Showing off the Goods

by Weston Parker

  “On Tierra’s first day of high school, a familiar face pointed her in the right direction when she couldn’t find her classroom,” I started. “The face was familiar because it was Brett’s. For those of you who don’t know, he was my friend first. She stole him from me.”

  My sister stuck her tongue out at me, then jiggled her shoulders in a little victory dance. Chuckles rose from the crowd, and the few people who had known us back then laughed out loud. I let her have her moment before I moved along.

  “I should rephrase that. She didn’t steal him. I let her have him because she’d had a crush on him for so long that I couldn’t stand it anymore.” When she realized where I was going with this, she dragged her thumb across her throat, but I shrugged again and lifted my brows at her. “What? You asked me to make this speech.”

  “I should’ve known you were going to bring this stuff up,” she groaned loudly enough that I could hear her.

  “Yeah, you should’ve.” I winked before looking out over their guests again. “Anyway, so Brett was her first crush. She used to write down her name paired with his last name over and over and over again. I guess she wrote it down enough that her wish came true because here we are.”

  The DJ inserted a drumming Sting sound effect as some people awwed and others laughed. Tierra even chimed in. “He already knew about that.”

  “Yeah, but does he know about the football picture of him you had taped to your mirror before you started dating?” I asked, and she flipped me off.

  For his part, Brett just squeezed her shoulder and leaned in to whisper something in her ear. I smiled when I realized it would always be like that for them. I could be the big brother, make fun of her, and he would be there to laugh with her and support her.

  “The first time Tierra told me she was going to marry Brett was before he came to pick her up for their first date.” The memory was so damn fresh it was difficult to believe it had been so many years ago. “I was teasing her about not being able to find a boyfriend among her friends and so she was coming after mine. You guys know her, though. She’s a dynamo. She just looked right into my eyes and said, ‘He might be your friend, but he’s going to be my husband. Husband trumps friend.’”

  Brett’s chest swelled a little. “That’s my girl.”

  I chuckled. “No, bro. That’s your wife now.”

  More people laughed, and I grinned at Brett while I waited for them to settle. “Back then, I never thought I’d say this, but I’m glad she was right. You’re officially part of the family now, so good luck with that.”

  I drew in a breath as I prepared to get to the meaty parts of the speech. While I’d been thinking about what I was going to say, I’d ruled out many things because I wanted to keep it as light as possible.

  There were a lot of things I didn’t want to touch on because I didn’t want to make her too emotional, but since I was making a speech on my sister, I also didn’t only want to make fun of her. At the same time, I had to be careful to keep the general tone of it light.

  “Tierra’s just one of those people, though. You know?” I said conversationally into the microphone. “If she sets her sights on something, you might as well consider it done. It’s a trait that’s served both of us pretty well over the years, considering that a part of what she’s always had her sights on has been protecting me.”

  Pulling back on the emotional stuff for a moment, I arched a brow at her when our eyes met. “Of course, her protection always came with a price. If I wanted her to cover for me with our parents, she’d always do it, but never without getting something in return. Usually what she wanted had something to do with Brett. Time alone. A ride to his place, and one time, help picking out a Valentine’s Day present.”

  Color drained from her cheeks, and she shook her head, but I simply shrugged at her again. “My choices weren’t ones any brother wants to be presented with in the context of helping his baby sister, but she told me to get over myself. We were a little older at this point, and she wanted to know if she should get lingerie, pole dancing lessons, or this limited-edition comic book he’d been looking for.”

  I rolled my eyes, but I also had to suppress a grin. “Obviously, I told her to go for the comic book.”

  She scowled at me, but whatever Brett whispered into her ear this time made her blush before her features relaxed. And on that note…

  “Sis, you look absolutely breathtaking today,” I said. “I know I said it earlier, but I’ll keep saying it because it’s so true. Inside and out, you’re one of the most beautiful people I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. There aren’t many little sisters who would put their older brother in their place the way you’ve always done with me, but I feel like our relationship is stronger for it. Better.

  “We’ve been through a hell of a lot together, and throughout it all, you’ve been steadfast at my side. Brett is one lucky son of a b—”

  I cut myself off when Colette made her eyes big at me and glanced at April, and then I cleared my throat. “Gun. He’s one lucky son of a gun to have snagged a wife like you.

  “Things between us have always been no holds barred, and I hope they’ll stay that way,” I said earnestly. “I don’t know how many people can say this about their sisters, but you’ve always been one of my best friends. I’m glad you’ve never taken my shit and that you never backed down. I’m glad you went after what you wanted and didn’t give a damn what anyone thought about it. I’m glad that, to this day, you call me out on my sh—”

  Colette’s eyes went big again, and I gave her a small nod when I realized I’d already let one s-word slide. “My stuff. You call me out, you push me to be better, and you force me to live outside of my comfort zone sometimes. Like helping my baby sister choose between comic books and pole dancing.”

  I raised my glass, deciding to quit while I was ahead. “To Tierra and Brett. May you always be okay with me making fun of you and support each other through the bad times and the good.”

  There was a low murmur and clinking of glasses around the room. Colette was up next, and after she took her sip, she strode confidently toward the podium in her powder blue dress and killer heels. She looked incredible, and she moved like she knew it. I liked it.

  She smiled at me as she sidled in next to me, keeping her voice low so the microphone didn’t pick up her words. “That was really good, Paxton. I don’t know how you managed to accentuate her best points while making fun and keeping it light, but well done. I should’ve known you’d pull a rabbit out of your hat even on a highly emotional day.”

  I grinned at her. “Just doing my job.”

  Resisting the urge to press a kiss to her cheek, I went back to my seat and was sliding into it when she got started. Her eyes were bright and happy, her voice soft but even.

  “I didn’t come prepared with some of Brett’s more embarrassing moments about Tierra,” she said with a smile. “I can assure you that there were many, though.”

  Her speech was heartfelt and genuine. She made a couple of jokes, but she was a lot classier than me about it.

  “Brett isn’t my brother, but we’ve always been so close that he might as well have been. I was there the first time he laid eyes on the girl who is his beautiful bride today. On some level, I think I knew even then she was the one for him. The way they looked at each other…”

  She let out a contented sigh, letting the sentence drift for a moment. “The look on his face was unlike anything I’d seen from him before. The only time I’ve ever seen a similar expression on him was this afternoon. I’m in awe of the fact that so many years later, he still looks at her like he’s never seen anything better. Anyone more beautiful.

  “While Tierra had apparently been telling Paxton that Brett was going to be her husband one day, he was over at my place getting ready for their date. Let’s just say he wasn’t quite as confident as her about it.”

  She winked. “In fact, if memory serves, he was half convinced Paxton was going to lay him out
as soon as he got there.”

  Chuckles rose from the crowd, but again more especially from the people who had gone to school with us. “After I reassured him five hundred times that Paxton would’ve hit him when he found out about the date if he was going to, I eventually waved him off, and I swear, he wore so much cologne that my parents’ house still smells like him. But when I spoke to him later that night, he sounded different. He sounded like a man in love, and he never stopped sounding that way.”

  She continued to tug at people’s heartstrings with well-crafted words about Brett, their friendship, and the evolution of his relationship with Tierra. When she came to sit back down, I lifted my drink to her while the rest of the room applauded.

  With the speeches done, it was time for the first dance. Tierra had been nervous about having so many eyes on them while they danced, but Brett swept her across the floor with practiced ease, and I saw the moment she forgot about everyone watching them. She melted into her husband, their gazes locked together.

  Colette watched them dreamily. I remembered how badly she used to want to get married, and while I didn’t know how she felt about the institution now, the expression on her face was a clear indication that she still wanted it.

  She used to tell me all about her wedding plans, and I knew she’d still want it all if she still wanted to get married. The big dress, the fancy décor, the finger food, the romantic lighting, the overpriced centerpieces.

  One day, I wanted her to have all those things if that was what she wanted. She deserved it.

  When other couples were invited onto the dance floor, I turned to ask her to dance, but I got beaten to the punch. April appeared in front of me, holding out her hand.

  “Do you want to dance with me?” she asked shyly.

  I swore I’d never grinned as widely in my life as I did when I took her hand. “I’d love to.”

  Taking her hand, I led her out onto the dance floor and helped her get situated on top of my feet. Her entire face lit up when I started twirling her around, and the two of us were laughing our heads off within a few seconds as we tried to balance and make it work.

  As much as I’d wanted to dance with Colette, it occurred to me as I looked down at April’s smiling eyes that I liked being out here with her just as much. It was a very different feeling to be dancing with her—obviously—but it was fun in a way that was pure and that sparked instincts I hadn’t even known I had.

  But I couldn’t say I minded those instincts making themselves known. I just had no idea what to do about them.

  Chapter 38

  COLETTE

  Swooning was a funny thing. It was a word I’d read so many times, but not something I’d often felt myself. As I watched Paxton dancing with my daughter, however, I swooned.

  What he was doing, who he was being, was exactly what I’d always wanted her to have in her life. A man who actually wanted to spend these precious minutes with her like this before they slipped away. A man who knew how to make her laugh and who made her feel safe and loved. A man who saw how special she was.

  I never, ever thought that man would be Paxton Gould, but it was. It was etched clear as day into both of their features when they looked at each other. There was a photograph of me dancing with my father at a wedding when I’d been just a little bit older than April, and looking at the two of them now, I couldn’t help thinking they looked the same way we had. A father and a daughter who are crazy about each other.

  My parents had been invited to the wedding, but it had been too short notice for them to cancel their booked and paid-for travel plans. Brett’s parents had promised them tons of pictures, and I saw his mother shaking her phone at me every once in a while to let me know she’d sent another to my mom.

  Luckily, my parents already knew Paxton and I were friends again. I’d had a long chat with them about it earlier in the week. They knew we might be patching things up, which was a good thing since I was pretty sure my dad would’ve had a heart attack if he’d seen a photo of Pax dancing with his granddaughter otherwise.

  They’d both been shocked to hear things were okay between us, but once I’d explained his side of the story, they were surprisingly positive about it. They remembered a lot of things about that time differently from the way I did, but this was the first time they’d spoken to me about it as openly.

  Mom said she’d seen Paxton shrinking before her very eyes the closer we’d gotten to graduation. Not only did she say he looked almost gaunt toward the end, which I didn’t remember, but she’d also said that his personality had all but disappeared.

  While Dad had grumbled a bit about me letting him back into my life, he’d agreed with my mother when she prodded him about it. He also said Paxton’s dad had called him a few times back then, another thing I hadn’t known, asking about the colleges I’d applied to and hammering him for information about whether I’d gotten in. Dad said the conversations got so heated and awkward that he’d stopped answering his calls altogether.

  After warning me to be careful, they’d told me a few more things I hadn’t known. Like how they’d heard a lot of things around our old neighborhood about him while he’d been deployed and also after he’d gotten back. Mom said the grocery-store mill had eventually started painting him in a whole different light, but she hadn’t wanted to upset me, so she’d just kept quiet.

  As if my mother had sensed me thinking about them, my phone buzzed on the table with a text from her.

  My eyes filled with tears when I saw she’d taken that same picture of my father and me that I’d just been thinking about and had placed it side by side with one of April and Paxton now. Brett’s mom must’ve snapped it, because she winked in their direction when I met her gaze. My mom had all our old photos backed up to the cloud, but she must’ve been so excited when she saw them together that she’d jumped to make this.

  Which means she wasn’t lying about believing the supermarket gossip. She really thinks he’s changed. If even Mom believed it, I knew I wasn’t wrong about him now.

  A warm hand landed on my shoulder when I wiped the tears away, and Tierra dropped into the open chair next to me. “What’s wrong? What did he do now?”

  “What?” I blinked, then followed her gaze to Paxton before I shook my head. “Nothing. He didn’t do anything wrong. Things are actually right. More right than they’ve been in a long time.”

  She looked back to where her brother was still dancing with April and smiled knowingly. “I think it’s your turn to dance.”

  Before I had a chance to stop her, she swooped in and held her hand out to April to ask her to dance. My little girl was more than thrilled to dance with the bride, who she’d been telling everyone who would listen looked like a real princess, and eagerly let her lead her away.

  Leaving Paxton free as a bird.

  A tiny frown tugged his brows until Tierra tossed him a pointed look over her shoulder. Slowly turning toward me, he beckoned me onto the dance floor with a tilt of his head and a warm smile sliding across his lips.

  I didn’t even try to resist, getting up and going out to join him where he waited at the edge of the floor. He held his hands out to me, and when I reached him, he wrapped an arm around my back to hold me close as the music swelled.

  “I don’t think the night could’ve gone any better,” he murmured, his lips moving against my hair. “Tierra’s happier than I’ve ever seen her.”

  I glanced at my best friend over Paxton’s shoulder, seeing him affectionately watching his bride dancing with April. “So is Brett.”

  “So am I,” he added after pausing for only a moment, then pulled his head back to look into my eyes. “I mean it, Colette. I know we haven’t exactly talked about the future, and I’ll understand if you don’t want to, but you should know that I do.”

  My heartbeat sped up, throwing itself against my ribs as I stared up into those blue eyes. His hair was styled back to keep it off his face, his skin smooth-shaven, and the blue looking more tender tha
n I’d ever seen.

  “What do you mean?” I asked just loudly enough for him to hear me above the music. “You’re going to have to spell it out for me.”

  His perfectly bow-shaped lips quirked at the edges, but he didn’t smile. “What I mean is that I don’t want tonight to be the last time I see or speak to you. The wedding was supposed to be the end date to us being civil to one another, but I don’t want to go back to not having you in my life.”

  “So you want us to keep being civil?” I asked with a hint of teasing in my tone.

  He yanked me closer to him, pressing me up against his hard, muscular form as he smirked down at me. “Are you seriously teasing me right now, Dr. Wynne?”

  “I believe I am.” I smiled, barely able to keep myself from falling into the pools of his eyes when he looked at me that way. “What were you saying about being civil to each other?”

  He brought his head closer to mine and brushed a whisper-soft kiss to my temple. When he went right back to being serious, it surprised me. “I was saying that I don’t want tonight to be the end. I also really want to do a whole lot more with you than just being civil.”

  “What do you want?” My lips ghosted across the barely there beginnings of the stubble on his jaw when I spoke, the faint, masculine scent of his aftershave enveloping me.

  I closed my eyes to savor the moment, but when his next words came out, they flew right back open again. “I want a second chance.”

  “What?” My heart seemed to have learned how to do gymnastics in the last second or so, bouncing around wildly while I waited for his answer.

  As close as we were pressed together, I was sure he’d be able to feel it. Especially because I felt the sure, steady thrum of his own against my chest.

  “Let me start by saying that I know you’re worried about April. I also know why you’re worried that I’m going to hurt her, but you need to know that in as short a time as I’ve known her, she’s not the only one who has fallen.”