“Hey, happy birthday, Maeve.” Holden took his arms from around me and went to Maeve’s end of the table, and though I hated losing his touch, I didn’t let it show.

I was still learning to balance so many things. I had to make sure Holden and I showed a newlywed level of affection in public, which was probably more than I’d be comfortable with in a normal situation—whatever a normal situation was. At the same time, I had to hold myself back on the inside and remind myself I wasn’t the love of his life and this was still a charade, even if we were compatible in bed. And trust me, we were compatible in bed.

“Hey, ladies,” Kemp called out as he approached from behind me.

Another round of hellos sounded from all ends of our table as I turned toward him.

It’d been years since I’d seen him, and he was still easy on the eyes. And cut. He had muscles that had muscles, I was pretty sure. Apparently he was a volunteer firefighter in addition to working construction, though he would quit the construction gig as soon as the money for the brewery went through.

“Hey, Kemp,” I said.

He surprised me by taking my hand, putting my drink down, and pulling me off my chair. “Come here, Mrs. Henry. I haven’t congratulated you for marrying my best friend yet. Or maybe I should offer you sympathy.”

I laughed as he pulled me into a hug and swung me around, a couple of feet away from the group. Before he released me from the hug, he put his mouth close to my ear and said, so no one else could hear, “Thank you, Chloe. For investing. I can’t tell you how much it means to us.”

I glanced around and, yep, people had their eyes on us, so I kept it light and full of smiles and merely said, “Of course. I believe in you two.”

“Get off my wife,” Holden bellowed from the table, making everyone laugh.

Kemp and I went back to the group, and as soon as I climbed on my stool again, Holden pulled me down.

“Never got my wedding dance,” he said to me as Kemp drew everyone else’s attention with birthday wishes and a hug for Maeve. “Come on. Let’s give everyone a show.” His voice was a low rumble I felt throughout my body.

Both Chloes followed him willingly—the one who loved anything to do with feeling Holden’s arms around me and the one who appreciated his dedication to helping me convince everyone that we were devoted… and ultimately Angelica.