Ben cast a glare in Mr. Miles’ direction, then went around the back of the Big House.
“Why the fuck did you guys invite him?” Cooper whispered.
“I don’t think we did.”
“Then how did he know?”
I shrugged. I had no idea.
“Roland, I’m glad I caught you,” Mr. Miles said. “Where’s your mother?”
“Unavailable at the moment.” Roland crossed his arms.
Mr. Miles lifted a manila envelope and started to answer, but the photographer returned.
“Okay, gentlemen, we can get started.”
“Yeah, just give us a second,” I said.
“What’s going on?” Mr. Miles asked. “Why are you dressed up?”
“You mean you’re not here because of Brynn’s wedding?” Roland asked.
Mr. Miles stiffened. “Since when is Brynn getting married?”
“Since she is,” Cooper said. “You would have known if you hadn’t fucking ghosted us.”
“Is this some kind of joke?” Mr. Miles asked.
“No, Dad,” Roland said, his voice even. “This isn’t a joke.”
“My daughter is not getting married,” Mr. Miles said. “There’s no way I’m allowing this.”
His daughter? Oh hell no. I took a step forward. “What makes you think you get an opinion?”
His eyes moved to me and he blinked once, like he hadn’t realized I was standing here. “Excuse me?”
“You bailed on your family. You haven’t made a single attempt to see Brynn since you left. So I’ll ask you again: What makes you think you get an opinion?”
“Why am I even speaking to you?” he asked, his voice dripping with disdain.
Oh, this was going to be good. Never in my life had I been more excited to utter these words. “Because I’m the guy she’s marrying.”
His face reddened and the vein in his neck bulged. There was a time when I’d been afraid of that look—of the deepening purple of his skin, that vein pulsing with rage. When we were kids, and Mr. Miles caught me and Cooper doing something we shouldn’t—which was pretty often—we’d been able to tell at a glance how much trouble we were in by the degree of redness in his face. That vein? Always a bad sign.
But I wasn’t afraid of this asshole anymore. Not even a little. I stood my ground, shoulders straight.
“You?” He spit the word at me as if it pained him to say it. “She’s marrying you?”
I cocked a half smile. “Yep.”
“Like hell she is.”
“Lawrence, please.” His mistress tugged on his arm, like she was trying to pull him away from us.
He shrugged his arm out of her grip. “Did you get her pregnant?”
I just rolled my eyes. Of course that was his first question. Dick. “No, she’s not pregnant.”
“I should have gotten rid of you a long time ago,” he said. “You were always sniffing around my little girl.”
“She’s not your little girl,” Cooper said.
Mr. Miles ignored Cooper, his eyes still on me. “I told Shannon not to feed the strays. You start feeding them and they never leave.”
“You did not just call Chase a stray,” Cooper said, lunging at him.
Roland and I caught Cooper before he reached his dad. His muscles strained against our grip, but we managed to hold him back—barely.
“You asshole,” Cooper said. “You need to get the fuck out of here.”
Mr. Miles didn’t appear to be too concerned that his son was about to pummel his face into the grass. He should have been. Cooper had a mean right hook. I knew from experience.
“God, what a disappointment,” Mr. Miles said. “Brynn had so much potential.”
Now I was fucking over it. I let go of Cooper—Leo grabbed him before he could attack his dad—and got in Mr. Miles face. “Get the fuck out, you sack of rotten donkey dicks.”
“Oh, the kid thinks he’s a tough guy now?” he said.
“Lawrence,” the woman said. “We didn’t come here for this.”
“Kristen, stay out of it,” he snapped without looking at her.
“Awesome. I see you treat her just as shitty as you treated your wife.” My eyes flicked to Kristen. “I hope you realize you’re probably not the only woman he’s fucking.”
Mr. Miles slammed his hands into my chest, trying to shove me backward. I rocked on my heel and got back in his face. I didn’t want to start an actual fight right before my wedding, but I wasn’t taking his shit, either.
“Nice try, asshole.”
“Fucking little punk,” he said.
I stepped back, straightening my jacket. “At least I’m not a lying, cheating piece of trash. How stupid do you have to be to give up this family? You’re the disappointment, you dumb fuck.”
Mr. Miles glowered at me, his hand balling into a fist.
“Dad, you need to get the fuck out of here,” Cooper growled. “Now.”
I’d thought the angriest I’d ever seen Cooper was when he caught me with Brynn. But that had nothing on this moment. Cooper’s eyes were wild, the cords in his neck standing out as he strained against his brothers.
“Come on, Coop,” Leo said in a quiet voice, like he was trying to soothe a wild animal. “Let’s not do this now.”
“No, let’s do this,” Cooper said. “Right fucking now. He can’t just show up when he wants to and fuck things up anymore. Especially not today.”
“Keep your mouth shut, Cooper,” Mr. Miles snapped.
Cooper jerked against Roland and Leo’s grip. “I’d tell you to go fuck yourself, but not even you should have standards that low. You’re not worth the dirt to bury you in.”
Mr. Miles surged in and popped Cooper square in the face. Kristen screamed, tripping over her heels as she backed up. I dove in, but Leo got to him first. Before I could even blink, Leo had his father on the ground, his arm pinned behind his back.
“Jesus, Leo, let me go,” Mr. Miles said through gritted teeth.
Leo answered by pulling his arm harder and Mr. Miles groaned.
“I’m going to let you up,” Leo said, his voice low. “Then I’m going to walk you to your car, and you’re going to leave. Understood?”
The danger in Leo’s tone sent a chill up my spine. I stared at him for half a second. He’d moved so fast. How the hell had he done that?
“Fine,” Mr. Miles gritted out.
Leo started to let him up, so I grabbed Cooper and pushed so he had to take a few steps backward. Then I kept my arms around him in a bear-hug.
“It’s okay, buddy,” I said quietly. “Leo’s getting him out of here. Stay with me, man.”
I held him until his breathing normalized and he relaxed—at least enough that I felt like it was safe to let go. His eyes were on Leo and Roland, escorting their father to his car, his mistress trailing behind.
“That fucker,” Cooper said. His eyes were still wild, but he didn’t chase after them. “He’s gone this long and he fucking shows up today, of all days.”
“You hurt?” I pulled off my tie and handed it to him.
He wrinkled his nose and worked his jaw while he wiped the blood off his face, then turned and spat red. “I’d say he hits like a girl, but that would be a fucking insult to girls everywhere.”
I glanced around, wondering if we’d had an audience. But we weren’t in view of the front doors, and it didn’t seem like anyone had been watching. I just hoped wherever Brynn was getting ready didn’t have a window out on this part of the grounds. Obviously we’d have to tell her what had happened, but I really didn’t want her to have seen that go down.
“Bro, I’m sorry,” Cooper said. “Damn it, it’s your wedding day.”
“I don’t accept your apology,” I said, and he blinked at me. “You have nothing to be sorry for. That asshole doesn’t have anything to do with you.”
I almost couldn’t believe that piece of crap had actually hit Cooper. His own son. Any shred of respect I’d had for him burned away t
o ash.
“You were never a stray,” Cooper said, his voice vehement. “No one saw you that way. Actually, I think my mom liked you better than me because you always hung up your towels and you never left your dirty dishes out.”
“That’s true, I was a much better son. You still leave your towels everywhere, and you basically never clean up your dishes. You’re a fucking disaster.”
He smiled. “Fuck you.”
“Fuck you, too.”
We stepped in for another hug, holding each other tight, then doing the customary guy back-clap. Cooper moved, and I felt something against my hip. Something sort of… long and… stiff.
What the hell?
I pulled away. “Jesus, Cooper. Please tell me you have a banana in your pocket or something.”
“Oh, yeah.” He pulled an actual banana out of his pants pocket. “In case I got hungry later. Why, did you think I’d get a boner for you? You’re a sexy beast, bro, but I don’t swing that way. Sadly, you’re going to have to make do with my sister. She’s no Cooper Miles, but she’s okay, I guess.”
“Yeah, she’s a little more than okay.”
I realized the photographer was still here. He’d moved well away from us and now stood awkwardly watching.
“Sorry, man,” I called over to him. “We can get back to pictures in a second.”
He raised a hand to acknowledge he’d heard me. “Take your time.”
Roland and Leo came back, Leo brushing dirt and grass off his suit.
“Dude, Leo, remind me not to get on your bad side,” I said.
Leo straightened his jacket. “Just make her happy and we’ll be cool.”
I grinned at him. “Oh, I make her very happy.”
Cooper groaned. “Chase, no.”
“Too soon?” I asked.
“Yeah, always is too soon.” He held up my tie. “Oh shit, this was your tie. I got blood all over it.”
One of his eyes was already starting to blacken and Leo still had grass in his hair. My tie was bloodied, and our wedding was starting soon. I was in big fucking trouble.
“Oh my god, is everyone okay?”
I turned at the sound of Brynn’s voice and suddenly nothing else mattered.
She was beautiful waking up in the morning, with messy hair, blinking the sleep from her eyes. Beautiful when she had her hair up in a ponytail and sat leaning over a book to study. Whether or not she wore makeup, no matter how she was dressed, my girl was always fucking beautiful.
But now? She was a vision.
Her hair drifted in curls around her face and a wispy veil bordered with lace hung down her back. And her dress. Fuck. Her strapless white gown hugged every curve before flaring just below her hips. The skirt was wide at the bottom, fluttering slightly in the breeze.
I stood, staring at her, utterly frozen. I’d never seen anything so beautiful in my entire life. My chest felt tight and the enormity of this moment hit me. Almost knocked me on my ass. This girl—sweet, wonderful Brynn Miles—was mine.
She could have done anything after I’d kissed her that day. Smacked me. Told me off. Avoided me. But she hadn’t done any of those things. She’d chosen me. Moment after moment, day after day, no matter what had threatened to keep us apart, she’d chosen me.
I wasn’t remotely worthy of her—of that kind of love and trust—but I was going to work my ass off for the rest of my life to try to be.
Cooper pushed past me. “Hold up, jackass, I get the first hug.”
“What happened?” she asked. “You’re hurt.”
“Don’t worry about it. It doesn’t matter now.” He gently hugged her, clearly being careful of her dress and hair. He said something quietly in her ear that I couldn’t make out, but her eyes glistened with tears and she bit her lip.
“Stop it, jerk, I’m going to mess up my makeup.” She laughed softly, dabbing her eyes.
There were probably other people around. I had the vague notion that the girls had come out with Brynn—Zoe, Grace, and Shannon. Maybe Ben was here, too. I didn’t really notice. Brynn shone so bright, nothing else existed.
Just her. Just us.
I stepped closer, slowly, watching her like she was a mythical creature, bound to disappear if I moved too fast. There were sparkles and lace and gauzy white. Bright blue eyes and red lips against porcelain skin. She was so beautiful, I could barely breathe.
“Hi,” I said, completely awed.
“Hi,” she said. “Ben told us Dad was here. Are you sure you’re all right?”
“Yeah. He’s gone. My tie, though. Cooper… I don’t know. I kind of can’t think right now because you’re so stunning. I’m not even sure this is real.”
Her lips parted in a smile and she rested her hand on my chest. “It’s real.”
“I love you.” I couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“I love you too.” She slipped her hands around my waist and looked up at me. “You ready to get married?”
This really was happening. I was marrying Brynn.
“Yeah, baby. I’m ready.”
Thirty-Four
Brynn
The smell of bacon wafted out from Mom’s kitchen, making my stomach rumble. I sipped my coffee and snuggled against Chase. He’d scooted my chair right next to his, like he didn’t want there to be any space between us. His lips pressed to my head and I breathed in the moment. Sitting at my mom’s dining table, surrounded by my family, my husband’s arm around me. I was tired—we hadn’t slept much last night—but I couldn’t imagine a better start to our first full day as a married couple.
The amazing morning sex earlier hadn’t been bad, either.
I hadn’t realized getting married would change us as much as it already had. Everything felt different. I felt closer to him. The vows we’d exchanged yesterday had taken root deep inside me, binding me to Chase. It had been more than a contract—more than a ceremony. It had been a life-altering experience. One that I’d never forget.
We were leaving for our honeymoon tomorrow—a trip to Victoria, British Columbia. Neither of us had ever been, and we were excited to explore a new place together. Although, the suite in our hotel had a huge bed and a jacuzzi tub—I honestly wasn’t sure if we were going to leave our room all week.
“I think I can eat bacon,” Zoe said, her voice bright. She sniffed a few times. “Yeah, it smells good. Oh my god, I haven’t been able to eat bacon in months.”
Roland rubbed her back. “You sure? I can run out and get soup if you want.”
She rested her hand on her belly—which seemed to have grown overnight. “No, I think I can almost eat like a normal person again. Figures I’d have to be almost nine months pregnant before that happened.”
“I’m so glad you’re feeling better,” I said. “You look amazing.”
Zoe smiled. “I look vaguely like a beached whale, but thanks.”
Roland gently touched her face. “Are you kidding me? You’re a goddamn goddess.”
“Yeah, one of those fertility goddesses,” she said, rubbing her belly.
He was right—Zoe did look beautiful. And she’d looked incredible last night. After the almost-disaster that was our dresses, they’d come in, and Zoe’s had fit perfectly.
In fact, everything about our wedding had gone perfectly. Even my dad’s surprise appearance hadn’t ruined it. The ceremony had been beautiful. Chase had teared up a little during our vows. So had Cooper, but I’d pretended not to notice.
The reception had been amazing. It had started off mellow, with appetizers and guests sipping wine. By midnight, everyone was tipsy, my mom and Ben were mixing cocktails like a couple of mad scientists, the music had been blaring, and inhibitions gone. Our family and friends had danced, drank, devoured what was left of the food and cake, and partied until we were all about to drop from exhaustion.
Chase and I had gone to our room over at the Lodge—the hotel adjacent to Salishan—and caught our second wind. If I’d thought sex with Chase had been ama
zing before, newlywed sex was on another level. He’d destroyed me last night—more than once. I was still achy and tired, but in all the best ways.
Mom had invited us all to brunch, but it was turning into lunch, given how tired we all were. It was well past noon. Even my mom had slept in this morning, which was unheard of for her.
Leo sat at the end of the table, his hair covering the scarred half of his face. He’d come in a few minutes ago and sat without saying a word to anyone. He hadn’t been at the reception very long last night, but I hadn’t expected him to stay. He didn’t like being around large groups of people.
I was a little surprised he’d come to brunch. He looked as tired as the rest of us, even though he’d left the wedding early. I had the feeling that despite being kind of grouchy with people, he was lonely. It gave me a twinge of guilt for not trying harder to spend time with him. I could see that he was struggling, even if he always insisted he was fine.
Cooper leaned his back against Chase on his other side, sandwiching Chase between us. He had his hat pulled down over his eyes, like he was taking a nap at the table. Chase didn’t seem to mind; he understood Cooper better than anyone, so a random guy cuddle at the table was probably normal to him. Things were going to be different for the three of us, now that Chase and I were married. But I hoped they both knew there was still plenty of room for their friendship.
Someone knocked on the door. I glanced up from my coffee, but Roland answered it. A second later, Ben came in. You’d never have guessed he was up late partying with us last night. He always looked a little rugged—that was just him—but he appeared perfectly rested, his eyes bright.
“Hey, Ben,” I said.
He smiled, and if he’d been wearing a hat, I think he would have tipped it. “Morning, Sprout. Boys. Zoe.”
My mom appeared in the kitchen doorway wearing a pink apron with cupcakes all over it. Her hair was pulled back and she was drying her hands on a white towel. “Oh good, I’m glad you came by. Brunch is almost ready. Although I guess it’s lunch now. I think we’re all dragging a little today.”
Ben smiled at her and I don’t think any of us missed the look in his eyes. “Are you sure there’s enough for one more? I don’t want to impose.”
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