Forever (Empire High Book 8)

Chapter 42

Friday

Matt

It’s a girl?I stared at her stomach. “We’re having a girl? When did you find out?”

Brooklyn opened her mouth and then closed it. “No. Yes. Maybe? I’m so sorry, I don’t know. I just…” her voice trailed off. “I feel like it might be.”

I smiled. She was so adorable.

“And if it is, I’d like her to have the option of wearing this dress. So please don’t rip it into pieces.”

“I’m not a wild animal. I was probably just going to pop a few buttons.” Although the tulle between her breasts was just begging for me to rip it with my teeth.

She raised her eyebrow at me.

“But I promise I won’t.” My eyes trailed down between her breasts to her stomach. “A girl.” I smiled. “I was thinking it was probably a boy. But I could picture us having a little girl. A little you. I want to fill our house with little Brooklyns.”

“I feel like if I smile any more my cheeks are going to freeze like this.”

I leaned down and kissed one of her cheeks. “I hope they do. I love it when you smile.”

Her smile just grew even more. “This is so much better than Black Friday 16 years ago. And now we can always remember this instead.”

I thought I wanted to completely erase that memory. Set the world right. But I was grateful for every moment we’d had rekindling our relationship. I was happy right here, in this moment. And so was Brooklyn. That’s all that really mattered.

Someone tapped their silverware against the side of their champagne flute. I turned to see Mr. Pruitt stand up. “A toast,” he said. “To the happy couple.”

The D.J. handed him the microphone.

“I didn’t know the father of the bride was going to make a toast!” Justin said from behind us. “Brooklyn, why didn’t you tell me?!”

Brooklyn laughed. “Justin, I didn’t even know he was coming. How could I have possibly told you he was making a toast?”

“You two need to go sit down! The toasts have been commandeered! This is an emergency!”

“Justin,” Brooklyn said and put her hands on his shoulders. “Kennedy and Mason’s toasts were planned for right now anyway. It’s fine. But because this seems like a big deal to you…I should probably warn you that Rob is planning a toast too.”

I laughed. Of course he was. Rob would never miss an opportunity to upstage my best man.

“Damn that hilarious hunk of man meat! Sit, sit,” he shooed us toward our table.

I put my hand on Brooklyn’s lower back and guided her to our table. The curtains on the windows had been opened, and the snow was falling harder now. I always loved when it snowed in New York. It was the only time the city ever felt quiet. I pulled Brooklyn’s chair out for her and we both sat down.

It felt so surreal to be seated here with Brooklyn, staring out at all our family and friends. I knew Brooklyn had already pinched me, but I kept thinking I was about to wake up.

“Angel,” Mr. Pruitt said and lifted his glass. “I know we’ve had our ups and downs.”

I stared at Brooklyn and then back at him. That was the understatement of the century.

“Even the name angel…” he shook his head. “But you are my angel. You saved my life.”

I clenched my hand into a fist under the table.

Brooklyn reached over and put her hand on top of my fist.

I turned to look at her.

“A new beginning, remember?” she whispered.

I unclenched my fist. My wife was the most understanding person in history. I took a deep, steadying breath.

“I wouldn’t be standing here today if it wasn’t for you,” Mr. Pruitt said. “And for more than just the obvious reason. You gave me a new purpose, Brooklyn. You are so much like your mother. You reminded me of who I wanted to be. Who I still could be. For you.”

I stared at the tears welling in Brooklyn’s eyes.

“And Matthew.”

I turned to look at him.

“You weren’t my first choice, as you know. It’s no secret that I tried to push Brooklyn toward your brother back in high school.”

Asshole.We’d had a nice moment before the wedding. Why was he bringing that shit up?

Mason chuckled.

Mr. Pruitt shook his head. “Matthew, you were basically a gnat that wouldn’t go away.”

Someone’s fork clanged onto the floor and another person coughed.

“Dad,” Brooklyn said.

“I’ll get to the point,” Mr. Pruitt said. “It turns out you were the good kind of gnat.”

What the hell was a good gnat?

“And you surprised us all by taking over MAC International. A proper heir. And as it turns out…the right choice for my daughter.”

I looked at Mason. He wasn’t chuckling anymore. He folded his arms across his chest and glared at Mr. Pruitt. Bee whispered something in his ear and he smiled. I wondered if she’d told him he was allowed to punch him or something. I wasn’t completely opposed to that.

Justin slowly clapped and walked up to Mr. Pruitt. “Excellent speech, sir. Maybe the best man would like to pick it up from here…” He tried to reach for the microphone but Mr. Pruitt sidestepped him.

“I’m almost done,” Mr. Pruitt said. “Where was I? Ah, yes. Heirs. For the longest time, you were my only living heir, Brooklyn. And now I am so lucky to have a grandson, and another heir on the way. I can’t wait to get to know both of them.”

Well, that was sweet. But I didn’t love the way he kept referring to our kids as heirs. Calling them his grandchildren was preferable.

“Our family will persevere despite all the attempts at our lives. And hopefully those will stop now that I’ve stepped down from my…job.”

“Was he in the mafia or something?” I heard one of my friends from college try and fail to whisper.

I never took Mr. Pruitt for being bad at speeches. But this was not great. Or maybe it was exactly what he wanted it to be. He always had liked putting me down. He had a minute to wrap this up or I’d be the one hitting him instead of Mason.

“I am so thrilled that you came back to the city, Brooklyn. And that you found your way back to Matthew. Because I do see it now. He looks at you the way I used to look at your mother. And the way your mother used to look at me.” He cleared his throat.

Okay, that was actually kinda sweet.

“And now that he’s a grown up, I do believe he can protect you.”

I sighed. Another jab from the past. I didn’t remember Mr. Pruitt being so sassy.

“I didn’t have time to pick up a gift because I was informed fairly last minute of this wedding,” he said. “So as my gift to you, I’ll of course be paying for all this.” He gestured around the room.

“That’s really not necessary…” I started.

“I insist,” Mr. Pruitt said. “And I wish you both a lifetime of happiness. And here’s to many more heirs to come. Our legacy shall live on.”

Rob started clapping.

Daphne elbowed him in the side.

And I just laughed. We’d have time to work on the whole heir and legacy thing. Because my family was not going to be anything like his. “Thanks,” I said.

Brooklyn lifted her water glass. “Thanks, Dad.”

Her father finally sat back down.

“That was a lot,” Brooklyn whispered to me out of the corner of her mouth. “I’m so sorry.” But she actually looked…pleased. Brooklyn didn’t have a father growing up. She didn’t know what it was like to be embarrassed by him in public. And I think it tickled her.

“Well, he was right about a few things. I will protect you. We’re going to make lots of heirs for him. And I am the better Caldwell brother.”

Brooklyn laughed.

“Mhm,” Mason said and stood up from the table right next to ours. “I heard that.”

“I was just kidding,” I said.

“Sure you were.” He tapped on the microphone and lifted up his glass. “To my annoying little brother.”

Everyone laughed.

He smiled and turned toward me. “I don’t really mean that. Weirdly enough, we’ve always gotten along. All four of us.” He nodded at Rob and James. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not about to embarrass the shit out of you.”

Oh no, what are you about to say?

Brooklyn laughed.

Mason smiled at her. “There’s something you should know about the man you just married. He’s been head over heels in love with you since the moment you stepped foot in Empire High.”

Well, he wasn’t wrong about that. And I wasn’t embarrassed.

“When we were teenagers, I used to joke around with him about it. But I’ve always respected him for knowing what he wanted. And not settling for less. He wanted the kind of love my parents have for each other. The kind of love we grew up around. And he found that with you. I think he taught all of us that we could be happy if we found the right person.”

James nodded. Rob too.

“And when we lost you?” Mason took a few seconds, and I knew he needed to try to steady his breathing. “Sis.”

Brooklyn sniffled beside me.

I put my arm around her shoulders and squeezed her tight.

“Your disappearance brought the whole world down with you. Nothing was ever the same again. You broke my brother. Hell, you broke all of us.” He took a deep breath. “But when you came back? I see him again now. You gave me my brother back. The little lovesick puppy that he is.”

I laughed even though I was biting back tears myself.

“And Rob is probably going to kill me, but I think we all need to take a second to thank Tanner for getting the two of you back together. Because I’ve never met two such stubborn people in my life. And without Tanner’s meddling, I don’t know if we’d be sitting here today, exactly 16 years after one of the worst days of our lives.”

Rob groaned.

I nodded at Tanner. “Thank you, man.”

He smiled. “It was easy. All in a day’s work.”

I knew that wasn’t true. Mason was right. Brooklyn and I were both stubborn and we’d both held on to so much anger. Tanner had given us the push we needed to keep running into each other and sorting our shit out. We were here today because of him.

Mason cleared his throat. “I would also like to add that as your best friend and best man…”

Rob groaned again.

“Sorry, I have nothing to say about that really. Just wanted to rub it in Rob’s face.”

“This is such bullshit,” Rob said.

Mason ignored him. “So, sis.” He lifted his glass. “To the OG girl in the Untouchables.”

Brooklyn sniffed again.

“The world crumbles without you in it. So please stick around because my brother is worthless without you.”

I wouldn’t necessarily say I was worthless, but…he had a really good point. My life was certainly worthless without Brooklyn in it.

“I love you both. And I wish you a lifetime of happiness. To the new Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell. Welcome to the club.” He put his hand on Bee’s shoulder.

I pulled Brooklyn even closer and looked down at her. “What happened to smiling so hard that your cheeks would get stuck that way?”

She blinked her tears away. “Happiness has a lot of different faces.”

I leaned down and kissed her. I forgot we were in a crowded room until a few people whistled.

Brooklyn laughed and pulled back.

“I don’t know how I’m going to top that,” Kennedy said and slowly stood up. She took the microphone from Mason. “I remember trying to think of what to say 16 years ago for your wedding. Back then everything seemed so much simpler. It was just…my best friend in the whole world getting married. But now?”

Kennedy shook her head. “I’ve made so many mistakes. And I am so so sorry that I haven’t always been the best friend I should have been. Back then. And more recently.” She cringed.

This was a little awkward…

“For years, I thought I lost my best friend. I felt so stuck in the past. I missed you so damn much, Brooklyn.” Kennedy started blinking fast. “I think the only person that missed you more was Matt. He never stopped missing you. Never stopped loving you. There’s always been a hole in his heart, waiting for you to come back and fill it. And everything finally feels right in the world now that you’re back.”

I turned to look at Brooklyn.

“Thank you,” she mouthed silently at Kennedy.

“It finally feels like we all get to live happily ever after. No more dark clouds. And no more bad luck,” she said firmly to Brooklyn. “Nunca.”

“Nunca,” Brooklyn said and lifted her glass.

Kennedy laughed. “Here’s to the happy couple. I wish you both a lifetime of happiness and laughter and joy. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, no one deserves that more than you, Brooklyn. I love you. And I’m so so freaking happy for you both.”

“I love you too,” Brooklyn said.

Everyone clapped as Kennedy sat back down.

That speech could have been the most awkward thing ever, but she’d ended up pulling it off. I still couldn’t believe that I asked Brooklyn for a sign and then Kennedy had shown up. I really really read into that too much. And at such a terrible time, right when Brooklyn came back. But Kennedy was right. Everything had worked out exactly how it was meant to. I was back with Brooklyn, where I belonged. And she was with Felix, who I apparently cock blocked like crazy in high school. I still felt really bad about that.

But this was a new beginning. A fresh start, just like Brooklyn had said. And I knew the four of us would always be friends.

The microphone made a screeching noise as Rob grabbed it from Kennedy.

Speaking of my friends…

“Great speeches, guys,” he said with a chuckle. “Bravo. But I feel like we didn’t embarrass anyone enough.”

Ah, fuck me.

“As Matt’s best friend…”

Tanner cleared his throat.

“Suck it, Tanner.”

Tanner rolled his eyes.

“As I was saying. As Matt’s best friend, I think it’s very appropriate to mention the fact that he almost didn’t get to win Brooklyn over. Because she almost got engaged to James.”

Not true, man.

Brooklyn laughed.

“And actually, Mr. Pruitt has a point too. Mason is clearly the better brother. He’s more…Masony.”

What the fuck does that even mean?

“Word,” Mason said.

“And Brooklyn’s certainly screamed my name before.” He winked at her.

Brooklyn’s cheeks turned red.

“But alas, she chose you or whatever. And you already knocked her up.” He laughed. “I’d call it a record, but I’m pretty sure Daphne and Penny were farther along when they walked down the aisle. The Hunters win.” He put his hand up to high five James.

I was surprised that James actually high fived him.

“I think that finally closes the case. The Hunters have bigger dicks. Enough said.”

“Shotgun weddings are not proof of dick size,” Mason said.

“Said the only one of us who didn’t knock up his wife before the vows were exchanged.” Rob raised his eyebrows at him. “This has been a long standing debate for anyone who doesn’t know what we’re talking about.”

“I don’t understand where this is going…” Brooklyn said.

“Everywhere,” Rob said. “Also, I just think it’s important for the best friend of the groom to speak. Because that’s why we’re here. And that’s what we are. Right, Matt? I’m your best friend? I want you to say it. So everyone can hear.”

This wasn’t supposed to be a moment for my vows to him. What was he doing? “You know I love all my groomsmen equally.”

“I knew it!” Nigel yelled. “Matt loves me! He said so. All that bath time we spent together really paid off.”

Umm…

“What is happening?” Brooklyn asked.

She’d figure out soon enough that I’d become a bit of a bath man.

“Chill, Nigel,” Rob said. “This isn’t about you. And I didn’t want it to come to this, Matt,” Rob said. “But you leave me no choice. Check this out.” He pulled out his phone and hit a button.

My voice filled the room with a recording: “Rob is my best friend. I like him the most of all my friends.”

Fuck.I’d forgotten about that.

Rob had somehow synced up to the D.J.’s speakers.

“Son of a bitch,” Tanner said.

“Let me play it again in case you didn’t hear.” Rob hit the button again. “Rob is my best friend. I like him the most of all my friends.”

Tanner glared at me.

“You were messing with my life,” I said. “I was pissed at you.” It had actually been because he kept trying to set Kennedy up with Felix. But I was not about to say that out loud right fucking now. What the hell, Rob?! He said he was going to save this recording for Tanner’s wedding one day. He’d never said anything about playing it at mine.

“But I was right about everything,” Tanner said. “Clearly.” He pointed to Brooklyn. “She’s always been your perfect match. It’s true love.”

“Well…yeah.” What else was I supposed to say? In the moment, I’d hated Tanner for interfering. But yes, I was obviously very fucking grateful. And I was not going to talk about that little hiccup with Kennedy on my fucking wedding day.

“So take it back,” Tanner said.

“Of course I take it back.”

“You can’t take it back,” Rob said. “Listen: ‘Rob is my best friend. I like him the most of all my friends.’ ”

“Stop playing that,” I said.

“No taksie backsies!” Rob yelled.

“Young Robert, we’re supposed to be celebrating the happy couple. Not…whatever it is you’re doing. Sit down, son.” Tanner tried to reach for the microphone, but Rob pulled it away with a deafening screech.

“Did you just call me son?” Rob looked deeply offended. “Why I oughta…”

“Enough,” James said and tried to pull Rob down into his chair.

But Rob shook him off. “Face havin’,” Rob said and put his hand in front of Tanner’s face.

“What does that even mean? Of course I have a face.” Tanner pushed his hand away.

“Based on the delivery and context, it seems as though Rob just directed a horrible insult at you,” Nigel said. “You should be devastated right now, Master Tanner.”

“You should be so devastated!” Rob said. “The most devastated. Ha!” He pointed at Tanner’s face.

But Tanner didn’t look devastated. He just looked confused and slightly entertained.

James successfully wrangled Rob into his chair.

“Congrats to the happy couple!” Rob yelled. “And my best friend!” Rob dropped the microphone and it screeched again.

“Um…thanks?” Brooklyn said.

“You’re welcome.” Rob winked at her.

I just shook my head. Although, that had been wildly entertaining. I expected nothing less from Rob commandeering a speech. I was pretty sure he was also already drunk.

Brooklyn looked up at me. “Interesting friends you got there.”

I laughed. “They’re your friends too.”

“Touché. But are you seriously never going to tell them who your best friend is?”

“No, I think they’d be too jealous when they found out it was you.”

She smiled up at me.

I ran my thumb along the tulle of her dress, tracing her clavicle bone.

Her throat made an adorable squeaking noise as she stared up at me.

Seriously, how much longer was she going to make me wait to get her out of her wedding dress?