Page 99 of Yours, Now and Always
“Guilty as charged.” He leans down and brushes his mouth over mine. “Come on. I’ll take you to bed.”
I’m about to agree to that when Tim’s booming voice cuts in.
“YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BED JUST YET, AMELIA SINCLAIR-BLACK!”
His voice rings out loudly and I’m 99% sure he thinks he’s hosting the Met Gala afterparty and I’m the theme.
“Heavens above, it is only ten-thirty, and you are not forty yet!” he continues. “I swear to God, if you disappear now, I will stage a dramatic reenactment of this entire wedding using sock puppets and force everyone to stay another three hours.”
I stare at him. “You brought sock puppets?”
“No,” he says, very seriously. “But Iwillmake them. Out of Colin’s socks if I have to. And nobody wants that. Least of all Colin.”
Colin groans. “I really, really don’t.”
“So, we’re all just going to take a moment,” Tim says, climbing onto a chair with the self-confidence of someone who’s both buzzed and blessed.
All our family members have joined us, and Tim glances around at them. “Hi, okay, everyone shut up—hi. It’s me. The hotter Sinclair sibling. Don’t fact-check that.”
Everyone laughs.
“Oh no,” I whisper to Gage.
“So,” Tim carries on. “If any of you doubted my sister would ever let someone marry her again, same. Turns out, she married a billionaire. Wild. Ten-year-old me thought she’d marry a barista with a poetry addiction, but here we are. Capitalism won.”
“Tim,” I hiss. “You already gave a speech, remember?”
He looks down at me, undeterred. “Okay, yes, I already gave a toast. But I’ve reflected. I’ve evolved. I’ve remembered more feelings I urgently need to share.”
He clears his throat and eyes everyone again. “Anyway, Amelia and Gage are literallycouple goalsbut also like...feral soulmates. It’s giving ‘if we die, we die together.’”
I bury my face in my hands. “Oh my god.”
“No, because listen. This man built her a glass cathedral in the woods. Not a Pinterest mood board, a whole-ass architectural love letter. Like, sir? Some of us are still waiting on a text back.”
There’s more laughter, and I want to tell everyone to stop encouraging him. And good god, even Gage manages a smile.
“So, here’s my official toast.” He lifts his glass. “To Amelia and Gage: may your love stay unhinged, your trauma be compatible, and your arguments stay hot enough for foreplay.”
I shake my head. “You didnotjust say ‘trauma be compatible’ at my wedding.”
Tim grins as he gets down from the chair. “You’re welcome.”
Gage looks at Tim with his signature intensity. “You realize I could have security escort you out.”
“Security?” Tim gestures around the intimate gathering. “It’s literally just family here, Gage. Who’s gonna do it? Your dad?”
“No,” Edmund says firmly. “I’m not getting involved.”
Olivia laughs. “Smart man.”
Gage throws some whiskey down his throat before saying, “I noticed you left out the part where you got my mother and my wife high for hours before the ceremony.”
Tim’s smile freezes. “I was hoping we’d moved past that.”
“Moved past it?” Hayden says. “Mom spent fifteen minutes explaining to a tree why she’s proud of Gage.”
“I heard the tree was very receptive,” Ethan says with a shit-stirring grin.
