Page 44 of The Rescuer

Hailey looked around the table, a dopey grin plastered on her face. “Isn’t this amazeballs? A threefer! Who’d have thought we’d all end up married the day before Thanksgiving?”

“Does it bother you that everyone kind of, um, horned in?” Neve ventured.

“Not at all,” Noah laughed. “The bros planned it that way so none of us forgets his anniversary.”

“Except Thanksgiving doesn’t fall on the same day every year,” Joy deadpanned.

“Shit. Hadn’t considered that.” Noah shrugged. “Guess we’ll all remember or forget together then.”

“And end up in the same doghouse,” Charlie supplied.

Reece’s stomach protested against the coffee, bubbling with fresh acid. His wavering hope died on the vine. He turned his head toward Neve, whose eyes reminded him of the proverbial deer in the headlights.

“How solid is a marriage license in Nevada anyway?” Neve floated out there. “I mean, they make it easy to get hitched. It’s probably easy to getunhitched, right?”

Reece slurped his piping-hot brew, burning the roof of his mouth.Son of a bitch!

Noah lowered his empty coffee cup. “Pretty solid, I think. Why, are you already looking to back out?”

Reece blew on his steaming java and mumbled, “I’m not really sure how webackedin.”

Noah didn’t seem to hear. “Can’t blame you, Doc.” He hooked a thumb in Reece’s direction. “You probably woke up next to his surly ass this morning and thought, ‘What in the name of hell have I done?’ Am I right?” Noah’s comment was playful, with no clue how dead-on he was. “But it was bound to happen sooner or later.”

Reece’s head snapped up. “What doesthatmean?” He stole a glance at Neve, who wore a clueless expression that probably matched his own.

“Oh, come on!” Noah scoffed. “You two have been dancing around the inevitable for years. I’m just surprised it didn’t happen sooner—like while you were still in high school.”

“What?”Neve’s cup clattered onto her saucer, and some of the tea sloshed over the side.

Noah fixed his gaze on her. “You didn’t see this coming?”

“A Vegas wedding on Thanksgiving Eve? No, I’ve got to admit I’m a little blindsided here.”

“Okay, so maybe not the setting you envisioned, but you always pictured yourself married to—Ow! What was that for?” He narrowed his eyes on Hailey, who had just delivered a sneaky jab of her elbow to his upper arm.

She topped off Noah’s coffee with a guileless smile. Her gaze shifted, bouncing between Reece and Neve. “Do you remember the Jell-O shots Alma served us before you got down to the jewelry shopping?”

“That woman is evil,” Charlie snorted.

Joy corrected him. “No, she’s a smart businesswoman doing whatever it takes to make her business thrive.” When he frowned at her, she quickly added, “I’m not saying I agree with her tactics, but you have to admit, they’re effective.”

Hailey cleared her throat, pulling everyone’s attention back to her. “After the shots—and Reece, I wasn’t counting, but I think you threw down at least half that tray because you wanted to sample all the flavors so you could pick a favorite—”

He interrupted. “Did I?” Hailey’s eyebrows furrowed. “Pick a favorite?” God, this conversation was growing more inane—and insane—by the second, and Reece was the acting catalyst.

“Don’t know. Grape, maybe? Anyway, you decided Joy and Charlie needed your advice.”

Charlie let go a mirthless laugh. “And let me tell you, big bro, you were mighty damn free with that advice.”

“Well, anyway,” Hailey continued, “Charlie challenged you to pick out a ring you would want to present ifyouwere proposing to someone, and you guys started arguing. Then you pointed to a ring—the one on Neve’s finger—and Charlie said something about you picking that one becauseyou would never propose to anyone anyway, and you seemed to take exception to that. That’s when you proposed to Neve.”

“In the jewelry store?” Reece spluttered.

“Yeah, you’re a real romantic, dude,” Noah quipped.

“Right by the jewelry case. It was really cute.” Hailey waved her phone in the air. “I have video of it right here.”

Reece held out his hand. “Let me see that.” Neve crowded in beside him as Hailey pulled up the screen and handed over the phone.

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