17. Brax
17
brAX
2 weeks later
“I have an idea. You should remodel the bar,” Aunt Daphne says to Lulu as she sits down at the table next to us.
Not only did Lulu handle all the wedding details, she somehow made the bar not look anything like it normally does.
She only had the last twenty-four hours to transform the old, dark space into something straight out of a modern fairy tale for my sister. We couldn’t close the bar longer than that. I didn’t think she could do it, but from now on, I’m never going to doubt her abilities again.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Lulu says, but I can see the gleam in her eyes. She’s nearly salivating at the idea of getting her hands on this place.
I don’t know how it looked when my grandparents first opened it, but not a single thing has changed since I was a little kid. There is a comfort in that for me, but for customers in today’s world, it is far beyond dated.
“New flooring would go a long way,” I say, lifting a shoe off the tile that’s been washed so many times, it no longer has a protective coating.
“Part of me loves this place,” Lulu says with a sigh. “But the other part wants to tear everything out and start from scratch.”
“That’ll be a small fortune,” Mason says, wading into the conversation.
“Not necessarily,” Lulu replies. “I didn’t spend much on this.”
The three-piece band Lulu somehow scored on her limited budget starts to play as Wylder walks out of the back room, looking as if he’s about to pass out.
The poor guy. He’s been down this road before, but his first wife was a complete bitch. I don’t know if I could do it again if the first time was a disaster.
Everyone in the room stands as the doors to the bar open, and Hazel and Maddy walk in, looking cute in their flowy dresses. Hazel smiles as she throws flower petals, and Maddy walks at her side, looking bored as always.
I squeeze Iris’s hand as my dad and Tate fill the doorway, trying to ignore the gust of cold air that wafts through the dining room .
“She’s so beautiful,” Iris whispers as I stare at my sister.
She really is. She looks so much like our biological mother in their wedding photo from before we were born. I wonder if my dad’s heart ached a little when he saw her today.
“She is,” I whisper back as my dad and sister walk down the makeshift aisle.
Tate’s eyes are pinned on Wylder, and he stares at her without moving, as if he can’t do anything but watch his future solidifying before his eyes. It doesn’t take long until she’s in front of him with my father at her side.
Father McConnell smiles at my sister, the same priest who baptized us when we were babies. He’s been a staple of the neighborhood, and although the rest of us aren’t regular churchgoers, my grandparents insisted on his doing the ceremony.
“Who gives this woman to be wed?” he asks as he looks at my father.
“I do,” Dad says, but his voice cracks as he places Tate’s hand in Wylder’s. “I love you, baby girl.”
“Love you too, Daddy,” she whispers to him and sniffles.
Man, neither one of them is a crier, but the emotion today is high. I know they’re both thinking of Marissa, our bio mom, and how she should be here. No shade to Tilly. She’s the bomb and has done everything possible to step into some big shoes. But that doesn’t mean there still isn’t a hole in our lives on special days like this.
Dad wipes at the corner of his eye with the backs of his knuckles as he walks over to the table to sit with his wife. Tilly gives him a sweet smile as she takes his hand before he has a chance to sit. Her gentle touch is exactly what my dad needed after losing my mom, and especially today. A lesser woman would be threatened by the emotion of missing his first wife, but not Tilly. Maybe because she lost her first husband. They’re tied together in a grief that no one else would understand except the two of them.
Thankfully, the ceremony is a condensed version of the extremely long ones I’ve sat through way too many times to count in my almost three decades on this earth.
When Father McConnell says, “You can now kiss your bride,” and Wylder sweeps Tate into his arms, kissing her a little more passionately than I’d expect in front of the family, the bar erupts into applause. I don’t know if they’re excited for them or happy the ceremony part is over so we can get down to the party.
Tate bends down and gives Maddy and Hazel a kiss on the cheek as the girls practically levitate with excitement. It’s the first time I’ve seen Maddy look that happy, and it’s because of my sister. She has that effect on people—well, not me because she’s a pain in my ass, but on everyone else around her .
“What’s your dream wedding?” Zoey asks Iris.
I don’t turn my head, but I’m totally eavesdropping. Is she the type that wants the big, lavish affair? Probably. That would be my luck. I’m a simple guy, and something like Tate and Wylder just had would be plenty. I’d be fine if it were only the two of us.
Whoa.
I almost stop breathing as I realize my mind went there. Iris and I have only known each other for a month. How in the world am I already putting thought into such an important event? We haven’t even said I love you yet.
Do I love her?
I do. The best parts of my days have everything to do with her. Whether it is a text, phone call, or sitting on the couch to watch a movie, everything with Iris is perfect. It frightens me sometimes too. I’ve never been as comfortable around someone, and it was never this easy.
“I’ve always dreamed of a small ceremony on the beach, even if it’s only the two of us. Something simple,” Iris replies, surprising the heck out of me.
“Eloping is hot,” Zoey says.
Who the hell says that? My cousin, of course. The free spirit. She’d elope and probably not even tell anyone about it until after the fact, causing an uproar in the family for hiding something so big .
“You think?” Iris asks Zoey as she reaches for the champagne glass on the table.
“Totally. Shoes or no shoes?” Zoey says.
“No shoes.”
My inside recoil at the thought. The only thing I hate more than walking through the snow is shoving my feet in sand. It gets everywhere and sticks to my skin far too easily.
“Sandals, at least,” I add, wading into their conversation.
Zoey wrinkles her nose. “Still not over your sand issue, cousin?”
I shake my head. “Never will be.”
Iris turns her dark eyes toward me with the corner of her lips turned up. “Sand issue?”
I shrug. “It gives me the creeps.”
Iris chuckles. “It’s nice to know you have one flaw.”
“Flaw?” I ask and bark out a laugh. “It’s hardly a flaw. I don’t think most people like sand on their feet.”
“I’d wiggle my toes in warm sand every day if I could.”
My lip curls. “You could torture anything out of me like that.”
“Noted,” Iris says with a small laugh. “I hope I never have to use that method, but it might be worth a few laughs.”
I raise an eyebrow, hoping she’d never be that mean and that I’d never give her a reason to be either. “You have to have something that gives you the icks.”
“Hmm,” she mutters as she lifts the champagne flute to her lips. She stares at me as she takes a tiny sip. “Those weird washcloths.”
Weird washcloths? It takes me a moment, and then it dawns on me. I hate them too. “Microfiber,” I whisper. “I hate those too.”
“Ah. You two weirdos make the perfect pair,” Zoey says as she raises her champagne glass in our direction.
“Zip it,” I tell her, but I’m joking, and I know she is too. Zoey is the epitome of quirky.
Hazel comes barreling toward me out of nowhere, and before she can collide with me, I open my arms, hauling her close. “Hey, bean. What’s up?”
“I’m not a bean. I’m a nut.”
“Ah, yes. You’re a Hazelnut,” I say to her, giving her a squeeze as she squeals. I love this kid. She’s a hoot. Smart as a whip and has the best sense of humor.
“Did you see me throw the flowers?” she asks as she situates herself in my lap.
“I did, and you did an excellent job.”
“Thank you,” she says as she beams up at me with the biggest smile.
“Have you met Iris yet?”
“Iris?” she asks as her eyes slide to my side, where Iris is seated .
“Iris, this is my niece Hazelnut, and Hazelnut, this is my girl, Iris.”
“Ooooh,” Hazel sings. “You’re his girlfriend?”
Iris nods. “It’s nice to meet you, Hazelnut.”
“It’s Hazel.”
Iris smiles. “Hazel.”
“Only he calls me Hazelnut.”
“Oh,” Iris says. “I’m sorry.”
“Be nice, Hazel,” I tell her, but I know her well enough to know there’s no malice in her words.
“I mean, I like my name, but I let you call me Hazelnut sometimes, but I really like bean.”
“You move around enough to be one,” I say to her.
“You’re really pretty,” Hazel says to Iris, touching the material of her dress. “He likes you.”
Iris’s eyebrows rise. “You think?”
Hazel nods. “He never brings any other girls around. Just you.”
“How did you get to be so smart?” I ask Hazel.
She peers up at me and, with a straight face, says, “I was born this way.”
Iris covers her mouth to hide her laughter. Damn kid. She’s too much at her tender age. When she gets older, she’s going to be a force to be reckoned with.
Before I can say anything else, Hazel wiggles off my lap and takes off across the room to where Maddy’s standing.
“She’s something else,” Iris says at my side .
“She’s trouble in a few years,” I say, watching her and Maddy giggle about something.
“She’s going to break a lot of hearts,” Iris adds.
“More like she’s going to crush a lot of souls and pulverize a bunch of egos,” I reply, turning my attention back to my date. “So, you want to elope?”
Iris’s eyes go wide. “Now?”
Well, crap. I didn’t mean it like that. Sometimes my mind doesn’t work the way I want it to, and my mouth definitely does its own thing too. Her answer wasn’t a flat-out no, which is kind of nice.
“Shit. I didn’t mean now. I just meant that’s your dream wedding. It’s not what I thought you’d say.”
“The dream has changed over time.”
I wince, having forgotten about Lucas and that entire clusterfuck where he left her at the altar. I wouldn’t want to stand in front of my family again with that memory burned into my brain.
“I like it. You’d pick sand over Vegas?”
She nods. “Vegas is okay, but there’s nothing more beautiful than the ocean at sunset.”
Lulu comes back to the table and sits down. “What are you two talking about?” she asks, being her nosy self.
“They’re talking about their wedding,” Zoey answers.
Lulu’s mouth drops open.
“Iris was telling Zoey about her dream wedding, and I was asking questions. ”
“Should I start planning?” Lulu asks, ignoring the part of my sentence that said it was her dream and not about to be reality.
“You’re the best, Lulu,” Iris says to her. “If we ever get there, you’re the first person I’ll call.”
Lulu touches her chest as her lip trembles. “You’d want me to do it?”
Iris nods, giving Lulu a smile. “You did an amazing job here. There’s no one else I’d trust besides you.”
“Maybe you should do this as a job,” I tell Lulu, trying to get off the topic of Iris’s wedding.
“I don’t know,” she says, but she doesn’t finish the statement because her mother calls her from across the room. “Be back.”
And with her departure, we’re finally able to drop the conversation of our wedding.
“Well, aren’t you two a sight,” Ma says as she walks up to us with her arm looped around Dad’s elbow.
“Hey, Ma.” I lift myself up and kiss her cheek as she leans over to make it easier. “How you holding up, Pop?” I ask as soon as my ass is back in the seat.
He grabs two empty chairs from the table next to us and moves them around our table to sit with us. “I’m good. Good.”
Tilly waves her hand in the air. “It’s an emotionally difficult day for him. ”
“I’m sure,” I say, watching his facial expressions carefully.
Dad scratches at his neatly trimmed beard. “The ceremony had a few moments that my heart hurt for Marissa missing this day, but I’m okay now. I’m too happy for your sister to let sadness become the thing I remember the most from today.”
“Ma’s here with us,” I tell him, patting his knee. “She’s watching us from above.”
He gives me a sad smile. “I know, kid.”
“I felt her here with us. I believe our loved ones never leave our sides, even if we can’t see them,” Tilly adds as she rests her head on my dad’s shoulder.
“I like the thought of that,” Iris says as she hooks her arm with mine and slides her hand into my palm.
Tate and Wylder move around the room, stopping to talk to various friends and family who want to congratulate them on their nuptials.
When they finally make it to our table, they look exhausted but happy.
“Congrats,” I say, holding out a hand to Wylder as my dad and Tilly talk to Tate.
“Thanks, Brax.” He gives my hand a firm shake before his eyes swing to Iris.
“It was a beautiful ceremony,” Iris tells him.
“I couldn’t have asked for anything more. I didn’t need anything besides Tate and my girls.”
Wylder’s a big softy. He’d never admit it, but the guy is a girl dad through and through. Any hard shell he did have, Tate shattered, making sure he let go of any notion he was in charge.
“Baby brother,” Tate says when she looks at me, dressed in a beautiful floor-length white gown.
I rise to my feet and kiss her cheek. “Congratulations, big sis. Another week and that dress would’ve given away your secret,” I whisper in her ear.
“It won’t be a secret much longer. We’re going to announce the baby in a few days,” she whispers back as Mom and Dad talk with Wylder.
If they’re happy about the wedding, they’re going to lose their minds over the first grandchild to be born into the family.
“Dinner’s about to be served,” Lulu says, staring down at her phone. “The caterer has said it’s all ready to roll.”
“Great. I’m starving,” Tate says to her.
I’m sure she is since she’s eating for two.
I was worried when she wanted to use the bar that we’d have to feed everyone too. The logistics of that would’ve been mind-boggling. It’s hard enough when it’s a family dinner, but add Wylder’s side of the family and their friends, and we were bursting at the seams. At least Lulu had the good sense to find a caterer who could serve a small army on short notice.
Coordinating everything could’ve been a nightmare, but Lulu’s organizational skills are top- notch. Any doubt I had in her has been wiped away with this event.
“Save a dance for me,” Tate says in my direction before she takes Wylder’s hand and heads toward the main table where their meals are being placed.
I watch my sister, seeing her smile and laugh with her new husband. Never in a million years did I think she’d find someone who would put up with her attitude, but she found the perfect man for her. And that’s all anyone could ask for.
Finding your forever isn’t always easy. Hell, it doesn’t happen for everyone. But I have a feeling my future is next to me, and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her there.