Take Your Time (Boston Love #4)(64)

“So, what were you boys up to? What secret mission did you embark on that made you fifteen minutes late?”

Nate’s eyes crinkle warmly. “Not a secret — a surprise.”

“I hate surprises.”

“Sorry, little bird, you’ll just have to wait until tomorrow to find out.”

“But—”

“Phoebe.” He shoots her a look. “Don’t ruin your own wedding present.”

Her mouth snaps shut, not about to jeopardize a potential gift opportunity.

Grinning, Gemma claps her hands to get everyone’s attention. “All right, so the aisle will be over there — they’re not delivering the chairs until tomorrow morning, but it’s marked so you know where you’ll be walking. We’ll start halfway down the tank and work our way up in pairs once the music starts. Nate goes first, then the best man and maid of honor—” She glances warmly at her fiancé. “—Followed by the rest of you. Theo you’re with Lila, Owen’s accompanying Shelby, and Luca’s walking with Chrissy. And then... dun dun dun da da.” Gemma glances at her sister. “Forgetting anything?”

“The ring bearer — Chrissy, you’re bringing Winnie here early tomorrow, to walk him through it, right?”

Chrissy beams at the mention of her adorable toddler, Winston, who’s won the honor of carrying the rings down the aisle tomorrow. “He’s been wearing his tux around the house all week, practicing with Mark. Trust me, he’ll be ready.”

“Great. That’s everyone, then.” Phoebe smiles. I see a flash of sadness in her eyes and know she’s thinking about her big brother. Parker and Zoe are still on the other side of the world — they couldn’t make it back for the wedding. And, since Phoebe’s mom is dead and her dad is in prison… there’s no one to give her away. She’ll be walking herself down the aisle tomorrow.

She’s been putting on a brave face about it, but I know deep down she’s disappointed. It’s the one dark spot on her otherwise perfect day.

Phoebe clears her throat. “Oh, look — there’s our minister. You guys go line up downstairs, I’m going to make sure we’re all set for tomorrow. We’ll join you in a minute.”

She laces her hand with Nate’s and they walk over to greet the woman who’ll be officiating their ceremony. The rest of us descend as a group, Gemma, Chrissy and Shelby carrying most of the conversation. The Knox Investigations boys are many things, but chatty isn’t one of them. Small talk is not one of their specialties. In fact, when they’re not tracking down bad guys, they spend most of their time brooding sexily, occasionally grunting something bossy but monosyllabic at the women in their lives.

I roll my eyes.

Halfway down, we stop to stare at the fish in the pale blue glow of the tank. I don’t look at Luca, but I can feel his presence as keenly as if he’s an extension of my own body, hovering at my back.

Don’t think about his eyes on you. Or his hands, for that matter. And definitely, under no circumstances, think about his mouth.

The three minutes it takes Nate and Phoebe to join us feel like the longest of my life. I try to stay focused on the exhibit, watching a steady parade of fish swim by until the music starts drifting down from the overhead speakers. Tomorrow, there’ll be a string quartet playing, but we’re making due with a piped-in recording for the rehearsal.

“Guess that’s my cue,” Nate murmurs. With a final glance at Phoebe, he starts walking up the spiral.

The rest of us fall into line in silence. Theo looks down at me with a warm expression.

“Ready, partner?” I ask, smirking.

“Ready for the after party,” he mutters under his breath. “This part is just pomp.”

“Not a fan of weddings?”

“As a general rule, no.” His eyes scan me from top to toe. “This one, however, might be a special case.”

I open my mouth to respond, but before I can there’s a growling sound from behind me. I don’t even have time to turn around when Luca shoves his way through the procession and steps between me and Theo.

“Luca what the hell?” I hiss at his back, which is suddenly blocking my view of my escort. Gemma and Chase have already taken off — it’s our turn to depart.

“Problem, Buchanan?” Theo asks.

“Yeah. You’re in my spot.”

“Excuse me?”

“We’re switching.” His pause is lethal. “Move.”

“Why should I?”

Luca doesn’t say a word. I can’t see his face, but whatever threat he puts in his eyes is enough to make Theo — a thoroughly jacked, six-foot-two macho man — turn and walk away without a fight. The sight is enough to enrage me.

“Luca!” My fists strike the broad planes of his back. “You can’t just do things like this!”

He doesn’t even flinch.

I scream in frustration as several muffled giggles reach my ears. Pivoting toward my friends, I find Shelby, Chrissy, and even Phoebe staring at me with identical expressions of amusement. Owen, to his credit, looks just as bored as he did before the altercation. Taking his place beside Chrissy, Theo winks at me and shrugs, as if to say, Sorry, doll, what did you expect me to do?

Ugh! Men.