Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem novel Chapter 1762

At six o'clock that evening, Keaton arrived at Jinpeach Restaurant.

He arrived thirty minutes early. Instead of heading straight to the private dining room, he made a detour to the kitchen.

He tracked down the head chef and specifically mentioned that there would be a pregnant woman in their party, instructing them to be incredibly careful with the ingredients.

He demanded they avoid anything unsafe for expecting mothers. If a dish had to include certain spices or components, they needed to place warning labels next to it.

Once he was satisfied with the arrangements, he finally made his way to the private room. He had barely reached the door when a familiar voice called out.

"Keaton."

He whipped his head around. A few feet away stood Tarquin and Callum.

Callum was dressed in a mid-length trench coat, his hands shoved casually into his pockets, a warm smile spread across his face.

Keaton froze for a second before striding toward him. "Callum."

Callum stepped forward to meet him. "It has been a while."

The two men locked into a fierce embrace. Keaton's voice was tight with emotion.

"You could have at least given us a heads-up before you just showed up."

Callum chuckled. "I wanted to give you a surprise."

Keaton took a deep, shaky breath.

"Surprise, my ass. If we had known you were alive a day sooner, we could have started celebrating a day sooner. It has been so long without a word. We all thought you were dead."

"Don't worry," Callum said with an easy smile. "I have got nine lives. I am not that easy to kill."

Keaton pulled back, looking him up and down. He let out a heavy exhale and clapped Callum firmly on the shoulder, speaking from the bottom of his heart.

"I am just glad you made it back in one piece."

Callum said softly,

"My dad mentioned that you spent a lot of time and money looking for me after I went missing. I cannot thank you enough. I owe you."

"Cut the crap. Friends do not keep score. Just sit down and tell me how the hell you survived."

Callum let out a long breath. "It is a long story."

Before he could elaborate, Gale and Booker arrived.

Seeing Callum standing there, the two of them nearly lost their minds.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify