22. Rex
TWENTY-TWO
REX
I’d misjudged Abigail’s full-size bed. It was a good excuse to keep her wrapped up in my arms all night long. Not that I needed an excuse. I never wanted to get out of this bed. Now that I had Abigail in my arms for real, I didn’t want to let her go. Ever. I held her tighter.
She stirred in my arms. “Good morning.”
“Good morning.” I kissed the top of her bare shoulder and curled my fingertips over her soft stomach.
“Somebody’s awake,” she said, pressing her backside against my cock, which was wide awake and craving her.
“Mmhmm.” My hand slid down between her legs, and she let out a soft moan.
“Don’t you have to get ready for the wedding, best man?”
“Not for a few hours.” I slid my finger into the waistband of those tiny, silky sleep shorts I enjoyed so much and pulled at the fabric. The only thing standing in the way.
“Then we have plenty of time.” She rolled over and kissed me, caressing the back of my neck. My body began to tingle with excitement. This was going to be a very good morning.
Bang, bang, bang!
“Rex, are you up?” Donny called from the other side of the door. Then there was a scratch and a faint meow. “I need your help with something. It’s important.”
“Just a second!” I called back.
“Your brother has the worst timing,” Abigail said, running her hands up my chest.
“Tell me about it.” I took her hands in mine and kissed her fingers. “But it’s his wedding day. Let me go see what he wants.”
I slipped into a pair of pants and opened the door. Winston practically flew inside the room and onto the bed. I just hoped he wasn’t planning to leave any surprises on my side. “What’s wrong, Donny?” I asked.
“It’s my wedding vows,” he said, glancing over his shoulder as if to check if Blair was lurking.
“What about them?”
“I haven’t started yet, and the wedding’s in four hours. Blair’s going to kill me.”
I let out a sigh. “Give me a second, okay?” I shut the door and grabbed a shirt.
“Rex to the rescue again?” Abigail asked, her bare shoulders peeking out of the sheets. I could tell by the sardonic tone of her voice that she wasn’t impressed with me. But Donny needed my help, and it was his wedding day. “I thought you were a firefighter, not an editor,” Abigail joked, stroking her cat. Winston blinked at me, and his face said, Good job, asshole .
“Well, today, I’m the best man, so duty calls.” I pressed my knuckles into the mattress and leaned over her. “I’ll make it up to you tonight. I promise.” I kissed her, tugging her bottom lip with my teeth as I pulled away.
“You’d better, Rex Montgomery.”
Donny didn’t want to talk about the vows anywhere near Blair. And since she and the other bridesmaids had taken over most of Abigail’s house, there wasn’t anywhere safe. So I took him for coffee and cinnamon rolls at the Magnolia Café.
“What are you boys doing here?” Sophie asked, setting down two steaming mugs of coffee. “Shouldn’t you be putting on your tuxes?”
“Blair kicked us out. She doesn’t want me anywhere near her dress until the ceremony,” Donny offered, which was half true.
Sophie’s hand rested on her hip. “Hmm, I bet.” Donny hadn’t picked up on it, but I was getting the sense that Sophie wasn’t a fan of Blair’s either. But that hadn’t stopped her from agreeing to make the wedding cake.
As I watched Sophie throw Donny a glance and then carefully return her attention to the pastries she placed on the table for us, I wondered if the café owner was really as sugar sweet as she seemed. Maybe she had a bit of bite to her; I knew what it was like to be put in that kind of box, to be judged by your squeaky-clean reputation.
“How’s the cake coming?” I asked.
“It’s ready. I’ll be taking it over in about two hours,” she said.
“I can take it for you. Save you a trip?” I suggested.
She smiled and patted my shoulder. “Thanks, Rex, but a wedding cake can’t be transported in the back of a pickup truck. It’s a delicate process. ”
“You’re the expert,” I replied and picked up my cinnamon roll.
“Enjoy. I’ll see you both later.” Sophie walked away, leaving us to get to the matter at hand.
“So, how about these vows?” I asked with a nod.
Donny pulled up his phone. “I’m a football player, not a writer. I don’t know the first thing about writing vows, especially vows I’m going to read in front of millions of followers.” He shoved a hand through his hair, and the light shining through the windows highlighted the bags under his eyes and the lines carved into his face. He looked like he hadn’t slept a wink. I was beginning to understand the pressure he was under. Donny blew out a breath. “I think I’m gonna have to use AI or something.”
I lowered his phone. “No, Donny, you can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s not real. This is your wedding. You’re committing your life to someone. You can’t have a computer come up with the reasons why. You should know those by heart. What attracted you to Blair? What are you excited about for your lives together?”
Donny stared blankly at his phone and didn’t answer my question. “It’s just all of this wedding stuff is so stressful. Blair has been obsessing about every single detail. Making a huge deal about the sponsorships we’re getting. And we need those sponsorships, Rex. The bills keep coming, and I’m not playing football anymore... It’s a lot. I haven’t had time to think about what’s in my heart right now.”
“Just take a breath, Donny,” I said, and he did. “Just talk about the small moments. Like how you love to kiss her when you wake up in the morning.” My mind flashed back to my lips on Abigail’s as the morning sun peeked in through her curtains just an hour ago.
Donny grimaced. “Blair doesn’t let me do that until after I’ve brushed my teeth. And I mean, she’s right. Right?”
“Right,” I answered, forcing a smile. “Well, you can talk about what you’re looking forward to in the future.”
Donny chewed his bottom lip with a wrinkled brow. “But I don’t know what I’m looking forward to. Is that bad? I was looking forward to playing football for the next three years, at least. I was looking forward to winning the Super Bowl someday. But now…” He swallowed thickly. “Now, I don’t know.”
A pang went through my heart. Donny was grown up, and I did want him to stand on his own two feet, but he was still my little brother. I remembered how lost he’d looked when Dad died. It was exactly how he looked now, thinking about his future. Utterly lost.
My brother glanced at me, brow wrinkled. “I thought this whole writing-your-own-vows thing was stupid, but now they’re making me think. What if I can’t write them because I shouldn’t be marrying Blair?”
Whoa. I hadn’t been expecting that to come out of his mouth. I chewed on his question, then asked one of my own: “Do you want to marry Blair?”
He shrugged. “I think so.”
I think so ? We’d all heard about the wedding day jitters. But I couldn’t imagine saying something like this just hours before my wedding. That’s the kind of thing you just knew.
We’d grown up in a house with parents who were obvious about their resentment for each other. They’d stuck it out, but it hadn’t seemed worth it. Misery had dripped down the walls of our childhood home. The only reprieve had been death. Literally. When Dad died, things got easier.
And Donny wanted to sign up for that again?
I leaned in. “Listen, Donny. If you don’t want to do this, you don’t have to.”
“Two point four million people are going to watch this, Rex.”
“Yeah. So?”
“‘So?’ That’s it?”
I shrugged. “None of those people know you, Donny. This is the rest of your life we’re talking about.”
He pressed his lips together and averted his gaze like he was considering it. And there was a part of me that wanted him to call off the wedding. Not because I didn’t want him marrying my ex, but because I wanted my brother to be sure. “No. We’ve come too far to call it off. I’m going to marry Blair today. Let’s just get back to the vows, okay?”
“Are you sure?” I pressed.
He nodded. “Yes, I’m sure. So what else can I talk about?”
I wasn’t satisfied with his answer, but I knew he was going to do what he wanted. I was his best man and his brother. It was my job to support him. “Well, you could talk about the kind of husband you promise to be.”
“You mean, like, a good one?”
I stared at him. He stared back at me.
“Yes, Donny. A good one.”
He typed on his phone as he said, “‘I promise to be a good husband.’”
I cleared my throat. “Yeah, but more specific. Something like, I promise to support you and love you just as you are. To always be there for you, through good times and bad. To unclog the hair from your sink and never make fun of your tools. I promise to do my best to get along with your cat, even when he poops in my shoes. Pick up the pizza when we don’t feel like cooking, and bail you out of jail when your rebellious side gets the best of you. Because I love all of you. And I want all of you forever.”
Donny looked at me, stunned for a moment. “That was pretty good. Can you say that again?”
After another hour or so, Donny had drafted up something decent, and we had just enough time to get back to the house to get ready for the ceremony. When I walked inside Abigail’s, she was standing in the living room. My eyes drew up her long legs to the flowing hemline of her burgundy dress, past the curve of her waist, and up the exposed center of her chest to her pretty red lips. God, she was gorgeous. I couldn’t believe that we were actually doing this. That we were together now, and it wasn’t fake at all.
She smiled. “There you are. I was wondering when you were going to be back.” She walked over and took my hand like it was the most natural thing in the world.
I stared into her eyes and pulled her in. “You look amazing, Abigail.”
She grinned and gave me a little twirl to make the hemline of her dress flutter out around her. “You mean this old thing?”
I thought about my talk with Donny and wondered how he could be unsure. When you were with the woman of your dreams, you knew she was the one. It was bone-deep certainty. It was the twinkle in her eye as she swayed closer, draping her arms over your shoulders. It was the promise of thousands of days, memorable and mundane, that would make a life worth living.
I wanted her to know. I took a deep breath and said, “Abigail?—”
“Where is my garter belt!” Blair screamed. Abigail and I turned our attention down the hall.
Abigail let out a long sigh and rested her cheek against my chest. We swayed slightly while Blair’s screeching continued. “I can’t wait until this is all over,” Abigail whispered.
“They’ll be leaving on their honeymoon tomorrow, and then it’ll be just you and me,” I said and kissed her again. “I’d better get in my tux.”
“Mmhmm, let’s get this show on the road,” Abigail said and smacked my butt as I walked away. I looked back at her and she sent me a wink.
Laughing, I turned the corner. A thousand days, memorable and mundane, with someone at my side who made life worth living. The possibility of it made me feel like I was floating.