A loud clinking sound rang out, and I turned to see Scott and Reece’s father standing up with a glass of champagne and a spoon in his hands. He waited for the murmur of chatter around the room to die down. Then he focused on Scott and Teddy.
“When you asked me to give a toast, I wasn’t sure what I would say,” he started, his voice thick with emotion. “I’ve been watching you two the last couple of days though, and as I watched, it became clear to me that I don’t need to give you tips for a successful marriage or hints on how to handle everything that life will throw your way. Somehow, you’ve managed to figure that out all on your own.”
He chuckled, now looking only at his son. “You’ve grown into a fine young man and we know you’re going to make a wonderful husband and, one day, a fantastic father. Finding the woman you’re meant to spend the rest of your life with isn’t an easy feat, and neither is making the decision to follow your heart instead of your head, but you were lucky enough to have found her and brave enough to do what you had to do to keep her.”
As he continued with his touching speech, I found myself glancing at Reece. He was gripping his bottle like a baby would a favorite blankie, scowling into its depths instead of smiling at his brother like everyone else.
Turmoil was still rolling off him, but at least he was still just sitting quietly. When I looked up again, Scott’s father had raised his glass and everyone drank with him. Colt was up next to give a toast in lieu of his parents, and almost immediately, I had tears in my eyes over his emotional toast.
“Mom and Dad would’ve loved to have been here today,” he said to Teddy, even though he was standing up in front of a room full of people. The moment was so intimate that it was almost like he was letting us listen to a conversation just between the two of them. “I know it sucks that they’re not sharing in any of this with us, but I really do believe that they’re here. When we were outside earlier, I noticed a really bright star where there isn’t always one, and I think that was Mom, sending a little extra love to make it shine so brightly that we’d know she’s so happy for you. That sudden breeze? I think that was Dad. He knows how much you love listening to the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves and I think that was his way of trying to make the moment perfect for you.”
I dabbed at my eyes, and I wasn’t the only one. Everyone was enthralled by him, dressed so casually in jeans and a black long-sleeved Henley but somehow so captivating that no one could look away.
“I’m so proud of you, sis. The way you look at the world astounds me and amazes me every day that I’m here and every time that I speak to you on the phone. You see beauty in everything and you have this unique way of bringing it out in anything and anyone. Mom and Dad would’ve been so damn proud of you, too. Not just for what you do but for who you are. Despite everything we’ve faced, you’ve stayed optimistic. Kind. Happy. You’ve seen how ugly and painful life can be, but you’ve chosen to keep focused on the good and the light. Your very being exudes the purest, most incredible joy and I can’t tell you how much it means to me to see Scott bringing it out in you just the same as you bring it out in everyone else.”
Fighting back the onslaught of tears that desperately wanted to start leaking from my eyes now, I reached for my glass and took a gulp of my champagne. As I turned to set it down again, I caught a flash of movement from Reece’s seat and then it was like everything started happening in slow motion.
He was so drunk that he stumbled a little when he reached for his bottle and raised it high up in the air, clearly ready to ruin the moment. Before Colt or I could do anything to stop him, he interrupted Colt’s beautiful toast to give one of his own—and it wasnotbeautiful.
“Here’s to my whore of a fiancée,” he slurred, and everyone gasped. Scott watched it happening with wide eyes before he jumped into action, hurrying over to take away the wine and to convince him to go outside to get some fresh air.
“Come on, Reece,” he pleaded urgently but quietly with his brother. “Colt wasn’t done yet and you said you didn’t want to give a toast tonight. Let’s just go outside and take a walk. We can talk and you can sober up a little.”
Turning away to give them at least the illusion of privacy, I saw how livid Colt was at him for ruining the emotional moment, and it looked like he was barely holding himself back from racing after them when Scott finally managed to get his brother out one of the side doors.
Meanwhile, Caitlin had started wailing on the other side of the table, crying these big, fake sobs and biting out words between them. “I’m the one who’s gotten the worst of it, you know? He’s always working. He never makes time for me. It’s like he doesn’t even care.”
Standing up, I went to stand behind her and put my hands on her shoulders, massaging gently as I dipped my head down low to speak into her ear. “How about I call you a cab? You can go back to your hotel and take a nice, hot bath.”
Caitlin jerked her shoulders out from under my hands and got all huffy as she jumped up. “I can show myself out. God forbid anyone needs to care about anyone other than the precious fucking bride tonight.”
She stormed out, still in a huff, and when I looked back at Teddy, she was on the verge of tears. Colt was clutching his glass, but I doubted he was in the right frame of mind to continue his toast right then, so I grabbed my own glass, clearing my throat to give an impromptu toast of my own to try to smooth things over as Scott came back inside.
“Teddy and Scott, I know things haven’t been going exactly like you planned they would, but you know what? I think it’s made you stronger. I’m not just saying that, either. The fact of the matter is that, regardless of what has happened, you guys have stood together. You’ve faced it together, just like you do everything else. You’re a model couple to me, and if I’m ever lucky enough to meet the man I’m going to marry, I hope that our relationship will be just like yours. You complement each other in every way. You always make time for each other, and above all else, you always treat each other with love and kindness. That’s rare in a couple these days. Even when times get tough, you don’t fight and snap at each other. You talk things through and you come out the other side closer together than ever before.”
I saw Teddy’s spirits rising, and since the oxygen seemed to be coming back into the air and people were visibly relaxing, I kept going. If it was the last thing I did, I wouldn’t allow Reece and Caitlin’s drama to be the thing Teddy remembered most about the evening. Now if only Colt could keep himself under control, we still had a chance of salvaging this thing.
15
COLT
As I listened to Emma’s voice, the cobwebs of anger and frustration at Reece cleared from my mind, and slowly but surely, I calmed down. I still wanted to chew him out for fucking up the best speech I’d ever made, but the guy seemed to be going through a lot, so while I wouldn’t be giving him a pass indefinitely, I was willing to stand down for now.
Besides, if I went after his drunken ass right now, I’d miss the rest of her toast. Her lyrical voice was the only thing keeping me from losing my shit, so it probably wasn’t a great idea to leave the room. Although I knew she hadn’t been planning on standing up tonight, she was doing a heck of a job, speaking straight from her heart and saying things that made a lot of sense.
She was right in the observations she was making about Teddy and Scott. The more I listened to her, the more I realized that I wanted a relationship like the one they had, too. She’d come right out and said that it was what she wanted, and though I wouldn’t be quite as vocal about it, my sister and her fiancé really were a good couple to model a relationship after.
“You depend on each other,” Emma said, her blue eyes swimming with tears as she looked at them like they were some kind of miracle. “You support each other in everything you do, but you also have fun together. You’re playful and easygoing at the same time that you’re clearly so serious about each other.”
I wonder if that’s what it would be like to be with Emma.When we’d been together when we were younger, she’d always made me smile and laugh. I never would’ve guessed it, but we’d also been able to talk for hours and we’d made out like it was nobody’s business. We’d never quite let things get that far, but when I thought about how explosive it had been just to kiss her, I wondered if it would be the same if I made love to her now.
As I thought back to all that kissing and how painfully badly I’d wanted her then, I felt my cock reacting to the memories. Although I knew I needed to stop thinking about it, I remembered how her eyes had glazed over when I’d made her come on my fingers, and the echoes of her moaning my name when she did sounded in my ears.
I imagined sinking into that wet heat I remembered so well now, and a low groan tore out of me before I could stop it. It had been so long since I’d been this turned on that I was pretty sure I’d go off like a fucking firework if I so much as reached down to adjust myself right now.
Sucking in a deep breath through my nostrils, I released it slowly and forced my head out of the gutter. If I didn’t, I was going to have to go jerk off in the bathroom before I came in my pants right here at the table, and neither of those scenarios were acceptable.
By the time I managed to cool my jets, she was wrapping up and the waiters started coming out with our food. Teddy was smiling again and Scott seemed happier too, even if he kept glancing at the door like he was worried about Reece stumbling back in.