Coop tugged at the knot of his tie for what was almost definitely the eight trillionth time since he'd arrived at the ceremony--fashionably late, of course, but only by a couple minutes and he'd managed to sneak into a seat in the back without causing much of a stir. The bride had noticed, because of course she had, and Coop at least had the humility to look properly chastised when Amber immediately called him out on it as soon as he'd gone in for a hug.

Now, he was loitering by the open bar, exchanging pleasantries with vaguely familiar faces he hadn't seen for years now.

Packing up his practice and his dogs and hauling ass out of Siren Cove had seemed like a great idea at the time, and Coop remained sure it was ultimately the right decision, considering the alternative involved a constant barrage of bullshit like demons and fucked up cruises and ex-fiancées. Well, just the one ex-fiancée but even that was one too many.

Still, now that he was back at the beck and call of an old friend, he had to admit it was nice to be here, even if he'd let himself fall out if touch with some of the people he'd once called his closest friends. His house was still his own, at least, he rented it out on Airbnb during the peak season but had kept the next couple weeks reserved for himself the minute he'd gotten the invite. If not for the fact that he was five years older and tired much earlier than he used to, Coop could almost trick himself into feeling like he'd never left.

A flash of blonde hair beneath the soft gleam of the fairy lights caught his eye as he took a sip of his beer, and it only took another half second to recognize her.

"Raleigh." He murmured her name under his breath, almost as if he was testing it out, testing the way it felt to say it again did the first time in a very long time. Smiling to himself, he made the choice to step forward, reaching out as she passed him and just managing to graze her fingers with his own.

"Raleigh," he said again, this time out loud. "Hi. It's been a long time."