“Damn it.”
Nick gave the blunt a sniff. “Medical grade?”
Deuce smirked and shrugged. “I have a bad leg.”
Nick laughed, and to Ty’s surprise he took a short hit before handing it over to Kelly. “That’s better than your other stuff,” he told Deuce.
“Tell me about it,” Deuce said, chuckling.
“How do you know about his other stuff?” Ty demanded.
Nick and Deuce both laughed at him.
“Please, you think I sucked snake venom out of his leg because he’s a nice guy?” Deuce asked. “I’m just glad he hasn’t turned over any new leaves since then.”
Ty gaped at Nick, who was snickering and sipping his champagne. “Like I don’t even know you,” Ty said to him.
Nick merely shrugged.
They passed the blunt around, Ty and Zane both refraining. Ty didn’t really have any objections to marijuana, but if he didn’t like the way a contact high felt, he knew he wouldn’t like anything stronger. He’d never tried it and didn’t intend to.
Emma passed the blunt back to Deuce and turned to Livi, her eyes shining. “I want to see your dress tomorrow. I can’t stand waiting any longer!”
Livi’s laugh was light and carefree. “I haven’t gotten to show it off to anyone yet, so I’d love that. Bring your bridesmaid dress so I can see if it’s horrible!”
“Oh, fun! I will!”
Because of the restricted guest numbers, Deuce and Livi had filled in the ranks of their wedding party with family. Livi’s brother Theo was a groomsman, and Emma was one of Livi’s bridesmaids, even though the two had never met before this week.
As they continued talking about the wedding colors and the cakes and the dresses, Kelly groaned and rubbed at his eyes.
Livi settled into the crook of Deuce’s arm, smiling kindly at Kelly. “You’ve been through this, huh?”
“I have. I’m sure this won’t be as big a disaster as mine was,” Kelly assured her.
Nick and Ty both made noises of agreement. They’d barely gotten Kelly to that wedding alive, much less gotten him out of the marriage.
“I remember the tales of that bachelor party,” Deuce said. “Which is one reason I’m not letting Ty plan mine.”
Ty grunted. “Hey, that wasn’t me. I was an innocent victim. Mostly. Sort of innocent.”
“It was me,” Nick confessed.
“I woke up the morning of my wedding on the front lawn of the church, tied up, with my tux covered in sequins they’d taken from stripper outfits.”
Nick grinned. “We Bedazzled him.”
“The minister told me I was the shiniest groom he’d ever seen.”
Nick burst out laughing, slumping further in his chair.
“It took a long damn time to collect those sequins, too,” Ty added. “We had to beg every dancer in Jacksonville.”
“Why didn’t you just buy a bag of sequins from a craft store?” Zane asked.
Ty and Nick shared a look, both of them frowning. Nick took a drink as Ty muttered, “Wow, that would have been easier.”
“Not near as fun, though,” Nick added.
“Have any of the rest of you ever been married?” Livi asked.
Zane raised his hand. Nick shook his head and took another sip of his champagne, but Ty was already snickering and pointing at him. Nick narrowed his eyes as he swallowed.
“Nick’s been married,” Ty drawled.
“What are you talking about?” Kelly asked. Then his eyes widened. “Oh! Oh my God, I’d forgotten about that!”
“There’s nothing to forget,” Nick insisted. He glared hard at Ty. “Why the hell would you bring that up?”
Ty laughed harder.
“O’Flaherty, you’ve been married?” Zane blurted.
“Not . . . no. Sort of,” Nick stuttered. “Not like they’re getting married, though.”
“Hitched is hitched, man,” Ty said.
“Shut up! I can’t believe you’re bringing this shit up!”
“The ten-year statute of limitations has passed.”
Nick made an insulted sound that came out squeaky.
Deuce leaned forward. “Did you get drunkenly married in Vegas?”
Nick rolled his eyes and slumped in his chair. “Yeah.”
“Interesting.”
Zane threw his head back and laughed. Ty pulled him closer. He loved it when Zane got loose and started enjoying himself.
Ty reached out to pat Nick’s shoulder. Nick shoved him away and shook his head. “Don’t touch me, traitor.”
“What happened?” Deuce asked.
“We were on leave before deployment,” Nick answered. “We headed to Vegas because none of us had ever been before.”