“Okay.” She plants a chaste kiss on my mouth and then pushes herself up from the grass. Elodie grabs Remy from her spot on the grass, and Vienna takes Ellis to follow after Dilynne to the main building of the winery.
I watch her walk away before Henley interjects. “I’ve asked several times for you both to not discuss your sex life in front of me…”
Standing from the ground, I hold my hands up. “I didn’t bring it up. Your sister did, man.”
“Then kindly remind her to keep that kind of shit out of the range of my ears.”
Rhonan comes over to us, draining the rest of his water bottle. “Dude, Laney still does that shit in front of me with Fletcher. You learn to block it out.”
“Yeah, well this hasn’t been going on long enough for me to get to that point yet.”
I push a hand through my sweat-soaked hair. “I’ll remind her later.”
“You mean…after…” Rhonan drifts off, not finishing his sentence.
I nod. “Yeah, after.” Fighting my smile, I turn back to Henley. “You know, once your sister agrees to marry me for real, you and I are going to be brothers-in-law.”
“Trust me, I’m aware,” Henley says before twisting the cap off of his water and drinking half of it.
Rhonan slaps him on the shoulder. “It’s not that bad. Fletcher and I have the same thing going on now.”
I glance between the two of them. “Did you guys ever think the four of us would ever be connected by marriage when we met?”
Rhonan and Henley shake their heads simultaneously. “No. And the pact was supposed to prevent that, remember?” Rhonan adds.
Henley turns to him. “But that wasn’t that big of a deal for Elliot or Fletcher, Rhonan, because neither of them have sisters, huh?”
Rhonan nods. “Right.”
“Look, I think no one is as surprised as I am that this worked out this way, okay?” I notice Dilynne walking back over. “But you know I love your fucking sister, man. And sooner rather than later, I am going to make her my wife.”
“And finally get that inheritance, huh?” Rhonan adds.
“Honestly, I don’t even care about the money. I just want her.”
Dilynne walks up to us, handing me a bottle of water. “What are you three boys talking about?”
“How my ears are bleeding after hearing your anal comment during yoga,” Henley replies.
Rhonan clears his throat. “Yeah, thank you for that, by the way. Ellis’s vocabulary has been expanded exponentially thanks to you and Fletcher.”
“Speaking of Fletcher,” Laney says, walking over to us holding up her cell phone so we can see our friend’s face on the screen. “Say hi, babe!”
Fletcher squints from where he’s sitting in the locker room of the stadium he’s practicing in tonight. “Aw, man. I’m so bummed I missed yoga night.”
“Don’t be. Dilynne and Elliot were talking about anal,” Henley adds, making Dilynne laugh.
Then she turns to her brother, slapping his shoulder. “Oh, God, Henley. Calm down. Maybe Elodie needs to stick a finger in your mud tunnel to make you relax.”
Rhonan spits his water from his mouth before choking. “Jesus, Dilynne.”
Dilynne smiles proudly. “You can thank Glenn for that euphemism.”
Henley stands there, glaring at his sister. “I’m going to throw up.”
And as Fletcher laughs through the phone, I glance around at my three best friends, knowing that no matter what happens in this next phase of my life, I can get through it with these guys by my side.
***