I turn around, holding his hand. “I have this long-standing fantasy of us having sex on your office desk. It’s extremely detailed and I’d love to reenact it now, while the shop is empty.”

Nick stares at me.

“Are you . . . going to say no?”

Nick smiles, the smile that means he’s mine forever, and says, “I’m never going to say no to anything you ask me, not for the rest of my life.”

Chapter Thirty-Two

I’m attempting to fix my hair in the reflection in Nick’s computer (turns out bridal hairstyles are not meant for vigorous desk-sex) when we hear banging on the windows.

“What the hell?” Nick mutters, pulling his pants back on.

“I know for a fact the Closed sign is up,” I say as both of us step out of the office.

Doug and Shivan pound their fists on the windows, pausing occasionally to cup their hands on the glass and peer in.

“Hey!” Doug’s voice is muffled through the glass. “I see you in there!”

Nick unlocks the door and they tumble in. “Dude, we’ve been texting you and asking if you want to go . . . Wait.” Doug looks back and forth between us. “Did you just have sex?”

Shivan studies us and points at Nick. “Yes. That is the face of a man who just had sex.”

“Hell yeah, dudes!” Doug gives us both high fives. “Sorry to interrupt, but, uh . . . did everything go okay?”

I shake my head. “Not doing a sexual postmortem with you, bro. Not gonna happen.”

Doug frowns.

“Hey,” I say, eager to change the subject. “You guys wanna crash a wedding?”

“Yes,” Shivan says immediately. “Is there an open bar?”

“I’m supposed to be bartending and I’m currently here, so . . .” Nick trails off.

“So it’s extremely open, is what he’s saying,” I finish.

“Look at you two.” Doug leans back and crosses his arms. “Finishing each other’s sentences. I called it when you came to bowling.”

Nick sighs. “You did not.”

Doug looks to Shivan. “Did I or did I not say, ‘This chick is his soul mate’?”

Shivan nods. “But to be fair, you say a lot of stuff. You also thought Burger King was a good idea for breakfast, and we both ended up puking.”

Doug leans toward me. “He’s never looked at anyone the way he looks at you. It was obvious. He got pretty lucky with you.”

Nick and I look at each other, and for a second, it’s like Doug and Shivan aren’t even here. “No,” I say, smiling at him. “I think we both got pretty lucky.”

* * *

The music reverberates through the stairwell as we climb the creaky stairs. I squeeze Nick’s hand and he squeezes mine back and then we open the door and step through.

Pete Townsend’s “Let My Love Open the Door” is playing, which is yacht rock adjacent so I’m here for it. Gary waves to us from his spot in the DJ booth, then gives us a thumbs-up when he sees that we’re holding hands. Doug and Shivan immediately spot the bar and head there.