32. Elijah
Chapter thirty-two
Elijah
“ Y ou ready to get hitched, gentlemen?” I asked.
As I stood between Nick and Link with a hand on each of their backs, I could see the absolute excitement on both of their faces. It made me step back for a second. I didn’t think I had ever seen such sure men in my life. There was always a nervous look to a groom. Not these two. They were certain.
As Link walked over to a chair to sit down, I looked at Nick in the mirror in front of us.
He said, “I cannot wait for this day to be over. Sweets has been mine since she was fifteen; we just had to wait a little while to make it official.” He looked back at himself in the mirror.
His smile grew. “Today, it finally happens.”
“Aww, how nauseating,” I joked.
I looked over at Link. “You good?”
“Absolutely, I am ready for this. Do you think she is?”
“Dude, I knew the moment I met Aubrey that I was losing my best friend to her. You guys are inevitable.”
He rubbed his hands together before looking down at them and back at me. “Thanks for being here with me. I know you have a lot going on, and you hate weddings, but it means a lot to me.”
A weird emotion began to surface, so I cut it off with a joke, “I am just here for the food, man. The wedding is an added bonus.” All three of us laughed. I looked back at him. “For real, though, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. You deserve this. She is amazing.”
He stood and pulled me into a bro hug. “Thanks for being my brother, no matter what.”
I jokingly pushed him away after letting him hug me for a second. “Okay, enough, ya sap. You are the sissy who cries, not me.”
“Fuck you, man. I’m not crying.”
Nick chimed in, “You both love me, too, right?”
“Sure, we will go with that,” I answered with a grin.
A knock at the door caught our attention. I opened it, and both of Aubrey’s dads were standing there. “Can we come in?”
I stepped back, giving them the okay. “I am going to check on the girls. I will give you guys a minute.”
August nodded in recognition. Before the door shut, Link called out to me, “Call your dad. You told me to remind you since you didn’t call him this morning.”
“I will. Thanks for the reminder.”
As I approached the area where the girls were getting ready, I felt a buzz on my leg. It was my dad. “Hey, Dad, good timing. I was going to call you in a few. But I need to check on the girls. Can I call—”
“Elijah.” My mom’s voice came out in a rough whisper like she’d been crying.
“Mom? What’s up? Something wrong with your phone?”
“Your dad. He…” she sniffled.
My eyes began to burn. I sat down on the bench beside me. “Mom. Let me talk to him.”
“He’s gone, Elijah. I am so sorry.”
“He can’t be gone. I am not there.”
“I am so sorry, hon.”
“Eli, why aren’t you in with the guys?” I looked up to see Owen standing there. I could tell he instantly knew something was wrong when I looked up at him. He knelt beside me. “No. Please! No.”
Numbness took over me. I wiped a stray tear from my face with the back of my hand. “Mom, I will be there as soon as I can tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow? You should really come now. He wanted you and me to make all the arrangements. I…”
I stood as a rush of anger flooded my body. “He’s dead, Mom. He isn’t going anywhere. It will have to wait until tomorrow.”
She sniffled, letting out a loud cry. I could hear people in the background, but couldn’t make out what was being said.
“I’ll go,” Owen offered.
I stared at him for a moment, then turned my attention back to the phone. “Mom, I have to stay, but Owen is taking the first flight out. I will see you tomorrow after the wedding stuff is done.”
“If that’s what you think will be best, then—”
“It is. I have to go.” I hung up before she could say another word.
Owen and I stood there staring at each other. He spoke first, “I will catch my flight tonight and book yours for tomorrow.”
I nodded.
“Elijah, he knew—”
“Stop. You barely knew him,” I said, cutting Owen off.
“Hey, that’s not fucking fair. Don’t be an asshole.”
I looked down at my feet. “Shit, sorry,” I hugged him. “I will see you at home tomorrow. Let me know when you land safe.”
“Okay.”
“Love you.”
I nodded. “You too, O.”
I let Owen walk away before making my way to the bar. The bartender was drying glasses. I knocked on the bar top twice. “Hey, can I get a few shots? I know you’re not open yet, but I need some liquid courage.”
Without looking up, he shook his head. “We don’t do shots for events like this.”
“My dad just died, man.” He looked up. “My dad died, and I wasn’t there like I promised him I would be. Can you please give me a few before the wedding starts?”
He put a glass down and reached for a bottle of alcohol. “Whiskey work?”
I sat down and held up a few hundred-dollar bills. “This is yours, if you can keep them coming for me.”
“It’s an open bar, sir.”
“I know. It’s your tip if you don’t cut me off. I promise I won’t lose control.”
He thought about it for a second before reaching for the money. “You keep it together and let me space them out with water in between, and I will keep them coming.”
He poured me a double and placed it down in front of me. I threw it back and wiped my lip. “Looks like we have a deal.”
I took three shots, then some water. “I’ll be back. Gotta check on my girl.”
The bartender looked up at me. “I’ll be here.”
I put my forehead to the wooden door in front of me, taking in a few calming breaths before knocking.
“Who is it?”
“Elijah. I just came by to see if you ladies need anything. It is almost time.”
The door opened a second later, and the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my life stood there.
I stepped toward her, and she held her hand up. “Not so fast. This makeup was expensive.”
“You are fucking beautiful.”
Her smile became shy as she looked me up and down. “Not too bad yourself, handsome.”
She moved aside, and it was just her and the makeup artist inside. I looked at her. “Where’s Aubrey and Callie?” I asked.
“They are in the bridal suite, so the boys don’t see them. I am going to make my way up there as soon as she gets all her stuff packed up.”
“Just one more second,” She called out. Then she turned to us and handed something to Brie. “This is for touch-ups.” She eyed me up and down with a smile. “Looks like you will need a few.” She grabbed her bags and walked out the door.
I lifted my brow at Brie. “Touch-ups?”
She waved it back and forth. “Lipstick. In case I need to touch it up.”
I stepped toward her. “Oh, you will definitely need that quite a bit tonight.”
She once again put her hand up between us. “After the wedding and after pictures.”
I let out a defeated huff. “Fine. Can I hug you?”
She looked up at me, pushing a piece of my hair away from my face. “Yes you may.”
I pulled her into a tight hug. The warmth of her body made me never want to let go. I whispered against her slicked-back hair, “I love you, Masterpiece.”
She pulled away and grabbed my face between her hands. “And I love you.” Her face fell, and she took a step back. “Are you drinking already?”
“The guys and I did a few shots to celebrate.”
She tried to put on a stern face, but I could only smile at her with her cute little nose crinkle. She was so fucking cute when she tried to be tough with me. “If any of you are drunk and fuck this up, I will kill you.”
I kissed the tip of her nose lightly. “Yes, ma’am.”
She pulled back. “I am serious.”
I pulled her into another hug. “I promise no one will be too drunk before or during the ceremony.”
She let the toughness act go and then pushed me out the door. “Okay, good. Now get out of here so I can get my girls down that aisle.”
I pulled her hand to my lips, kissing her fingers lightly. “I’ll only be looking at you, beautiful girl.”
Her smile grew. “Get out of here before I mess up my makeup.”
I stepped toward her. “Oh, I like the sound of that. Let me—”
She turned me toward the door and put both hands on my back. “Goodbye, Eli.” She grunted with the push. “I love you.”
I left with a laugh. “I love you too, baby.”
Before returning to the room to wait with the guys, I grabbed one more drink at the bar. I slapped my hand on the bartop once again. “Hit me, bartender.”
Brielle
“How is my new brother doing?” I stopped Lincoln in the hallway and fixed his pocket square.
He looked up nervously, then back at me. “I can’t wait to marry her. She wants this, right? I don’t know what I am so damn nervous about.”
I gripped his lapel. “Link. She has been waiting for you her entire life. Yes, she is ready for this.” I went to pull away, then pulled him back in using those same lapels.
“And if any of you ruin this before it happens by drinking too much, I will kill you before you can even say I do.” I stepped back and wiped at his lapels like I was dusting them.
He laughed. “Well, you don’t have to worry about that. None of us has had a single drop yet.”
I gave him a concerned look. “What do you mean?”
“We promised Aubs there’d be no drinking till after the pictures.”
Elijah lied.
Lincoln’s eyebrows lowered in concern. “Brie, you good?”
I snapped out of my thoughts. “Yeah. I’m good.”
“You sure?”
I playfully slapped his arm. “Yes. Now go get married and stop worrying about me.”
He let out a chuckle. “You got it, sis.”
I attempted to look for Eli, but my mom found me first, letting me know everything was ready.
As I stood there waiting for my cue to walk through the double doors, Eli came up beside me and linked my arm with his.
“You ready for this?” he asked.
I looked up at him, trying to hide my distaste for him lying to me. Now wasn’t the time to talk about it, and making any part of this day about Eli and me would never happen, so I just forced a smile. “Ready as I will ever be.”
As the girls walked down the aisle, I couldn’t help but cry at how happy they looked. I watched the guys for a moment as well, and the looks on their faces gave me something to hope for.