"Well, if it isn't the besotted groom who once swore he would remain a bachelor forever."
Louis Tamlin rose out of his chair at the sound of his friend's familiar voice behind him. It had been much too long.
"I could say the same thing about you, my man,” he answered, shaking the other man's hand before they embraced shoulder to shoulder.
Louis sat back in his chair as Evan took the seat across from him at the wire-rimmed glass table. The outdoor café was one of the Bayfront's most popular lunch spots. It had taken Louis more than a few phone calls to score a table on short notice when Evan had called to inform him yesterday that he'd be in town briefly on business.
"Commitment looks good on you," Louis told his friend with a teasing smile, referring to Evan's recent engagement, which had come about last year after he and his current fiancée had staged a fake one in order to secure a business deal. To their own surprise, Evan and Chiarra had ended up really falling in love.
"And marriage looks good on you," Evan replied. "Tell me again how you duped that smart, successful genius of a woman into marrying you," he added in a joking tone. The way they taunted each other practically since childhood would never get old.
"Darned if I know," Louis answered with full sincerity. Some days he still found himself marveling at the way luck had smiled on him. He'd met and married the woman of his dreams. "Must have been my magical charm," he added.
Their server appeared then to place two tall glasses of lemon water onto the table. "How is Gemma?" Evan asked, taking a sip once the woman had left. "I was sorry to hear she wouldn't be here while I'm in town. It would have been nice to see her, too."
Louis nodded. "She's doing well and is also sad to have missed you. She's in Boston performing as part of their summer celebration. It so happens that her mother spends part of the season on Cape Cod. Gemma's planning to drive down after the concert to spend a few days there with her."
Evan chuckled, amusement shining in his eyes.
"What?" Louis asked. He didn't recall having said anything particularly humorous.
Evan shook his head, still smiling. "Nothing. Just the look of utter adoration on your face as you talk about your wife being gone, as if you can't stand the thought of being away from her even for a few days." He took a sip of water. "You really have it bad, bro. Don't you?"
Louis didn't bother denying it. Gemma's trip was their first time apart since they'd become husband and wife, and he was finding the days long and dull without her.
He did indeed have it bad. In the best possible way.
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