“Amelia,” I say, “opinion. Is a mechanical bull at a wedding festive or grounds for annulment before vows?”
She lowers the cornbread, grateful for the question. “Depends who rides it.”
“Oaks,” Brittany says immediately.
“No,” I say.
“Derby,” Lottie says.
“Hell no,” Derby says.
“Legend,” Janie says.
Legend gives me a slow look.
The room cheers before he says a word.
I hold up both hands. “There will be no mechanical bull at my wedding.”
Cornbread looks heartbroken. “Not even in the parking lot?”
“No.”
Legend leans close to me. “You sure? I could make it meaningful.”
“You make everything sound like a threat.”
“To be fair, it usually is.”
I look up at him, and for one brief second, the noise around us fades. This man. This impossible, dangerous man. He would marry me in a parking lot, at Paradise Falls, in the clubhouse, on a battlefield, or at the edge of the lake with monster rumors rippling in the dark, because to him the place ain’t the vow.
I am.
That kind of love should make me steady.
Today, it makes me ache.
Because I’m hiding something from him.
My smile wavers.
Legend sees it. Of course he does.
“What?” he asks quietly.
“Nothing.”
His eyes narrow.
He knows that word too well.
Before he can push, Amelia’s voice pulls my attention.
“What are your vows going to be?”
The table quiets in a strange way.
Not fully.