A flurry of orders pinged on the thread, and Ember added hers.
>JASMINE: Everyone come to mine. Joy, do you need help with the orders?
>DANI: I’ll help. Meet you in the lobby. Justin is down in the gym. Probably in the sauna dying.
> TATY: Mike has one eye open. He’s green.
>KEELEE: Okay if I bring Lizzy? Adam is dry heaving.
>TORI: Bring her to our suite, Jacob/Talon can watch her while we plot our revenge.
>JILLIAN: No revenge plotting needed. I’ve got the scoop. Meet you in ten minutes.
>JADE: It’s a date. Jazz, order us breakfast?
>JASMINE: Got it. Hurry up.
>JEWELL: Just woke up to find my husband passed out in the hall between the bathroom and the bedroom. WTF did they do last night?
>JADE: They got stupid drunk. Make sure he’s breathing and come to Jazz’s.
> JEWELL: The way he’s snoring, I’m pretty sure he’s breathing.
A picture of Zane on his stomach, no shirt and no shoes or socks on the floor in the hall accompanied the text.
Ember chuckled and headed back into the bedroom to change for an impromptu breakfast party in Jasmine’s room. Not more than five minutes later she was out of the bedroom again.
“Where’re you going?” Joseph’s craggy voice stopped her as she walked past him.
“Jasmine’s room for breakfast. Unless you’d rather I ordered something and eat it here? I’m in the mood for a big breakfast. Bacon, cheese grits, sunny-side-up eggs with runny yolks.”
Joseph groaned and brought both hands to his face, covering it. “You don’t love me anymore.” The pitiful whine made her laugh.
“Oh, you poor, poor man. That’s not true. I love you more than ever. I put two Tylenol on the counter in the bathroom. I’ll be back. You have six hours before you need to meet Mal at the venue. I suggest you drink a lot of water.”
“I hate him.”
“You don’t, he’s your best friend.” Ember grabbed her purse and dropped her phone into it. “I’ll be back in an hour or so.”
The mumble Joey gave could have been anything.
“Love you, too!” Ember smiled as she said the words a bit too loud and let the hotel door shut with a resounding thud.
She took a right at the end of the hall and knocked on Jasmine’s door. The Kings had taken over all the suites at the Charlottesville hotel.
“Hey!” Jasmine opened the door for her and then flipped the privacy bar so the door would remain open. “How bad is he?”
“Alive enough to whine. He’s just lucky Blake is with Amanda and Frank. I could just imagine Blake doing a leaping pin move on Joey this morning. I hope he’s able to hold his head up by the time the bride walks down the aisle.”
“No doubt. Chad will be back in time to get ready for the wedding.”
“It was so nice of him to agree to sing.”
“He likes the smaller crowds, but he wants this to be about Mal and Poet. We’ll enter right before the groomsmen and groom take their places. He’s playing the bridal procession on his guitar and singing one song, then, as soon as the bride and groom leave the sanctuary, we will dart out the side door to a waiting limo and head to Chad’s mom’s to pick up Chloe.”
“It’s such a shame that you can’t enjoy the reception.”
“I guess, but you learn to deal with it.” Jasmine sat down on one of the long leather couches. “So, what’s up with Aruba? Chad said something about maybe going there?”
“When?”
“Knock, knock.” Faith pushed the door open and sauntered in. Of all the sisters-in-law, Faith was the quietest and the sweetest.
“Hey! Come on in.” Jazz waved at the seats. “Frank and Amanda land okay?”
“They did. Jason is taking everyone to breakfast before they go back and get Gabriel and Anna.” Faith yawned and sighed. “Man, I don’t know what it is about this weather that makes me so dang tired.”
“The lack of sunshine is my go-to answer.” Ember understood being tired—man, did she ever. “Where are Gabriel and Anna staying?”
“What? I thought Gabriel and Anna were in D.C.?” Jade asked as she and Jewell walked in unannounced. Jade plopped down on the floor beside Jasmine, and Jewell curled up in the couch's corner.
“Guess they came to visit with Frank and Amanda while they were this close.” Faith shrugged. “Are we going to Aruba?”
Jade dropped her head back. “Fuck, I wish. It’s freaking cold as a witch’s tit in a brass bra out there.”
Jewell added a yawned, “In December.”
“Anyone home?” Keelee and Tori strolled into the suite. Ember waved at Keelee and patted the chair cushion next to her. Keelee dropped into the seat with her and Tori took a seat across from them. “Coffee?” Tori glanced around.
“Here.” Joy carried an oval busboy’s tray with all the coffees balanced on it. Dani and Jillian trailed her. “There is one normal-ass coffee on that tray. Anyone touches it and they die.” Joy’s words stopped everyone’s dive to the tray.
“You should work on your manners, yes?” Taty came into the room and laughed at everyone’s expression. “See? They are like scared rabbits. She probably wouldn’t kill you.”
“Yes, I would.” Joy grabbed a cup and moved to the far corner of the seating area and sat down on the floor.
Ember watched as Jade and Jewell dove into the tray, looking for their drinks. “Who the fuck ordered orange herbal tea?” All eyes lifted at Jade’s question.
“That would be me,” Ember answered.
A squeal that could have awakened the dead reverberated through the room. They mauled her with hugs and congratulations. “When are you due?”
“Six months.” Ember pushed her hair away from her face. “But look, this weekend isn’t about me, it’s about Poet and Mal.”
“More like Poet and Mal’s moms, from what Jason told me.” Faith snorted and then looked up, her eyes wide. “Oh, poo, I said that in my big person voice, didn’t I?”
“Oh, my god, that was awesome!” Jillian laughed. “I didn’t know you had any snark in you!”
Faith’s face flushed. “I have plenty of snark, I just rarely say what I’m thinking.”
“Quiet ones.” Joy nudged Taty, who’d sat down beside her. “Dangerous.”
“Pot, meet kettle,” Taty threw back at her.
Joy rolled her eyes and took a long drink of her coffee. She snapped her fingers after she finished. “Aruba. Speak.”
Jillian jerked her attention to Joy. “Rude much? We’ve talked about this, Joy. People don’t respond well to commands.”
Joy sighed. She put her coffee down and jumped up to her knees, putting her hands together in supplication. “Please, Jillian, tell us what you know about Aruba. Like, that would totally be awesome!” The valley girl accent was dead on and sent everyone into fits of laughter.