Page 156 of Attached At Heart
She shrugged and inspected her nails, remaining silent.
“Why weren’t you sure of me?” I pressed, not truly caring but curious all the same. “We didn’t even meet until after Delaney and I got married. The first time.”
“That’sexactlywhy I wasn’t sure of you.” She pointed her manicured finger at me, an accusation. “I wasn’t sure if you were the real deal or not.”
My brows pulled together. “I married Delaney without a moment of hesitation.”
“Still.” She shrugged again, waving her hand. “You could have been love bombing her or something.”
I shook my head with another laugh, considering the reality of what happened. “It was actually a bit of the opposite.”
She had no idea how much restraint I’d used over the yearsnotto bombard Delaney with my feelings.
“Well, I know that now. But before, I had no clue about the whole inheritance thing.” She shot me a glare as though it was my fault she didn’t know. “Obviously, or I never would have mentioned to Elizabeth and Robert that you eloped. I wish Laney would have explained everything to me. I mean, I’mallfor taking money from my grandparents. They certainly don’t need it anymore.”
I chuckled, understanding why, of everyone in her family, Ophelia was the only person Delaney remained close to outside of Bryan.
“Well, everything worked out,” I said. “Robert and Elizabeth even made an appearance tonight.”
I was worried about Delaney’s parents coming, but it had gone well. Her mom acted cordial, and her dad had seemed truly happy to be included. It wouldn’t repair the years of damage they’d done to their daughter, but it was something.
Ophelia rolled her eyes at the mention of her aunt and uncle. “They’ll leave when the wine runs out.”
I raised a brow. “Who said the wine is going to run out?”
“See?” She smirked. “I knew I liked you.”
“Actually, what I think you said was that you weren’t sure if?—”
“You should really go find your wife,” she cut in, her lips curving further. “And do something about your brother.”
“Shit. Right.” I stood straighter, immediately twisting around in search of Lane. Darting away from Ophelia, I rounded the corner of the winery to where a big tent had been set up. The DJ and the dance floor sat in a large open spot between the canvas structure and the vineyard, surrounded by bouquets of tulips. I hadn’t been able to grow a tulip field in Massachusetts in time for today, but I had been able to buy as many tulips as my credit card would allow for the occasion.
I spotted Delaney standing next to the DJ booth. And holy shit, she took my breath away. How was it even possible that she was real? I’d asked myself that a million times over in the last year, but today especially. Our life was a thing of dreams. Truly, undeniably, unbelievably perfect.
The cardiac center was well underway. We’d rented a space in an established clinic while we got on our feet and continued putting things in place to open our own doors. We now housedour free CPR clinics there as well. A small portion of the inheritance had been saved for a tiny but homey brownstone, which sat perfectly situated between Natalie’s place and Bryan’s new supported-living apartment. Despite everything going on with the clinic, our schedules were still a bit more predictable than a trauma surgeon’s, so Chloe usually walked over to our house after school and hung out until dinnertime, or later sometimes. ShelovedBryan, who came over equally often.
I smiled at Lane as I walked up, struggling to take my eyes off her. But then Sully’s face wormed its way into my vision, and I narrowed my gaze.
My brother sat behind the DJ booth, a goofy grin on his face. And the DJ was nowhere to be seen.
Jesus Christ.
“Oh my God, did you really chase him away?”
I should have run over here faster.
“Nah.” Sully waved off my concern. “I just told him to go get some snacks and wine for a bit.”
“So you told our DJ to go get drunk?”
“No.” Sully drew out the word. “I just told him I’d keep an eye on things for him while he took a short break. But now that you’re here…” Sully stood, clapped a hand on my shoulder, and flashed me a smile. “Happy for you, man,” he said before striding away and leaving me with Delaney.
Delaney.
Delaney London, Delaney London, Delaney London.
Today, that became doubly true.
