Free Fearless (Pier 70 #2) by Nicole Edwards

so Noah explained. “About ten years ago, we were called out on an out-of-control brush fire that was threatening a nearby neighborhood. When we came upon a house that still had occupants inside, we were advised to urge them to leave due to the danger. The husband and wife were both deaf. Although I managed to communicate by typing the instruction on my phone and having them read it, I figured it would be beneficial—for any future instances—to learn. So I did. Your turn.”
    Dare nodded toward Hudson. “He’s our boat mechanic, and though he can hear me just fine, I wanted to be able to talk to him, not at him. So, in order to level the playing field, I decided to learn.”
    Interesting. The Dare he had known fifteen years ago wouldn’t have bothered.
    Or—something he didn’t want to think too much about—perhaps he would have and Noah simply hadn’t known him as well as he’d thought he had.
    They announced that dessert was being added to the buffet, but Noah opted to decline, choosing to watch the interactions around him, namely Cam and Gannon, who were seated at the head table directly to the right and in front of him. The two of them looked incredibly happy, surrounded by their family and friends.
    Noah couldn’t help but be glad he was part of this, even if the situation was far from ideal. The last time he’d been to a wedding was when Milly’s father had married his mother. If he was completely honest with himself, he hadn’t paid much attention during that stressful period because he hadn’t been happy they’d decided to get married in the first place. Even though he didn’t have anything against Milly’s father, he’d felt as though his mother was letting go of his father forever. It had been a stupid reaction, but one he couldn’t change. He had since apologized to them both for it.
    There was a tap on Noah’s shoulder, and he turned to see Gannon and Milly standing at his side. He instantly glanced back at the table where Gannon had been a minute ago and noticed it was empty.
    Weird. He could’ve sworn he was just watching them.
    “You got a minute?” Milly inquired, doing that chin nod thing that signaled she wanted to talk to him away from the table.
    “Excuse me,” he said, placing his napkin on the table and getting to his feet.
    He followed Gannon and Milly out into the hallway, his curiosity growing.
    When the two of them stopped and turned toward him, Noah patiently waited for whatever it was they had to say. He noticed Milly’s eyes snap over to Gannon, as though she was silently urging him to talk. When he didn’t, Milly huffed.
    “Gannon wants to ask you something.”
    Noah shifted his attention to Gannon. “Sure. What’s up?”
    Gannon swallowed hard and it was clear whatever he wanted to ask wasn’t easy for him. On top of the nervous tension radiating from him, Noah noticed he was paler than he’d been earlier. Gannon cleared his throat and then wiped his hands on his shorts. Yep, extremely nervous.
    “I wanted to know if you’d be one of my groomsmen.” Gannon cleared his throat again, locking eyes with Noah. “It’s just that I don’t have any family … well, other than Milly, so I don’t have anyone to stand up for me besides her. And since Cam has Roan, Dare, Teague, and Hudson, I kinda—”
    Noah stopped him mid-ramble. Placing a hand on Gannon’s shoulder, he smiled. “Man, I’d be honored. Seriously. And I think it’s safe to say that you’ve got more family than you realize.”
    For a brief moment, Noah was almost certain he saw a sheen of moisture in Gannon’s eyes. But then it was gone as Gannon righted his glasses.
    “Thanks. It means a lot to me.”
    Noah looked over at Milly, who was beaming. He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen her smile that big.
    He turned back to Gannon. “Welcome to the family.”
    Before he could turn around and go back into the room, Milly threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. “Thank you, thank you,