Page 44 of Unbound

“So… have you talked to him?” Raven asks when I sigh heavily.

“A little. He went to the store with us.”

“How’d that go?”

“Good until I asked why he was home. Apparently that’s not something he wants to talk about.”

Raven shakes her head. “Something happened with Beck and Lincoln. He didn’t tell me but Linc texted me and said some shit went down with them all after Friday night’s show.”

Figures he wouldn’t tell me about it. God forbid he confide in anyone.

I think Lenny can sense my frustration as she burps Chevy against her shoulder, her hands rubbing his back gently. Chevy looks a lot like Red, but I see so much of Lenny in him too and a little of Nova. He’s got Red’s eyes but Lenny’s lighter straight hair. His personality is completely different from Lyric too. While my little guy is always smiling, Chevy’s serious just like Red. He often stares at poor Lyric like he can’t figure out what he’s smiling at.

“Fuck, I’m getting married in a week,” Lenny says, shaking her head when Nikole brings out the dress for her and hangs it on the side of the dressing room.

Raven smacks her shoulder with an eye roll. “I don’t know why you’re so scared. You’re living together, you have a son… what’s the big deal?”

“Um… hello, my last marriage didn’t work out so well.”

“Yeah, but Red’s nothing like Ben. And I’d straight up murder my brother if he ever laid a hand on you.” Her eyes widen. “In anger.”

“I’m just saying, this marriage has to stick. What if he decides the night before he’s making a mistake?”

“That’s not going to happen, you weirdo. Now go try on your dress.” Raven pushes her inside the dressing room and then looks over at me. “She’s exhausting.”

“She’s nervous.” I giggle. “You have to admit after everything she’s been through, it’s normal for her to react this way.”

“So you’d be nervous if you and Rawley got married?”

I snort. “Rawley and I are barely talking, let alone anything to do with marriage.”

“True.”

“What about you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Marriage,Tyler… have you guys thought about it?”

“A little. I have one more year left of school so he said we’d talk then. Living together is great though. It’s nice not to have to leave for sex. I can just roll over and it’s there if I want it.”

I frown at her and set my coffee down. “Okay, now you’re bragging. Stop it.”

Lenny comes out of the dressing room in her dress and both Raven and I stop and stare. There’s something so beautiful about a woman in a white dress and the anticipation of her wedding days away. Her cheeks are flushed with excitement and nerves, while her eyes are uneasy, nervously fretting over everything she doesn’t need to be. I understand Lenny’s nerves. I do.

Ben, her ex-husband was about as vile as they get, and everything she’s ever known about love has been neglect and abuse. Until now. Red and his family have showed her a side she could never imagine so naturally she’s nervous. If I had to guess, she’s thinking, how can this happen to someone like me?

Lenny’s eyes remain downcast, her fingers bunching in the fabric at her hips. “What do you guys think?”

Raven lets out a shaky breath and stands at her side. “You look amazing.”

She really does. Her long white dress is fitted to her body and cut low in the front, but modestly so. I do as Raven does and stand next to her. “It’s beautiful on you.”

“Not everyone can pull off a white dress,” Raven tells her, staring at Lenny’s ass in the dress.

Lenny pushes her. “Stop it. You’ll look amazing too.”

“If I get married.”

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