Crave (Talon Security #1)(56)

It looked magical. I told her as much.

“Yeah, it turned out even better than I’d expected.” She grinned.

It wasn’t long afterwards that Sid and Caden wandered into the kitchen with Cade looking half-asleep. “Coffee?” he croaked. Like me, he’d never been much of a morning person.

“There’s a full pot,” I told him as they both filled their cups and came to join us. Sid sat next to me, scooting my chair as close as he could get it, and wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

It was a perfect moment, just the four of us, like it used to be. I looked at my friends, feeling a warm familiarity that lit me from the inside out. So many things had changed, and yet our friendship had remained the same.

“Remember that time Cade brought that girl home and she tried to steal his wallet?” I said, now able to laugh at the situation, which had not been at all funny at the time.

“Christ, you didn’t even wake up, man.” Sid chuckled, ribbing his brother. “The girls had to pin her down when Piper caught her trying to sneak out.”

“Don’t remind me,” Caden mumbled. “At least I knew her name. Sid.” He added, looking pointedly at Sid.

He didn’t need to clarify what he meant. We remembered all too well that particular incident, when Sid had brought home a girl who very hysterically reminded him of her name when he’d forgotten it after a one-night stand.

“It was really fun getting her out of the house,” Piper put in with a laugh.

“Good thing I only have one name to remember now,” Sid replied, his voice a low rumble as he kissed my temple.

I knew he wanted to reassure me but I didn’t need it, not anymore.

“We had a good time,” I mused, sinking into Sid’s side, grateful for this time together, knowing the rest of the day would be jam-packed with preparations.

“Hell yes, we did,” Cade agreed.

We sat in companionable silence, watching as the sun rose higher in the sky. It was a blissful few moments, just the four of us. Danny joined us as Piper and I started getting breakfast together.

Ryker emerged soon after. “You okay?” he asked Piper. “I was surprised you weren’t in bed.”

Piper shrugged. “I didn’t sleep that well. I was too excited,” she shared as he wrapped an arm around her. “But I’m not worried about it,” she told him, delivering a quick wink in my direction.

That was my girl.

****

The sun was just beginning to dip in the sky as I stood beside the arbor with Ettie, Scarlet, and Connie, watching Piper and her dad walk down the aisle. Axel, Ryker’s brother, looked handsome as the best man as he stood beside Cole, Wes, and Mack, all members of the Knights.

The lights twinkled overhead as I fought against the lump in my throat. Piper had loved Ryker all of her life. I knew this was her dream come true and my insides were bursting with joy for her. My eyes found Sid looking sinfully handsome in the second row. His blue eyes looked intently back at me, a tenderness there that I’d never tire of.

My dream had come true as well. I’d never felt so lucky.

In a short but beautiful ceremony Ryker and Piper exchanged vows, before he claimed her in a kiss that would make anyone blush.

The backyard erupted with whoops, wolf whistles, and cheers as he dipped her low.

“All right, everybody.” I spoke into the microphone a few minutes later. Cade, Sid, and I had set up our makeshift stage earlier in the afternoon. I searched for Piper, finding her off to the side looking stunning in her vintage wedding dress as Ryker stood behind her, his arms wrapped around her. I nodded toward her. “My best girl here asked us to play a couple songs for you guys.” I grinned, looking over at Sid, who winked at me. He looked distractingly delicious in his dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbow, highlighting his muscular forearms as he held his bass.

The crowd whooped as Cade hit his drumsticks together, launching us into the first song of our short set.

I let my voice carry as we broke into our own flavor of “Brown Eyed Girl,” a special song for Ry and Piper. I delivered a wink in her direction, watching her cheeks grow pink as Ryker murmured something in her ear.

I loved to perform and realized I’d missed it. With everything that had happened in the past few weeks, it was an amazing feeling to let it all go and just be in the moment. I grinned over at Sid, watching how happy he looked. I knew with certainty then that this wouldn’t be the last time the three of us stood on a stage together.

We all had different dreams that weren’t conducive to being in a full-time band. Toward the end, those last few shows had felt more like a burden as we fought against the current of life. Now, playing together was just for the pure joy of it—I’d never felt so free.