“Do you ever take anything seriously?” I asked.
“I do,” he replied, lowering his chin in the direction of the reception hall. “Just wait until you hear my toast. Dirty jokes aside, there’s a lot more to me than you think.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes.” He pulled us both to a stop when we reached the end of the line of people waiting outside. “The only reason I keep making dirty jokes is because you seem to enjoy them so much.”
“I do,” I admitted after a long beat. “There appears to be something wrong with me. I think this place has broken me somehow.”
He frowned and moved in front of me like a flash, dipping his head to look into my eyes. “There’s nothing wrong with you, Bella. You’re just allowing yourself to relax and have some fun, and you can’t even feel guilty about it because you’re not shirking your responsibilities while you’re at it. We’ve worked our way through almost the entire list of tasks you sent me before we came.”
I cocked my head and moved my eyes from one of his to the other, not finding any trace of mocking or dishonesty. “Bella?”
“It means beautiful in Italian.”
Cue the swoon.“Okay, then. I like that nickname better than drunkels.”
His eyes lit up and he chuckled. “Does that mean you’re not going to correct me again? Remind me that your name is ‘Isabella’ and not anything else?”
I considered the question for a moment, then allowed a soft smile to form on my lips as I touched my fingertips to his face. “No, I’m not going to correct you again. I’ll accept Bella. For now.”
He let me touch him for a second longer, not leaning into it but not pulling away either. “Just for now?”
“Just for now,” I reiterated. “While we’re here. Once we get home—”
Loud cheers rose from the guests surrounding us when Mr. and Mrs. Strong exited the chapel. I never got to finish my sentence since Parker broke away from me then, turning around to whistle and whoop louder than anyone else. We tossed handfuls of rose petals at them, and seeing them smiling so radiantly, covered in colorful flowers and holding each other tight, made me forget all about what was going to happen when we got back home.
It didn’t matter right then.
After they’d accepted congratulations from all their guests, the couple went off to take pictures while the rest of us got something to eat and drink. Parker only left my side when he was called for the wedding party photographs. Then he was back as soon as they were done.
We were seated at the table with the other guys he’d gone to college with, and we all talked and laughed. After the appetizers were served, Parker got up and made his way to the podium set up near our table.
He tapped the microphone and cleared his throat before tossing out the obligatory, “Is this thing on?” line. Chuckles met his question, but Josh nodded at his friend and raised a glass in his direction. Then he settled in beside his bride and sipped his champagne.
Parker grinned at him, then lifted the mic out of its cradle and slid one hand casually into his pocket while resting his other arm on the podium. I didn’t know how often he spoke publicly, but he sure seemed comfortable doing it.
I should’ve been taking notes about his style to give him tips later. I should’ve been thinking about how he came across to his audience and noting their response to him. All those things would’ve been useful when we were preparing for pitch meetings, some of which could be with presentations he’d have to give to full boards, but I didn’t do any of them.
Because, once again, I’m too caught up in the man to be focused on his business.
“To those of you who don’t know me by now, my name is Parker and I’m the best man.”
There were murmurs of, “Hi, Parker,” and he grinned in response.
Utterly captivated by him, I scooted forward in my chair when he really got going. “Josh and I met when we were nineteen, a couple of fresh-faced kids straight out of high school, ready to make our mark on the world, to start kicking ass and taking names. It turned out we were better at kicking back and taking shots.”
I smiled while he waited for the laughter to die down.
“A lot has changed since then, but one thing that never has is how important friendship is to all of us. Somehow, the five of us have remained close no matter how demanding our lives have gotten or how, eventually, we got around to making our respective marks, kicking ass—sometimes each other’s—and taking those names.”
He looked at Josh again before bringing his gaze to our table. “Since we managed to stay close, I’ve had the privilege of being there to see the fresh-faced kids we were turn into men who fell in love. I was there when they got home from their first dates with the women they’re now marrying. I was the guy they were on their phones to as soon as they kicked off their shoes after those dates. As such, I also had the privilege of seeing the magic happen firsthand, of seeing the boys I knew grow up and realize they were in love. Of seeing them realize they’d foundthe one.”
The room was hushed, everyone hanging onto his every word. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I noted that this was a good thing. That it was great that he knew how to ensnare an audience and keep them hooked, but mostly, I just wanted to hear what he was going to say next.
“When they found that love, I saw how it transformed them into men who wanted to be better for those women and, finally, men who really were better for having their women in their lives.” He turned back to Josh. “I’m so proud of you, man. I’m proud to know you, honored to have been allowed a front-row seat to the start of your very own epic love story, and I’m so excited to be by your side as you live out the rest of it.”
I got a little teary eyed, touched by his words and how honest they were, how he was letting himself be vulnerable in front of nearly a hundred people.