Page 25 of Sweetheart and the Grouch
“Do you think that’s what this is?”
“I don’t know if any of this stuff is certain. But it sure feels like it.”
“Yeah,” I say, smiling up at him and relishing in the feeling of completeness. “It sure does.”
AJAX
“Absolutely not. No way. Hell will freeze over before I evenbeginto accept there’s such a thing.” Rafe sits on a stool at the bar insideValentines Bar & Grill,the business my cousins run together, and the place where it’s now tradition to close up for the day when one of us gets married—like Ainsley and I are today.
Rafe is now officially the only Valentine man who hasn’t been hit with the love bug yet, so all of the Valentine men in town are standing around giving him shit. He’s not having it.
“I don’t know why you’re fighting it,” our cousin, Remy says as he hands Rafe an uncapped bottle of beer. “Not one of us has succeeded.”
“Not that you tried,” Remy’s brother, Otis, says with a smirk. “The moment Samantha came barreling over chasing that husky, you were smitten.”
“So were you,” the oldest of our cousins, Kellen booms as he slaps Otis on the back. “I saw you making eyes at Yvette that very same day. Just took you longer to admit you’d caught feelings.”
“Well, we can’t all be you, cousin,” Dylan says with a chuckle. “You and Jade had a single conversation and you were ready to put a ring on it.”
“Hey, I’m a man who’s in touch with his heart,” Kellen says amiably. “I knew Jade belonged to me the moment she stepped into the bar.”
“None of this is gonna be me,” Rafe insists, sucking on his beer and shaking his head. “I am not buyin’ that there’s some mystical, magical thing floating about in the air that makes sane men go stupid. What I reckon is that you’ve all been brainwashed, so from now on…” He pauses and reaches into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulls out a pair of dark sunglasses. “I’m gonna start wearing these. Those jackets or maybe the earrings the girls wear are hypnotizing us.”
I burst out with a laugh. “Considering they don’t even get the jacket untilafterthe weddin’, Rafe, I don’t think it’s that.”
“Then it’s the earrings.”
“Can’t be.” I smirk as I shake my head. “Ainsley doesn’t have her ears pierced.”
“Whatever.” He presses his lips together in a huff. “I’m still not falling for it. So don’t even try to…” His words drop off as the front door opens and a woman wearing a long flowing skirt with wild brown hair hanging past her elbows steps in. “Uh…”
“I’m sorry to interrupt. But I’m here looking for Serenity. Someone in town said she might be here.”
Rafe gulps.
We all exchange amused looks. “She’s upstairs with the rest of the Soulwink sisters,” my brother, Nelson—Serenity’s husband—says with a smirk and his gaze half on Rafe. “You can go up there and join them.”
She brightens the room with a massive smile. “Thanks,” she says, making her way up there.
We wait all of five seconds before we laugh at Rafe.
“Not falling for any of it, huh?” I say, bumping into him with my elbow. “What do you call that?”
“Nothing. I was surprised by all the hair,” he argues, only making us laugh more.
“Well, I’m gonna tell her she’s welcome to stay for the wedding festivities,” I say.
His eyes go wide. “What?”
“Hey. If there’s no such thing as a Soulwink, you’ve got nothing to worry about, right?”
He mumbles into his bottle and slumps against the bar, which is exactly when Jade comes down the stairs and makes an announcement.
“The bride is ready.”
She smiles my way and I blow out a nervous and excited breath. Then I move to the front of the room and ready myself for what is going to be the first day of the rest of my life as Ainsley’s husband and Elena’s guardian.
She walks toward me looking like an angel on earth, and I’m a blubbering mess as we say our I do’s. As we seal it all with a kiss, I realize that I’ve had a lot of things go right in my life—even when I didn’t really deserve them—but I don’t think I’ve ever felt more blessed than I do in this moment. This woman completes me. I pledged to be the man who stands by her and takes care of her, the man who works tirelessly to make her life better. Together, this is the start of our forever.
