Read Online Back to the Beginning: A Duet by Laramie Briscoe, Seraphina Donavan - Free Book Online Page A

she was prepared to apologize but instead saw they were grinning in good humor.
    “It is what it is,” Nina said as she leaned into her husband, letting him drop a kiss on her forehead. They shared a look for a moment, feelings and unspoken words passing in the silence. “We did what we did, and everybody knows it. The only thing that matters is that we’re together now.”
    “Amen to that,” her husband agreed, accepting a bottle of beer as a waitress came to their table. She dropped off an appetizer and a drink for Nina as well.
    The waitress took Denise and Liam’s order, leaving them alone almost as quickly as she came.
    “So what are you lookin’ to do?” Sketch asked as he glanced at her husband. It was obvious he loved his job, because his eyes brimmed with excitement.
    Liam rested against the booth, slinging his arm behind Denise, sitting comfortably with her tucked beside him. “I wanna get something to honor our marriage. I already have something for the twins and Tatum,” he explained, gazing down at the woman at his side. Their eyes caught, and he could tell she was remembering the same day as he was.
    “We should’ve just gone to the courthouse.” Denise sighed as she tried to sit still, letting Christine work on her hair.
    “Would you stop moving around, woman? The two of you have waited over two years to make this thing legal. We’re not letting you do it at the motherfuckin’ courthouse.” Christine grabbed her hair, yanking it into the up-do she was working on.
    “I can’t.” Denise’s voice was quiet in the hustle and bustle of everyone else getting ready. She continued fidgeting, ignoring Christine’s request.
    Meredith heard something in the tone and turned from where she was helping Mandy put on her dress. Her gaze was all-assessing as she took a look at her friend. The person who tended to anchor the women of the club was pale, and she looked like she was about to bolt. “You okay?”
    “Nervous.”
    Getting up, Meredith ran around to her friend and shoved her head down, sticking it between her legs. “Breathe, Denise, breathe slow, breathe deep, and don’t you dare puke.”
    Everybody listened to Meredith when she spoke, and Denise was no different. They could hear Denise gulping in huge amounts of air. Finally, when her breathing calmed down, Meredith helped lift her head up. “You good?”
    “I don’t know what happened.” Denise pulled at the neckline of the cover she wore to keep her clothes from getting dirty. “The room closed in on me, and I got so nervous I couldn’t breathe. Why am I so nervous? This is the man of my dreams. He’s changed everything in my life and made it perfect.”
    “Because it’s a big thing when you put a ring on your finger. It makes it legal.” Meredith ran her hand up and down her friend’s arm. “All it is, is a piece of paper, but with that piece of paper, it’s official. It makes you feel like it’s forever. Weird, huh?”
    “Maybe that’s what scares me. I’ve never thought about forever before,” she admitted.
    “Then it’s about damn time you did.”
    “Did you?” Denise fired back. “You know, when you got your own piece of paper.”
    There was a round of snickers in the room. It was a running joke about Tyler and Meredith. Everyone assumed they were married, but nobody knew for sure, because neither one of them would ever fully confirm or deny. Meredith smiled the secret smile she always did.
    *
    The back porch had been cleared of furniture, and there was just enough room for everyone to stand and be witness to the most important day in his life. When he and Denise had talked about where they wanted to do this, the courthouse had come up more than once, but when Liam had suggested the place where so many things had happened for them, they had both agreed on it.
    “Are you ready?” Drew asked his dad, standing up next to him. Tyler stood not too far away, as did Mandy and Meredith on the other side of the