Page 117 of Forty, Flirty & F*cked

"Accidentally."

"Sure." He straightens his tie. "Because accidentally falling in love is totally your style."

I'm about to respond when Mac appears at the end of the aisle, and suddenly nothing else matters.

Because this—watching my best friend marry the love of his life, knowing my own wife is somewhere in the crowd probably already planning our next crisis—it feels like exactly where I'm supposed to be.

Even if I'd rather be thoroughly debauching said wife against a terrace wall.

But that's what forever is for, right?

The music changes, signaling the start of the ceremony, and I catch Ariana's eye across the courtyard. She winks, and my heart does that thing again—that complete rebellion against proper rhythm that started the moment she crashed into my life.

Forever, I think, has never looked so good.

30

THE BEST KIND OF FOREVER

ARIANA

There's something about watching two people promise forever that makes you believe in second chances.

Maybe it's the way Alex's voice shakes slightly when he says his vows, like even Seattle's most eligible tech CEO can be brought to his knees by love. Maybe it's how Mac looks at him like he's everything she's ever wanted, like some dreams are worth waiting for.

Or maybe it's the way my husband keeps stealing glances at me from the groomsmen's line, his eyes saying everything his CEO composure won't let him express.

Yet.

My phone buzzes silently in my bouquet:

LILY: OMG the livestream is perfect

LILY: By the way, Dad wants to know if the chapel would allow his new "ceremonial blend" at your proper wedding

I bite back a laugh as "You may now kiss the bride" rings out across the sanctuary. Alex kisses Mac like she's his favorite version of forever.

"Your sisters are blowing up the group chat," Mac's sister Lucia whispers from beside me in the bridesmaids' line.

I sneak another glance at my phone:

LILY: The groomsmen's suits are perfect!

LILY: Though maybe someone should've warned Connor about the Mediterranean Sunset pocket squares...

KAT: At least no one's covered in protein powder

KAT: Yet

KAT: Though Dad's been experimenting with a new "toast enhancement formula"

"Speaking of protein powder," Lucia murmurs as we follow the happy couple down the aisle, "please tell me someone checked your father's care package to the newlyweds?"

"Kat confiscated everything suspicious last night." I adjust my bouquet. “Watching her try to explain why the ceremonial blend couldn't be mixed into the wedding punch might have given me the laugh of my life.”

My phone lights up again during the portrait session:

LILY: Connor's looking at you like you're the only person in the room

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