“Why are you like this?” he asks her, but she’s still looking at Tommy, who is nothing less than stunned.
“She said that?” Tommy clears his throat when he realizes his voice is a touch higher than it normally is. “When?”
Kennedy doesn’t answer him at first; instead, she shoves a container of what Miles refers to as ‘fake cheese’ to Patrick to sprinkle on his food. “I’m just saying that maybe instead of having Henry stalk her, you should try talking to her.”
“I think you should too. I don’t think any of us realize what she’s been through,” Everly says, but Henry clears his throat.
“It’s inquiring, not stalking.” Henry leans back, resting his elbows on the arms of the chair, steepling his fingers together.
“Is your father a Russian spy?” Kennedy blurts out, and I tense up because when she does this to Patrick, it’s funny, but I’m not entirely sure that Henry’s dad isn’t some kind of spy, and I don’t need her getting snatched out of my bed tonight.
“My father is British,” Henry deflects, which only makes Kennedy’s head spin more and he fucking knows it.
“Is your father a British undercover fake Russian spy?” she asks excitedly, but Patrick interrupts.
“New rule, no talking at dinner.” He points at her, but when he does, something catches her eye. The rustic gold band on his ring finger.
Holy shit, they did it.
“You didn’t!” Kennedy stands up, leaning across the table to grab Patrick’s hand, and the discomfort on his face has Tommy cackling. He wiggles his hand, trying to pull away from her.
“I will literally cut my hand off with a butter knife if you don’t let go,” Patrick threatens, which makes Everly smile and swat his shoulder at the same time.
“Okay, so confession time, I guess?” Everly says, covering her face in embarrassment for a second before offering her left hand to Kennedy. Kennedy drops Patrick’s hand so quickly that it falls into his lasagna.
He glares at me, and I hold my hands up defensively. “Hey man, this is her world, I’m just glad to be in it.”
“Oh my goodness, you guys already got married? Why? When?”
“This weekend. Life is really short, Ken,” Everly says, pulling her hand back and smiling down at the ring before looking at all of us, teary-eyed. “It just felt like something we needed to do right away, together.” She wipes a tear but smiles when she says, “You know I don’t like a lot of attention focused on me, and Patrick, well, he just wanted to be married. But we’re going to have a ceremony, with just you guys and Patrick’s grandma. We talked about having a wedding with everyone we know, but my parents don’t really care what I do, and it just feels like that’s how it should be. Just you guys.”
For the first time since I’ve known her, Kennedy is speechless. But she quickly recovers, pushing away from the table and rushing around Tommy’s chair to throw her arms around Everly.
“I’m so freaking excited for you!” I watch the girls, and I’m thankful for their friendship. I notice Patrick watching them too, and I’m surprised by what I see on his face. There’s a hint of happiness in his eyes, and I wonder if he’s remembering the friendship Darcey and Everly had. I wonder if the reason he hasn’t packed Kennedy’s stuff and dropped her off in the middle of the woods somewhere is that deep down, he likes her, and she reminds him a tiny bit of the fire that was in Darcey.
“I love you guys so much, so please don’t be upset that we went ahead and did it alone,” Everly says when they pull away, but Kennedy is already eyeing Patrick, and I can tell by the sparkle in her big brown eyes whatever she’s about to say isn’t good.
“Did you at least ask her nicely? To marry you, I mean.” Kennedy shifts to stand between Patrick and Everly’s chairs, and he glowers at her. “Oh my god, you did ask her, didn’t you?” She spins to look at Everly, not even waiting for Patrick to respond. “We could get someone to stand in for him at the altar. Someone who won’t look sour in every photo…”
Patrick pushes back his chair and scoops Kennedy up, throwing her over his shoulder, causing her to squeal out a giggle. I stand up from the table, ready to intercept her from him.
“Kennedy,” Everly says dreamily. “It was so romantic.”
“Did he ask you while you were banging? Chicks love that sort of thing.” Tommy, ever the gentleman, ponders while he shovels lasagna in his mouth. Everly blushes profusely and I can see Patrick’s thinking of hurling Kennedy at Tommy’s head, so I rush around Henry’s chair.
“Put her down,” Henry says dryly, and corrects himself when Patrick immediately loosens his hold on her, and Kennedy grabs onto the back of his shirt to prevent herself from falling to the floor. “Gently.”
But he doesn’t have to, I’m right there to catch her and I suspect Patrick knew that. I flip her up over my own shoulder because I’ve suddenly lost my appetite for food, but the hunger I have for her is raging.
As I’m carrying her out of the dining room, heading straight for our bedroom, she yells to our friends that have become so much more than that, “All I’m saying is if I ever get engaged or married, ALL of you better be there and make a BIG flipping deal about it.”
Epilogue - Kennedy
Several Months Later
“You’re already married. She’s not going to climb out the bathroom window and pull a runaway bride,” I tell Patrick as he stands in our backyard, shoulders tense, watching the house like he’s on guard. And really, after everything we’ve been through, I can’t blame him for not wanting to let Everly out of his sight.
But that doesn’t mean I can’t give him shit for it.
“I mean, it would be an epic prank and get me like a hundred extra points if I convinced Everly to leave you on your wedding night.” I hop up on the table the guys set up with some junk food—which I promised not to throw away—and wink at him. Patrick’s intense stare snaps from the house to bore into my skull. I press my lips into a thin line to keep from smiling, because I’m pretty sure he’s not above burying me in our own backyard.
“I have made it through today without calling anyone a fuckhead, son of a bitch, or threatening to kill anyone because that’s all my wife asked for on her wedding day.” He points at me and then adjusts his plain white button-up. “Don’t fuck with me.”
We’re at the Burke/Carter reception, which is really just all of us hanging out by Henry's expertly built bonfire. Everly was far from a bridezilla, insisting that she didn't want anything fancy. She didn’t want anyone except for us at the ceremony, which was very appropriately held at the outlook that was special to her and Patrick. Tommy got ordained online to be able to officiate the wedding and has been taking his duties way too seriously, insisting that all of us, Everly excluded, call him ‘Your Royal Highness’. He has some warped sense of what his new title is and it seems to be a mashup of judge, king, and omnipotent being. When Zach tried to explain the difference between a marriage officiant and royalty, Tommy officially damned him to an eternity in hell.
Patrick looks so uncomfortable in the navy slacks that Henry picked out for him and the boys. Everly probably wouldn’t have cared if they wore their Darlington sweats and hoodies, but I insisted that we needed a picture of all of us dressed up. Cassandra and I opted for fit and flare navy blue dresses. Hers is long and strapless, and mine is short and flirty with a halter neck. I wasn’t sure I made the right choice until Zach saw me and his eyes went all soft, in the way that they only do for me.
Everly is inside, changing into something less formal than the dress she wore to say her vows, and Patrick has no idea what he’s in for. I helped her pick out her reception dress and some lingerie for their honeymoon because even though Patrick is a man of simple tastes, Everly cannot wear a sports bra on her wedding night.
Cassandra took on the task of decorating. Since she’s still having a hard time walking and is confined to her wheelchair, she pointed out where Miles should hang the twinkle lights. I helped her find some v
intage wheelbarrows that Zach filled with ice and beer, and thankfully Henry is manning the iPod because I can’t handle Tommy’s drunk rendition of Mariah Carey’s Always Be My Baby.
Zach makes his way over to us. He’s been a little off all day, and at first, I thought he was just jittery because of the wedding and trying to make sure everything was perfect, but he can’t seem to make eye contact with me.
“You okay?” I offer him my beer, but he shakes his head in the negative and drops a kiss to the top of my head.
“I’m good, baby,” he says, but I know him better than that. I tug him down toward me, making him look me in the eyes.
“Tell me.” I search his face. “What’s wrong?”
He smiles wide and his shoulders relax. “Not a thing. I love you.” He sounds relieved, and the way he kisses me makes me feel that whatever was bothering him is now a fleeting thought.
I hop off the table, fully prepared to grab another beer, but Patrick snatches me up by the elbow and sets me down on my feet in front of Zach, who throws a protective arm around me.
Patrick squints his eyes at me and leans down, keeping his voice low. It’s almost as if he knows he’s going to have the urge to call me a fuckhead son of a bitch, and if he does, he doesn’t want Everly to hear.
“What was that extra point for?” Patrick asks, and I snicker because I totally forgot about the infamous extra point and when I tell him what I did, he’s going to do more than call me a fuckhead.
“I think maybe this is a conversation we should have someplace else,” I say seriously, but I can’t hide the smile pulling at my lips. “Where there are more witnesses.”
He knits his eyebrows, taking a pull of his Corona. “I’m not going to get mad,” he lies. “It couldn’t have been that good because I never even noticed what it was.” He smirks like he’s the one with the upper hand.
I reach out, touching his shoulder in mock sympathy, before quickly pulling away so I’m not close enough for him to pick me up and throw me in the pool when I say, “That’s the beauty of it. I didn’t do anything.”
“I fucking knew it.” Zach cackles from behind me, wrapping both arms around me, either because he loves me or because he’s afraid I might be the one to push Patrick to actually commit a homicide.
“What.” Patrick’s tone indicates he’s not asking a question, but rather his brain is on autopilot and in his mind, he’s snapped me in half in fifteen different ways.
“I. Did. Nothing.To. You.” I punctuate each word and then burst into a fit of giggles, letting Zach hold me upright. “Watching you search through all of your stuff, looking under your truck every time you got in it was the best though….I should get ten points for that one.” I breathe in deeply, trying to calm down, but the look of shock on his face is enough to make the giggles start again.
Patrick raises his finger to point at me, probably getting ready to say a bunch more curse words that Everly banned from his vocabulary for the day, but I smack his arm and gesture toward the back entrance to the house where she’s now standing.
Patrick lets out a low whistle when he takes in the mid-thigh white dress I talked Everly into buying. It’s adorned with sparkling crystals and hugs her figure in all the right places. I realize I’m in the clear when he shoves his beer toward me, not even looking to see if I’m accepting it. In two ground-eating strides, he’s in front of her, scooping her into his arms and kissing her like he doesn’t care if anyone’s watching.
I relax into Zach’s arms and smile up at him. “You think he’ll ever call her by her name again? Or is she forever my wife?” I ask with a laugh, but he doesn’t answer. He’s got that soft look in his eyes again as he strokes my cheek with his thumb.
“I love you, so much.” He shakes his head and lets out a shaky breath. “It sounds stupid when I say it, they’re just words and it doesn’t feel like they mean nearly enough to tell you what I actually feel.”
I turn in his arms and cup his face in my palms. “I love you, Zach. You show me every day how much you love me,” I tell him, and he pulls me in for a deep kiss and I let my arms slide around his neck, not quite ready to let him pull away.
“Stop sucking face, everyone. It’s time to hurl the bouquet. Everyone get into position!” Tommy yells over the booming 90’s boy band track. I glance over toward where Henry has the music set up to see him frowning, and it’s clear Tommy got a hold of the playlist. When nobody moves to rush over to him, he adds, “Your Royal Highness has spoken!”
I roll my eyes because I’m not drunk enough to deal with our self-appointed fearless leader. I pull away from Zach. “Don’t worry, I’ll let Cassandra catch it,” I whisper with a wink, and start to head toward the bonfire where Patrick has carried Everly. Henry is there, handing her the bouquet she carried earlier today.
Everly is giddier than I’ve ever seen her, even when she was getting ready to walk down the makeshift aisle to sign her life away—I mean pledge her love to Patrick. Cassandra reaches over and touches my hand, smiling brightly. We’re so happy for Everly—and Patrick too, I guess, but mostly Everly. I watch as Everly shoos Patrick and Tommy to stand with Miles and Zach behind Cassandra and me. Tommy is trying to convince her to drop kick the bouquet, and Patrick can’t keep his hands to himself. I note the way Patrick reaches out to smooth her long hair when random strands fall over her shoulder as she turns her back to us in preparation to toss the flowers. He’s softer than I realized, and I can’t wait to tell him that I know. She allows Henry to stay because he’s stoking the fire and watching everyone with keen amusement.
Once everyone is in position, Everly swings her arms above her head and I fully expect the flowers to fly in the air, but they don’t. Instead, she spins and heads straight toward me and places the flowers I helped pick out in my hands. She cups her fingers over mine, and happy tears prick her eyes when she says with such a big smile, “We’re all here.”
“What?” is all that I can get out before she’s spinning me around, and I see him. Zach is on one knee, holding a box with something sparkly nestled inside. I can’t focus on what he’s holding, my eyes are glued to his handsome face.
Tommy bellows, “Nobody told me this was happening!”
I shove the flowers at Patrick because he’s the closest to me, and I cup Zach’s face in my hands and ask dumbly, “What are you doing?”
“Admiring you,” he whispers, and tears prick my eyes as I suck in a nervous, excited, but still kind of weepy breath. “I love you, Kennedy Prescott. You’re my best friend, and so much more than I can articulate.” He takes my left hand from his face and holds it in his. “Will you marry me?”
Before he can get the ring out of the box and onto my finger, I throw my arms around his neck and crash into him so hard we almost topple over. “Yes!” I exclaim. “Of course I’ll marry you.”
He chuckles, and I decide right then that it’s my favorite sound in the entire world. “You didn’t even see the ring,” he says, adjusting himself to kneel on both knees and nudging me back a smidge to show me what he picked out.
“I don’t need to,” I tell him, which makes him laugh as he slides the ring on my finger. I look down finally to take in the princess cut sapphire with smaller diamonds around it. It’s absolutely gorgeous, definitely not boring, and totally my style.
“It’s blue,” Tommy says, and I don’t know if his confusion or Patrick telling him to shut up is funnier.
“I love you,” I say, giving Zach a kiss as he stands up and pulls me up into his arms, kissing me back like he wants to keep me forever.
And I think I’ll let him.
The End
Want to read Patrick and Everly’s secret wedding/honeymoon? I’ll be posting it exclusively in the Twisted Lovelies Facebook group I share with MY FAVORITE HUMAN, T. Steele, after Damaged Elite has been out for a little while.
Here’s the link to our group: Twisted Lovelies
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Damaged Elite?
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If you enjoy suspenseful college romance, here’s a link to Beautiful Legend
T. Steele and I will be releasing several collabs, if you haven’t already, check out these releases by Author T. Steele.
The Hitman’s Desire (Book one)
The Redemption of Nixon Thorne (Standalone)
Acknowledgments
Mom, I’m sorry I couldn’t put Keanu Reeves on the cover. I’m starting to wonder if you’re just trying to get me sued. I love you anyway. Please don’t read the naked parts.
Taydawg, You’re my favorite person in the whole world and I can’t wait for all the collabs!! Also I don’t know how we made it to book three with our time management skills and TikTok addiction.
Kate, I’m sorry about not using dialogue tags for like, the entire book. But you got to marry a cover model and boss Patrick and Tommy around, so I’m thinking this is still a win for you. Thanks for always letting me run my crazy ideas by you.
Twisted Lovelies, our little group has grown so much over the last few months and I’m so grateful to know each of you. You’re my happy place, and even when deadlines or obligations seem overwhelming, I have you guys. I SO look forward to the funny memes, games and conversations with you! I love you, and I can’t wait to see what’s next!
My betas, Cylaine, Elysha, Hope, Anastasia, Sue and Daisy, I’m so thankful to have you on the team and I don’t know what I’d do without you! Your advice has been invaluable and I seriously can’t thank you enough.
Karen, I’m so glad we bonded over London’s books. Sometimes the nice guy should win. Haha Thanks for always helping me decide which cover models are the cutest. You’re the best!
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