The music began. Serena shot a smile over her shoulder to Zoey before turning the corner and walking down the aisle. Next was Jasmine, who blew Zo a kiss, before following Serena’s lead.
Once Jazzy was out of sight, I turned to my sister, took her hands in mine, and gently kissed her cheek.
“I’m so happy for you,” I said, my brown eyes taking in her matching ones. “Enjoy every second of this day, Zo. You deserve it, and Gabe is so lucky to be marrying you today.”
“I love you, Chlo.”
“I love you too,” I said, then spun around and left her and my father so that I could take my walk down the aisle.
I turned the corner to see the rows of guests, sitting happily on their planks of wood, while four gorgeous, smiling guys stood waiting underneath the white arch.
Christopher was smiling broadly, but I could tell he was nervous, because his hands were fidgety. Still, I knew how honored he was to be standing up there with his dad.
Dillon, whose dark-auburn hair had grown out a bit and was starting to curl at the ends, looked dashing and just a touch wicked, with his lopsided smile.
Reardon was gorgeous. Tall and sure next to his cousin. Gabe’s best man, defender, and friend no matter what, he caused my breath to catch and hold as I took in the sight of him in a tux that was tailor made for his unusually tall and toned form.
I could have looked at him all day, his gaze appreciative on mine as I moved toward them, but I pulled my gaze from him to focus on Gabe.
The man who had at one time been my craziest memory, my greatest mistake, and the creator of the best thing that had ever happened to me.
Now, he was going to be the brother I’d never had, as well as the father our son could look up to and depend on.
Gabe had always been handsome, but his obvious excitement over marrying my sister made him glow like a man who was about to receive the greatest treasure known to man. And the fact that he knew he was, and I knew that he’d treat her as such for the rest of their lives, had me smiling broadly at him and tilting my head in a slight nod.
Gabe grinned back and shot me a wink, then, as I took my place, everyone stood and turned to watch Zoey walk the aisle toward her Superman.
Chapter Twenty-Three ~ Reardon
The ceremony had been beautiful, and both Gabe and Zoey were still glowing, looking happier than I’d ever seen either of them.
Dinner was delicious, the barn was decked out per Zoey’s wishes and dreams, and everyone was starting to loosen up as the champagne flowed freely. The open bar had a constant line of people.
I was ready to let loose and hopefully talk Chloe into some dancing, and maybe an incognito make-out session, but first, it was time for me to give my best man speech. As a lawyer, I was obviously no stranger to speaking in public, and often enjoyed having all eyes on me. For some reason, this time, I was extremely nervous.
It was probably because Gabe had been my best friend since birth, and this was such an important moment in his life that I didn’t want to let him down.
I wasn’t sure how to approach the speech.
Should I be funny? Sentimental? Tell embarrassing memories?
I’d agonized over this for months, and now that it was time to give it, I decided to go with my heart.
I tapped my knife against my glass as I stood up to full height. I could feel the eyes of the rest of the wedding party hit me first, followed by the gazes of the rest of the guests. I flashed my best grin and cleared my throat.
“Good evening, everyone. I hope you don’t mind if I take a few moments of your time to say a few words to the bride and groom. I promise to keep it short, and please, feel free to refill your drinks as needed, I won’t be offended. First, I’d like to be the first member of the Lewis Clan to officially welcome Zoey to the family. Your kindness, wit, creativity, and loyalty are just of the few of the attributes that make you the perfect person for my ugly-ass cousin. Your ability to school him on Tolkien, Rowling, and Stan Lee, make you my new favorite cousin. Don’t let him put you off with his talk of drafts, MVPs, and standings; just smile, nod, and hand him another beer. That’s what the rest of us do.”
I paused for laughter, taking a breath before raising my glass to Zoey and finishing with, “But seriously, you’re the piece that was missing to the puzzle that is my cousin. I know you will make him tremendously happy, and if he ever does anything to upset you, just come to me and I’ll sue the pants off him.” Zoey wiped a stray tear off of her cheek and mouthed, “Thank you,” and I turned my attention to my cousin.
“And, Gabe, where do I even start?” I took a second, begging myself not to get emotional and end up looking like an extremely large baby, then looked Gabe in his eyes and spoke from the heart.
“You’re my cousin, best friend, and brother from another mother, and we’ve always had each other’s backs. Now, I’m not gonna lie, when Zoey came stumbling out of the woods that day, like a gift from the forest itself, I thought about stabbing you and taking off with the girl, but the second you guys locked eyes, I felt it. Call it chemistry, love at first sight, or fate … It happened that day. And you deserve it, brother, that love, that happiness, that you’ve found with the woman you were meant to be with.”
I paused and counted to five when I felt my throat begin to burn.
“You’ve lived an awesome life. In high school, college, the NFL, and with your camp … It seemed like your life was perfect, that you had everything a man could ever wish for, but it wasn’t.”
I cleared my throat again and raised my glass.