He helps straighten my tie. I’m so nervous that my hands are shaking. “Who knew that my kid sister would marry the kid across the street?” he says, looking at me fondly.
I laugh. “Yeah, let’s just hope she doesn’t run away with the other kid from across the street,” I reply loudly enough for Preston to hear.
He turns around. “You know I’d never let her do that, right?”
I grunt, not sure of anything when it comes to those two.
“Seriously, she wouldn’t even consider it. The two of you are so perfect together that I can’t believe I didn’t see it before. Plus, you’ve knocked her up. She ain’t going nowhere, man,” he laughs out, then stops as he realizes he’s spilled the beans to her brother.
I look over at Jake and Jake looks at me. He smiles and raises his hands in the air, showing me his palms. “I didn’t hear anything.”
“Thanks. We’re telling everyone at the reception, so you don’t have to keep the secret for too long. Hell, I’m surprised my dumbass brother has kept it in until now.” I glare at him and he shrugs.
“Sorry, man. It just slipped out.”
“Mm-hmm, as long as it doesn’t slip out again.”
We get the knock on the door that indicates it’s time to get this show on the road. The three of us walk out of the room and head to the chapel. We enter through the side door and take our places on the stage. The pews are already full of our friends and family, with our parents right up front—all but her dad, who’s giving her away.
The preacher comes out and stands beside me. Moments later, the music starts up and the doors at the end of the aisle open. I stand there, watching as the flower girls walk out, dropping flower petals. Then Riley comes in with a smile. I look back at Preston and he’s smiling at her too—and checking her out in her light-blue bridesmaid’s dress.
The music changes and gets louder. I see Piper step up to the door and she steals my breath. Her dad is at her side and I see his lips move, but can’t hear what he’s saying. He’s probably trying to make sure she isn’t backing out. Or maybe he’s trying to talk her into backing out. I’m not sure.
Her honey-blonde hair is pulled up high on her head with soft curls falling around her face. Her white dress is long and beautiful, sparkling where the light hits it. It hugs her hips nicely and puts her growing breasts on display. I have to wet my dry lips and talk myself down before I do something to screw up the wedding—like fucking her right here on this stage in front of all our friends and family. I’m so lost in her that I don’t even realize that the preacher has started talking.
“Who gives this woman to be married to this man?” I manage to hear over my thoughts.
“Her mother and I do,” her father says, handing her over to me.
“You look beautiful,” I whisper, and she smiles and mouths the words thank you.
The preacher starts talking about two people coming together as one, and I think there’s a prayer in there somewhere, but I can’t tear my eyes off her long enough to listen to what he’s saying. All I know is that when I’m asked to repeat after him, I do so without even having to try. It’s like I already know what I need to do. Like I’ve been prepared to say these words to her my whole life.
“I take you, Piper Lynn Montgomery, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward. For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.” I slide the silver wedding band onto her finger and she smiles.
“I take you, Calvin Michael Young, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward. For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.” She slides the matching silver wedding band onto my finger as we turn to look at the preacher.
“By the power vested in me by the state of Illinois, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”
Nothing else needs to be said. I pull her against me and press my mouth to hers. My tongue comes out and dances with hers and it feels like the first time. Everyone in the church cheers and claps. Preston clears his throat from behind me and it reminds me to pull away at some point.
Forcing myself, I pull back and her face is flushed. We turn toward the crowd and I lead her down the aisle. Once we’re no longer in the chapel, we go into her private dressing room. The moment the door closes, I spin her around and press my body to hers, kissing her deeply. We’re supposed to be waiting for everyone to go outside so they can throw birdseed at us, and I know the perfect way to kill a few minutes.
My hands start pushing her dress up her thighs.
She giggles against my lips. “What are you doing? We can’t have sex in a church.”
“Oh, but we can,” I say, moving my hands to my pants to unfasten them. I push them down my thighs and push up her dress. When the dress is bunched up around her waist, I pick her up again and position myself at her opening.
She no longer cares where we are. I can tell by the way her mouth is back on mine as I guide myself into her. She moans into my mouth when we connect, and I’m already so excited I could come without even moving. But we only have a few minutes and I want to make sure she gets what she needs. I move my hips back and forth as fast as I can, pounding into her with everything I have. It only takes a couple minutes before she’s shattering around me. When her muscles start to loosen, I finish myself off with a growl.
Someone knocks on the door. “All right guys, everyone is waiting for you,” Preston says, and I’m glad it’s him and not the church director or something.
With a sigh, I pull out of her and set her gently on her feet. I pull my pants up and help her get her dress and everything situated again. After I fasten my pants, I hold out my arm. “Ready for this, Mrs. Young?”
She smiles wide. “I like the sound of that.” She laces her arm through mine and I open the door, leading her out of the church and onto the sidewalk where our friends and family are lined up, pelting us with birdseed. The limo is at the bottom of the steps and we rush to it, jumping inside and closing the door behind us.
Everyone outside the limo is still throwing birdseed and blowing bubbles, cheering and clapping as I pop open a bottle of sparkling cider. It bubbles as I pour it into a flute.
“Calvin, I can’t.” She seems surprised that I’ve forgotten she’s pregnant and would even think of offering her alcohol.
I laugh and show her the bottle. “It’s safe; I promise.” I tap my glass against hers. “I’d never do anything to hurt you or our baby.” I lean forward, press a kiss to her lips, then we each take a sip.
“Are you ready to tell our families the good news?” I ask as we drive around, waiting for everyone to get to the country club where we can be announced.
“I’m nervous,” she confesses. “I just feel like everyone’s going to judge us for moving so fast.”
“We did move kind of fast,” I agree. “But why wait when you know what you want?”
She offers up a soft smile. “I don’t know how you do it, but you always know just what to say, exactly when I need to hear it.”
“That’s what I’m here for.” I lean in and kiss her softly. My hand gently presses against her belly. “And soon, everyone is going to know about this little guy.”
We walk into the country club and head toward the grand room. The DJ announces us and the doors open.
“Everyone, please give a warm welcome to Mr. and Mrs. Calvin Young!”
Everyone stands from their seats to clap and cheer for us as we enter the room that’s been decorated perfectly. Every table has a white tablecloth with light-blue lace draped over it. In the center of each table sits a large jar holding a single tall candle, surrounded by baby’s breath and little blue flowers.
We pose for pictures and are given handshakes and hugs on the way over to our table. Our chairs are in the center with Jake, Preston, and Riley close by. I can’t tell how much time is spent just talking to ever
yone who comes up to our table, but after what feels like forever, it’s time to cut the cake.
The moment of truth.
Piper makes sure our parents are front and center for the cake cutting. She picks up the knife and I place my hand on top of hers. We cut through it together and pull out a slice of cake. The icing is white with tiny blue flowers along the side. The cake itself is blue. Now, sure, our wedding colors are blue and white, so people probably just think we went overboard with the colors. But we place the slice on a plate and look up at our parents. Our fathers are completely lost. My mom seems confused—like she’s trying to figure out why in the world we’d have a blue wedding cake. But Piper’s mom lets out a loud squeal and tears flood her eyes.
“Oh my God! They’re pregnant!” she announces loudly to the whole wedding party.
Our parents look to us for confirmation as we nod.
The room erupts in another round of applause as our parents come over to hug us. Preston is standing at my side and my mom looks at him. “Did you know about this?” There hasn’t been much in our lives that the other hasn’t known about.
He offers up a crooked smile. “I might have.”
She looks back at me. “How in the world did you get this one to keep that big of a secret? How long have you known?” she asks, looking back at him.
“Since they got back from Hawaii.”
She turns and looks back up at me, then over to Piper. “You’re that far along?”
Piper smiles and nods.
“I can’t believe you two!”
Piper’s mom comes over to tell her about all the things she’s knitted, and her dad seems to finally relax.
“What’s wrong, Mr. M?” I ask around a smile.
He shakes his head and wipes the sweat off his brow. “I’m just glad that it’s you two having the baby and not us! She really had me worried,” he laughs out.
The party gets started and everyone is eating, drinking, dancing, and having a good time. I notice that Preston and Riley run off together, and it has me wondering if things are more serious with them than what they’ve been claiming. I don’t bring it up to Piper, though. I want her to remember tonight as the night we finally made it official—not the night my brother hooked up with her best female friend.
We laugh and dance and do all the normal wedding things. I throw her garter and Preston makes sure to catch it just because he wants to win everything. He doesn’t realize that if you catch the garter, it means you’re getting married next. He even pushed people out of the way to catch it. Poor Uncle Wilbur nearly broke a hip.
After Preston helps pick him up off the floor and Uncle Wilbur ambles off, Preston holds the blue garter in the air in his closed fist. I walk over with a laugh. “You realize that means you’re getting married next, right?”
His expression changes from happiness to worry in a split second. “What? No! No, it doesn’t mean that! Does it? Here, you take it!”
I hold up my hands. “Sorry, I’m already married. That’s all yours. And just think, that was probably Uncle Wilbur’s last chance too.”
“Uncle Wilbur!” he says, quickly looking around him in all directions. He finally finds him sitting at a table up front. Preston runs over, falls to his knees, and shoves the garter into his hand. Uncle Wilbur tries giving it back, but Preston is up and gone before that can happen.
Piper stands to throw the bouquet, and to everyone’s surprise, my mom catches it. She’s beyond happy, because she’s been trying to talk my dad into renewing their vows for years now.
“It’s perfect timing. Next year will be our 30th anniversary!”
Dad rubs his eyes and shakes his head.
I laugh as I walk away from them to find my bride. She’s back at our table, sitting all alone. I take my seat next to her. “Everything okay?”
She nods and offers up a smile. “I’m just tired and my back is starting to hurt from being on my feet all day.”
I take her hand in mine. “Well, let’s get out of here then. Our honeymoon awaits.”
“We can’t leave our own party early.”
“Who says we can’t?” I ask, pulling her up to her feet and sneaking out the side door, not stopping to say any goodbyes.
I call Preston and he comes outside with Riley. “Riley is riding with me to keep me company on the way home. You guys got everything?” he asks, walking to his car in the parking lot.
“Yep, we have everything. I just need to change out of my dress before the flight. I’ll do it in the back seat.” Piper digs her clothes out of the bag and brings them into the back seat with us. As Preston drives us toward the airport, Piper strips out of her dress and stuffs it into the front seat for Riley to deal with.
Once she’s fully changed, she leans in and presses a kiss to my lips. “I love you, Mr. Young.”
I smile. “I love you too, Mrs. Young.”
Epilogue
PIPER
“Careful, don’t shake him too much,” I say, watching Calvin as he carries Mason’s car seat.
“I know. He’s fine,” Calvin says, setting the seat down in front of me. He bends down, unfastens him, and hands him over to me to breastfeed. I hold my little boy in my arms and gaze down at his handsome little face. He’s the perfect mix of Calvin and me. He has Calvin’s icy blue eyes and angular face, but the rest of him is all me. His honey-blond hair is all over the place from wiggling his way out of his little hat.
I lower my top and he latches on.
Calvin laughs. “He must get his appetite from his mama.”
“Speaking of, I’m starving. Would you mind finding me something?”
“Sure.” He stands up and moves into the kitchen. A little while later, he’s bringing me a plate. He sets it on the arm of the couch while I burp Mason. I look over to find my favorite banana nut muffin from the bakery back home.
My eyes widen with excitement. “How’d you get that?”
He grins. “I have my ways.” He collapses next to me on the couch. “When Preston went home last week, I had him pick up a dozen. I froze them, so now you can have one whenever you want.”
Tears fill my eyes. My hormones are still clearly screwed up. “You did that for me?”
He chuckles and nods his head. “Of course. I’d do anything for you, baby.” He picks up my hand and kisses the back.
Someone knocks on the door and Preston and Riley walk in. They’re still hiding their relationship from everyone, but I can tell things are getting more and more serious. We caught them out on an actual date a few days before I went into the hospital. I was desperate to get this baby out of me and had taken to walking him out. Calvin and I were on a stroll in the city when we bumped into them. They both blew it off and acted like it was nothing out of the ordinary, but we knew the truth.
“Hey, guys,” Riley says as she comes to sit down. “We thought the godmother and godfather should meet the baby we’ve sworn to protect.”
“Lucky you, he’s just eaten.”
“Yeah, he’s like his mommy when it comes to food,” Calvin jokes.
I roll my eyes at him and lean forward, passing Mason over to Riley.
She holds him close to her chest and gazes down at him like he’s stolen her heart. “He’s perfect,” she cries out, tears starting to run down her cheeks.
“Aww, you okay, Riley?” I ask, grabbing a tissue off the end table and passing it over to her.
She takes it and wipes at her tears as she nods.
Preston is still standing up and looking nervous. “I’m just going to say it,” he blurts out, stealing everyone’s attention.
“What’s up, man?” Calvin asks, suddenly looking nervous himself.
Preston takes a deep breath, puts his hands on his hips, and says, “Riley and I are pregnant!”
They both sit stock-still, watching us and waiting for our reaction. Calvin’s stuck in overly-friendly, smiley mode. “That’s . . . great?” he says, but it sounds more like a question.
&
nbsp; “You’re pregnant?” I ask, looking only at Riley.
She nods, tears still falling from her eyes.
“Are you happy about this? Were the two of you planning this?”
“It wasn’t planned, but we’re happy. I know we haven’t really known each other for very long, but since you introduced us, we haven’t been able to leave each other’s sides. After that dinner where you asked me to be godmother, we started talking and hanging out. Then we finally went out on a few dates, but we were taking it slow. I mean, I knew that you were in love with Calvin, but I still didn’t know how you’d feel about me being with Preston since you’d loved him all of your life and he was your best male friend. In fact, we took things so slowly that we didn’t hook up until your wedding.”
“You hooked up for the first time at our wedding?” I ask, feeling excited. What could be better than my two best friends getting together? And they’re having a baby! I’m going to be an aunt!
“This is perfect, guys,” I finally say after processing my emotions. I stand up slowly and give Preston a hug. I can’t hug Riley because she’s holding Mason, but I promise to get her later.
We all sit and talk about Preston, Riley, and the new baby she’s carrying. Then it hits me.
“We can finally buy our houses and live next door to each other!” I nearly yell, making Mason—who’s now in Calvin’s arms—jump.
Everyone laughs. “This place is almost done being renovated. It’s the perfect time to put it on the market. We need to start looking for houses closer to home.”
Everyone laughs and jokes about it, but I’m completely serious and already planning on checking out real estate websites tomorrow. As I sit back and watch my husband with our new baby, and my best friend with my other best friend, I know I have it all. There’s nothing in life I can’t handle, because now I know I already have everything I need.
The WRONG Brother: A Friends to Lovers Romantic Comedy (Love You Forever Book 1) Page 19
