Page 148 of Shadow Of Sin

“It should be. I’m thinking Vegas. Or Miami. Somewhere with a pool and bad decisions.” Cillian tears after the ball and dribbles it down the court.

“I’m not going to Vegas.”

“Fine. Not Vegas. But I’m planning something, and you don’t get veto power. That’s the deal when you ask someone to be your best man. You hand over the bachelor party and you accept whatever comes.”

“That’s terrifying.”

“It should be. I’ve been waiting my whole life for this.” He grabs the ball and spins it on his finger. “And my speech is going to make people cry.”

“Please don’t make people cry.”

“Too late. I’m already writing it in my head. There’s a whole section about how you eat cereal for dinner.”

“Cillian.”

“And the Honey Nut Cheerios she moved then put back before you freaked the fuck out. The people need to hear about the Honey Nut Cheerios box, Wolfe.”

“The people do not need to hear about the Honey Nut Cheerios box.” I run after him and steal the ball while he’s yammering on about my meal choices.

“They absolutely do. It’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever done, and you didn’t even do it on purpose. That’s going in the speech.”

I take a shot. Nothing but net. He shakes his head.

“Show-off,” he says.

“Whatever. I’m compensating.”

“For what?”

“The hole in my shoulder.”

“You need new material.”

“I got shot, Cillian.”

“Jesus, it was months ago. Get over it.”

I laugh. He grins.

Neither of us talks for the rest of the game. We just play. And for about an hour, my brain doesn’t think about anything except the ball and the rim and the fact that my brother is going to stand next to me on the best day of my life.

It’s Saturday. The day.

I blow out a breath and stare out the window at the setting sun.

We spent the day the way Cillian told me to. It’s been normal and easy. I made breakfast. Eva read on the porch. We cooked lunch together and she insulted my knife work because she thinks she’s some kind of pro since she carries one with her all the time. I told her that hacking a computer takes more precision than hacking up a vegetable, and she threw a piece of carrot at my head.

Gold streaks paint the sky, and I nod. We’re a go.

The ring has been burning a hole in my pocket since this morning, pressing against my thigh, and now it’s finally time to give it to her.

“Walk with me,” I say from the front doorway.

She looks up from the couch. “Where?”

“There’s something behind the property I’ve never shown you.”

“Something good or something I need my knife for?”