Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 97466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Oscar veered toward us and leaned in to kiss me. “Come with me to give this to them?”
Marigold huffed. “Hello to you, brother.”
“Goldie, I saw you ten minutes ago. Go find something useful to do. Chuckie might need help setting up.” He didn’t take his eyes off me. Instead, he leaned in and pressed another kiss to my lips. “Mm.”
I knew he was referring to the slightly salty taste of himself still noticeable on my tongue from earlier. I’d stopped him in the pantry earlier and dropped to my knees to reward him for looking so damned sexy in the linen pants he’d chosen.
He’d agreed to my idea of a casual wedding reception in Vermont, even though he knew he would spend the entire weekend getting ribbed by all his happy exes and his meddling family. He’d done that for me because he’d made it clear he wanted me to have the wedding of my dreams.
And I had.
Two days ago, Oscar and I had made our vows to each other in our backyard garden with only his parents and Abby and Dex as our witnesses. And Frank, of course.
It had been everything. I’d taken Abby’s words to heart and realized the important part of the wedding was the words I exchanged with Oscar, not the crowd or decorations surrounding us.
The party tonight was much less stressful now that it was simply a celebration with friends. It felt much more like a summer party than a big event with high expectations.
Thanks to Oscar’s obscenely large bank account, he’d pulled out all the stops, even hiring Rafa to manage it for us. The smell of smoked meat floated through the air from the large catering trucks out back, and one of our favorite live bands was setting up on the stage at the far end of the barn.
Friends from all over had flown in for the long weekend, and all of the spare bedrooms in the various Flower Family homes on the property were full of guests.
I caught Abby’s eye across several tables and nodded slightly toward Marigold. Abby nodded and made her way over before gushing over Marigold’s sundress and asking for her help lighting the votive candles on several remaining tables. For some reason, Rafa was nowhere to be found, but there were plenty of friends and family lined up to fill in the gaps.
Once Oscar’s sister was out of the picture, I grabbed his hand. “Let’s go before anyone else interrupts.”
We walked toward the head table, where Gloria was still fussing over the flowers in the family vases while chatting happily at Birch.
I turned to Oscar. “You sure you don’t want me to gather your siblings? They’d probably—”
“Fuck no. This is hard enough as it is,” he said, squeezing my hand. “Don’t… don’t get distracted and let someone drag you away, okay?”
“Promise,” I said, biting back the smile I felt at seeing him this anxious. Despite his prickly exterior, Oscar’s heart was tender and precious. He cared so much about his family and never wanted to let them down. I was thrilled to see him finally embracing their love for him.
“Mom… Dad?”
Birch’s eyes snapped up. I could see he was still a little surprised at Oscar’s use of the endearment even though he’d been referring to Birch that way since shortly after New Year’s. But the hopeful expression on his face showed just how much he appreciated Oscar’s effort.
“Yeah, baby? Doesn’t it look great? That Rafa sure does know how to—”
“I got you something,” Oscar blurted, shoving the gift at them. “It’s no big deal.”
I bit my lips together to keep from correcting him. It was a very big deal.
Birch took the package and handed it to Gloria to unwrap. “Thanks, son. But I’m pretty sure you’re the one who’s supposed to be receiving the gifts today.”
Oscar shook his head. “We don’t need anything. But I wanted you to have this, especially tonight.”
I slid my arm around Oscar’s waist and waited. Gloria opened the package carefully until she pulled the cut-crystal vase out of the box.
Oscar pointed at it. “Um, it’s…”
Birch’s voice was reverent as he reached for the vase. “Asclepias physocarpa. The Oscar plant.”
Gloria looked up at him with a tremulous smile before glancing back at her son. “Baby… it’s beautiful.” Both of them got teary-eyed. “Thank you so much. Now our family collection is complete.”
Birch handed the vase back to Gloria as he rounded the table and grabbed Oscar in a bear hug, lifting him up from the ground and grunting with the effort. “Fuck, Oscar,” he mumbled into Oscar’s hair. “You have no idea how much this means to us.”
Oscar sniffed and shuffled on his feet after Birch set him down. “It means a lot to me too. Thank you. Thank you for… for everything.”
Birch swiped at his eye with the palm of his hand. “I love you.” He turned to me. “And I love you too, Hugh. Thank you for helping Oscar realize how much we care about him, how much our family wouldn’t be complete without him. And now without both of you.”