Page 113 of Love or Leave

Max sipped his coffee, his eyes narrowing slightly over his cup. "What about?"

"Cara."

His friend's shoulders stiffened, but he nodded for him to continue. Antonio braced himself and went for it.

"I'm getting my new house next month, and I'm going to ask her to move in with me."

Max stared back at him, silent and unreadable.

It was intimidating as hell, but there was no way he was holding anything back from Max again.

He'd learned his lesson.

"I love her."

Slowly, the corner of Max’s mouth lifted, but his eyes stayed cold. “It’s a little fast, isn’t it?”

Antonio shrugged. The speed of it all didn't bother him. What was the point in delaying the inevitable? Besides, he wanted her to feel at home with him, and to think of his place as hers.

Max let go of the restraint in his expression and allowed the smile he’d been holding back to take over completely. "It's up to her, obviously," he said.

Antonio nodded. "I know, but given how we started…" He trailed off, stopping his mind from going backwards. He only wanted to look ahead. "I just wanted to let you know my intentions."

Max nodded and stared in silence. Finally, he stood from his seat and picked up the tray.

"I'm rooting for you, man," he said with a clap on Antonio's back.

"Thanks," he said, relaxing fractionally.

Just then, the doors opened and in walked Ethan and Adam. They all greeted each other, then headed back to the suite to hang out and get ready.

Antonio fell to the back of the pack as he pulled out his phone and opened his conversation with Cara.

Antonio: I can't wait to see you. I love you.

A second later, his phone lit up with her response.

Cara: Love you too. Big day.

It was a big day. For them, too. He was going to ask her to move in with him. Hopefully, she'd say yes. And maybe one day soon they'd all be gathering together, getting ready to celebrate him and Cara getting married.

One thing at a time.

Chelsea stood in front of the full-length mirror in the bridal suite and fought back tears as Jae stood behind her, fastening the long row of satin buttons. The soft white gown draped artfully off her shoulders and down her curves, sparkling just enough to catch the cool winter sunlight streaming through the windows.

The outside world looked like a picture-perfect winter wonderland with thick snow coating the pine trees around the golf course. If she'd hired an Oscar Award-winning set designer to style the scene, they couldn't have made it more perfect.

"There," Jae said, stepping away. "Done."

Chelsea swallowed down her emotions and turned toward her friends, who'd gathered in the room, already dressed in their stunning silk gowns. They'd went with a grounded glam theme—"Blue Collar Met Gala," as Adam pitched it.

She loved it almost as much as she loved him.

She'd spent the last couple of months in awe of his enthusiasm with the wedding planning. He'd spoken of nothing but the food and music and flowers. She was pretty certain she was the luckiest person on earth.

Just then, the door to the bridal suite opened, and in came her son, fully dressed in a tiny black tuxedo and shiny shoes.

Her heart backed up in her throat and she blinked again and again, but she couldn't stop a few tears from falling.

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