you working that hard on our day.”
Zoe popped one eye open. “You want someone else to cook?”
“I want you to enjoy the day. Besides, you’ll be wearing a bridesmaid’s dress, not an apron.”
Luke found a tiny knot in the arch of her foot.
Zoe nearly groaned. “I can bring in my team . . . oh, God do that again.”
Luke did it again.
“You have a team?” Wyatt asked.
“I can round up the right people to prepare what you want. We’ll have to figure the menu out early enough so I can get the right people.” Zoe spoke with her eyes closed and her toes wiggling.
Luke softened his touch and rubbed each toe before moving to her other foot.
“Everyone was asking about a wedding date tonight.”
“I’m leaving that up to you,” Wyatt told Mel.
“Why me?”
“Because every man in the room tonight told me to let you decide on date, time, place, flowers, food . . . everything. Saves arguing and aggravation.”
“Don’t you want to plan it together?” Mel asked.
Luke met Wyatt’s gaze.
“I’ll plan the bachelor party,” Wyatt told her.
Mel frowned.
“That’s my job,” Luke chimed in.
Wyatt pointed in his direction. “Right. Then I’ll just show up wearing the required attire, put a ring on your finger, and kiss you for the camera.”
Mel wasn’t smiling.
Even Zoe stopped moaning long enough to open her eyes and catch the tension.
“What kind of flowers do you want?” Mel asked.
“Anything but plastic.”
“Wedding cake?”
“Chocolate.”
“Boring!” It was Zoe’s turn to add her opinion.
“We can have more than one layer,” Mel said.
“Or a groom’s cake,” Zoe added.
“Should the invitations be modern or traditional?”
“I don’t care.”
Luke didn’t either.
“What about a wedding date? Don’t you want to figure that out together?”
Wyatt leaned over and kissed his future bride. “I don’t care. I want you to be happy . . . so if it takes you six months to plan the wedding, great. Three, even better. We’re in this together forever, so do what you have to do.”
That had Mel smiling and leaning in for a kiss.
Luke looked away and found Zoe watching them with a tiny smile.
When they finished kissing, Mel said, “We should talk about budget.”
Wyatt reached over to where his jacket lay over the back of the sofa and into the inside pocket. He removed a dozen envelopes and handed them to Mel.
“What’s this?”
“A little help from our friends.”
“Seriously?” Mel ripped into the first envelope and pulled out several crisp hundred-dollar bills. “Who is this from?”
“My parents, your dad . . . Great Aunt Minnie.”
“I don’t have a Great Aunt Minnie.”
Wyatt laughed. “Me either. Who cares? People wanna help. Let them.”
Zoe lifted a hand in the air. “I agree with Wyatt on this one.”
“Add this up and let’s figure out what else we need.”
“The bachelor party is on me.” Luke made sure his donation was in advance and evident.