Page 221 of Accidental Husband
One by one, everyone takes a turn. Everyone sings a song about love or marriage or forever.
They belt their heart out, then they come to us, whisper (or scream) their congratulations, hand the mic to the next victim.
It's way too much.
But it's perfect too.
* * *
"Is this killing you?"Brendon Kane, the most quiet and responsible of all the shop owners (Brendon, Ryan, Walker, and Dean co-own the shop together), sits next to us.
Griff chuckles. "Must be killing you." He nods to the front of the room. Brendon's sister Emma and his girlfriend Kaylee are singing a truly amazing pop-punk song. One of my favorites. One Griffin hates. Which means Brendon hates it. They're very aligned in their hatred of emo music.
Or they were, until the whole Paramore fuck thing.
My stomach flutters.
Brendon chuckles. He has a deep, low chuckle. He's that kind of guy. Tall. Handsome. Imposing. There's something intimidating about him.
Maybe it's that he's half a dozen years older. Maybe it's the quiet intelligence. The way he stares like he can wait forever for you to answer.
I don't know him well. I know he's hot (so hot). I know he fell madly in love with his sister's best friend while she was staying at their place. I know he treats his girlfriend Kaylee like a queen.
But other than that—
Well, I guess I know about his hatred of emo music.
"I meant the attention." Brendon's smile is slight. "It's a lot."
"Turns out people like talking about weddings," I say. "Especially when they were rash decisions."
"I have a client who did that," Brendon says.
"Oh?" I ask.
"Someone is getting on our turf?" Griffin laughs.
Brendon nodsthey are. "They were strangers. Met that night. But he knew. After a few hours, he knew."
"And now?" I ask.
"They've got a kid," he says. "They're the happiest couple I know."
"Besides you and Kaylee?" I ask.
His smile is sweet. Loving. And a little dirty. "Wasn't counting myself."
"When did you know?" I motion to his girlfriend. She's adorable with her champagne-blond hair and her blue glasses and her pastel cardigan. Adorable and young. She must be nineteen or twenty. Whereas he's in his late twenties.
"I knew for a long time," he says. "But I didn't want to believe it."
"You didn't want to admit you're a dirty perv?" Griffin asks.
I laugh. "Wes is right about tact."
Brendon shrugsit's okay. "No, you're right. I didn't want to cross that line. And I didn't think I was good enough for her." His smile gets dreamy. "Kay's an angel. She hates when I say she's perfect, because it's too much to live up to, but she is."
"You're not saying you expect her to be perfect," Griff says. "Only that she's perfect for you."
