Page 119 of Everything After

The room fell silent when Hank rose to his feet, where he adjusted his suit and pulled out his father-of-the-bride speech.

Hank glanced at Brett, shook his head, then turned his attention to us. “When I first met Brett I thought, what in the world does my sweet, baby girl see in him?”

The nervous tittering laughter in the room told me that most of those present weren’t sure whether he’d meant his comment or whether it was a joke.

“Good to know you weren’t put off by punching above your weight, Brett,” Jack called out, wanting to lighten the atmosphere. Brett’s family thought this hilarious and laughed, giving the rest of us permission to join in.

Hank held his hand up for silence, then continued. “Can’t argue with the truth, that was my initial thought. Then, as I got to know him, I figured maybe there’s something to this guy that’s put a permanent smile on my princess’s face.”

Rick coughed. “That’d be due to his big dick,” he muttered gruffly under his breath. Mya had been taking a sip of her champagne and spat it out, while the rest of our table chuckled… including my Auntie Connie.

Fortunately, none of the other tables heard him and Hank continued to talk. “Now, I’ll admit, I figured their ‘thing’ a fling and her attraction toward him would dim. But… not mydaughter. If you know anything about my beautiful Holly, it’s that when she’s set her mind to do something, nothing in the world can stop her.”

Brett nodded and Holly laughed as a ripple of applause rang around the room and someone called out, “Go, Holly.”

“It took me a while to warm to the man who I was expected to hand over the protection of my precious daughter to. And despite constantly testing his ability and resolve to do this, I’m glad to say Brett rose to the test. I’m sure he’ll be surprised to hear this—but I’m confident he’ll cherish my daughter as much as her mom and I have. And to that end, I’m relieved to tell you all today, she couldn’t have picked anyone better.”

The room erupted in loud cheering, banging on tables and the clinking of silverware on glass. Brett glanced toward Holly who had tears in her eyes. He swiped at her cheek with a thumb, then planted a kiss on her lips.

With Hank’s final seal of approval, it allowed Brett’s guard to drop, and he was able to relax.

Soon after dinner, we alighted to the bar until the room was reset for the evening.

“Don’t they look great together?” Lily asked while I stood behind her, and she sagged wearily against me. Holly and Brett were dancing on the dance floor. “Say Yes To Heaven” by Lana Del Rey wasn’t an obvious choice for a couple’s first dance at a wedding, but it was currently Holly’s favorite song.

“Yeah, they look happy, but not as great-looking as us,” I suggested, smiling.

“Big head,” Lily shot back, bumping her ass against my semi-erection from holding her.

“And shaft… big shaft too, remember?” I joked, then I couldn’t resist bending and kissing that sweet spot between her shoulder and her neck.

Lily shivered, her body wriggling from the likely electrical thrill that ran through her.

She turned her head and glanced up at me. “Your mind is never far away from sex, right?”

“Never far when I’m holding you,” I corrected. Lily flashed me a naughty smile, raised a brow in question, but turned back to face the dance floor before I could say anything else.

When Lana’s song died, Lily shoved herself upright and headed over to the small stage with her bandmates. Cody bent close to her ear and said something which made Lily smile and made me wary of him again. Holly had requested that she sang “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None The Richer for the parents and family dance.

“She’s still so hot, eh?” Jack suggested, bumping his hip into mine while I had been engrossed in Lily’s performance.

“My hot,” I remarked without smiling or taking my eyes off my wife.

“Still gets your goat that I’m her number one guy, doesn’t it?” he muttered, chuckling.

“Number one cling-on,” I replied.

Jack laughed. “So… about me being in the labor room for the delivery,” he began.

“Fuck off. You are not getting anywhere near that hospital when the time comes.”

“We’ll see,” he taunted, sighed, then winked. “Anyway, I should get back to my lovely wife,” he said, hitching a thumb over his shoulder.

“Yeah, before I knock you the fuck out, and they carry you out on a stretcher,” I said. Lily glanced over at us, and I gave her my best winning smile. Having no clue about the conversation between me and Jack, she blew me—or maybe it was us—a kiss and continued to sing.

Between Jack niggling at the side of me and my beady eyes darting from Cody to Lily, I’d begun to feel that spark of irritation that warned me my socializing capabilities were approaching near my tolerance limit.

Thankfully, once the cake had been cut and the formal dances were out of the way, Lily yawned. “I’m dead on my feet, it’s been such a long day.”