Free Reckless by S.C. Stephens Page B

a genuine d-bag. I sometimes wished my sister had hooked
up with Matt instead of Griffin. Okay, I often wished that. But Matt was happy with Rachel.
    Matt greeted me with a courteous nod, then clapped Kellan on the shoulder. Griffin walked around the van to join where our group was congregating behind the vehicles. He sidled up behind Anna,
grabbed her hips, and pulled her into him with an unmistakable thrusting motion. Dad’s face turned an unflattering shade of red, and he immediately forgot all about the conversation
he’d been trying to have with me.
    As he walked over to stop Griffin from dry humping his eldest daughter, Evan’s car pulled up. The engine shut off, and both doors opened simultaneously. Hand in hand, Evan and Jenny walked
over to where we were gathered.
    Evan and Jenny were Kellan’s and my best friends. Kellan loved all of his band members, even Griffin in an odd way, but Evan was the one he opened up to the most. The tatted, pierced, and
buzz-cut rocker was one of the sweetest men I knew. We’d bonded from the very beginning. Jenny was my closest friend and confidant. She was cute as a button, blond, and perky, the kind of
girl men noticed. She also had the biggest heart; her sweetness rivaled her boyfriend’s. Out of all of the couples I knew, Evan and Jenny were the ones I didn’t have to worry about.
They were going to make it together; they were too perfect not to.
    I told Jenny everything, even things I probably shouldn’t tell her. But she’d always accepted me, good and bad, and she’d stuck by my side through all of the ups and downs in
my life since I’d moved to Seattle. I was going to really miss Jenny when I was on the road with Kellan.
    As she approached me, I suddenly realized that I hadn’t told her the good news yet. I was beaming as she and Evan joined us. Her lips compressed when she noticed my elated expression. I
usually wasn’t peppy when Kellan left me. I was usually sullen, downcast, depressed . . . a real buzz kill. And I
was
a little sad about him leaving soon, but my news was too
exciting to keep me melancholy. I was bursting at the seams with joy.
    I didn’t say anything to Jenny, just held up my left hand. She saw my ring and understood immediately. She squealed, startling my parents, and left Evan’s side to wrap her arms
around me. We were both hopping up and down while the men looked at us like we had suddenly lost our minds. Curious, Rachel peeked her head over. The girl was shyer than even I was, but she gasped
and hugged me too when she figured out what all of the fuss was about. Anna joined our circle, and they all examined my wedding ring. It sparkled in the sunlight, its glimmer matching my cheery
disposition.
    Rachel sighed as she held my hand. “You’re engaged.” Her eyes drifted over my shoulder to Matt, before quickly refocusing on my ring.
    I shook my head. “No . . . we’re married.”
    Jenny snapped her head up. “What? You got married? Without me?” Jenny’s hurt expression matched my mother’s, and I was sure I now had two wedding planners.
    Anna snorted. “Relax. They exchanged rings at the bar. They’re not really married.”
    My parents were a little behind Anna, and I could clearly see a tiny smile form on my dad’s lips. Kellan was next to them, and he frowned at Anna’s assessment of our relationship
status. I did too. “We’re married in our hearts, where it matters. The legal stuff will come later.”
    Griffin broke away from a suddenly pale Matt to join our conversation. Just like Anna, he snorted. “Please, you guys aren’t married.” He crossed his arms over his chest and
glared at Kellan. “No bachelor party, no marriage. That’s the law.”
    I matched Griffin’s posture. “That is
not
a law, Griffin.”
    He swung his head around to look at me. “Well, it should be. No T and A, no ball and chain.” There was an annoying smirk on his face, and I really wanted to smack it off of him. I
resisted,