Page 59 of All the Broken Pieces
Chapter 33
“May I have this dance?” A hand appeared at Harrison’s side and he looked up to see Jeremy grinning down at him. “I promise not to feel you up on the dance floor,” he added in a low voice.
Turning back to the young woman he’d been chatting to, Harrison said, “Would you excuse me please, Amber?”
The brunette gave him a knowing smile. “You go right ahead. It was lovely to see you, Harrison,” she added before turning back toward her husband, Lincoln, who sat on her other side. The board-shouldered man lifted a hand to caress her cheek as she kissed him.
“Are you having a good time?” Jeremy asked as he led Harrison toward the small wooden floor in the middle of the reception area.
“Yes, I am.” Nodding, Harrison wrapped an arm around Jeremy’s waist. “I even had a second glass of champagne,” he admitted in a stage whisper. “So, I’m afraid I can’t make any promises regarding my behaviour on the dance floor. There may be inappropriate touching.”
“I’ll have you know,” Jeremy said with a laugh, “as the best man at this shindig, I must be on my best behaviour.”
“Then you shouldn’t have worn that suit.” Running hungry eyes over the fine form Jeremy cut in his formal attire, Harrison couldn’t help but throw him a wolfish grin. “You look good enough to eat.” He leaned in to press his lips to Jeremy’s neck in a light kiss.
“You can have your fill of me later,” Jeremy promised. “After the happy couple are on their way.” He nodded his head in the direction of the bride and groom, who were locked in each other’s arms on the other side of the dance floor.
The last thing Harrison had expected, when he first met Brady and Trina, was to be a guest at their wedding only two months later.
Harrison had been the one to suggest Jeremy get back in touch with his friends. The relationship they’d shared had been important to Jeremy at a time when he’d needed it and he knew Jeremy missed their presence in his life.
At first, Harrison had been concerned he might feel uncomfortable around Jeremy’s ex-lovers. But Brady and Trina had been so happy to meet him, he couldn’t help but like them. While they shared an obvious sense of physical comfort with his partner, Jeremy had been right, Trina and Brady were hopelessly in love with each other. Their love for Jeremy, while genuine and affectionate, was of a different nature. Over the last two months, he and Jeremy had spent a lot of time with the couple as they made last minute preparations, and Harrison had been relieved to realise, while the renewed friendship made Jeremy happy, it would do nothing to interfere with his and Jeremy’s relationship with each other.
It turned out Brady and Trina had been on the verge of calling Jeremy themselves. Their wedding, which Jeremy had no idea was happening, had been drawing near and, as Brady had stated, it would have been a bit weird if the best man didn’t show up. Jeremy had been beside himself with excitement at the idea of being part of their wedding day. He’d looked so proud that afternoon, standing at the front of the chapel beside Brady as they watched Trina walk down the aisle. Harrison had never loved him more.
“How about you?” Harrison asked as he held Jeremy close. “Did you enjoy hanging out with the Matron of Honour?”
Snorting, Jeremy replied, “Don’t let Kelly hear you call her that. She thinks it makes her sound like an old hag.”
Frowning, Harrison turned his head to glance at the front table where Trina’s best friend sat with her head resting against the shoulder of her husband, Jake. Their newborn daughter was sound asleep in her arms. They were the very picture of everything beautiful in the world. “Seriously?” he asked.
“I think it’s the sleep deprivation,” Jeremy told him. “I’ve never seen a couple look so content and so exhausted at the same time. Julia and co still have that to look forward to,” he added, indicated the woman sitting with Trina’s parents. Her hand rested on her slightly rounded belly as she talked with Trina’s mother. Every now and then her gaze would stray to the dance floor where her partners, Derek and Scott, were enjoying a spin around the floor. Derek was Trina’s brother, so they’d met the threesome a number of times over the past weeks. They were good people. He and Jeremy looked forward to getting to know them better.
“I’m going to marry you one day.”
Harrison’s gaze snapped back to Jeremy, and he smiled when he saw Jeremy’s smug expression. “Is that so?”
“Yep,” Jeremy replied. “We can do that now, you know. And Aunty Cel will be so happy when I make an honest man out of you.”
Laughing, Harrison cupped Jeremy’s face in his hands. “Will that make me Harrison Hayden?” he asked. “Or you Jeremy Winters?”
Jeremy glanced up thoughtfully for a moment before suggesting, “We could hyphenate. Hayden-Winters.”
“Not Winters-Hayden?” he asked, lifting an eyebrow.
With a shrug, Jeremy pointed out, “My name comes first alphabetically, so I should come first.”
“My love, I shall endeavour to always make you come first.” Harrison deadpanned the words, but did nothing to hide the lust in his expression.
Jeremy threw his head back to laugh out loud. “You always did have a generous soul.” Touching his forehead to Harrison’s, he closed his eyes with a sigh of contentment. “I love you.”
“I love you back.” A familiar pressure grew in Harrison’s chest. The one that spread through his limbs until it seemed to expand beyond his body and into the surrounding space. It was an emotion he’d been growing and nurturing these past few months. Not through the rigid following of rules or through demanding perfection in his actions. Instead, he’d tried to find ways to allow the presence of that one emotion to guide his path through life. With the help and support of the people who loved him, he’d learnt to recognise it, feel it, and appreciate it. He liked to call itHappy.
Powerful though it was, he didn’t always have access to this newfound happiness. There were still times when darkness managed to overwhelm him, or when his peace of mind was fractured by anxiety. But he understood now, he trusted, that love and happiness were always alive somewhere deep inside, waiting to be rediscovered. And with Jeremy by his side, it didn’t matter how dark the night became, or how hard he had to fight, because he would always find his way back to the sunshine of Jeremy’s smile.