Page 27 of Father Knows Best (A Family Affair #1)

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The Wedding

I’ve always avoided weddings like the plague.

And I don’t think it’s all that complicated to understand why–they’re fucking depressing.

As a man who lost the love of his life to many different kinds of addictions long before I actually lost her, and as a perpetual bachelor since, they force me to turn the microscope inward.

And who the fuck wants to do that?

But my son’s wedding is going to be different.

I hoped it would.

I woke without an ounce of dread in my gut.

Avery and Sutton had separate suites, in classic wedding tradition, so he, Cade, Ford and myself went for a run this morning, then hit the weights.

Cade and Sutton went down to the water for a swim, and now, with lunch just delivered to the patio of my suite, my brother and I relax before it’s time to get ready.

Only now, I’m anxious and edgy, seeking a drink way too early in the day.

Ford takes a cherry from the plate of fruit, and pinches it between his teeth, plucking the stem away. “It’s gotta feel good to have no doubts about this,” he says to me, mulling the fruit around from cheek to cheek before he spits out the pit.

“About Avery and Sutton, you mean?”

He nods, grabbing his cup from the saucer.

“Milk,” he says, and I reach for the small carafe of milk, and add some to his cup.

Ford sips his coffee. “Yeah, I mean, they’re perfect together.

She brought him out of his shell a little, I mean, as much as he’ll come out, and he’s happy.

She’s loyal. What more can you ask for?”

I shrug. “Nothing I guess.”

He kicks my bare foot with his slippered one. “So why are you all silent and stoic?”

Another shrug. “I’m not.”

Ford laughs, taking another sip of his coffee. “Who do I look like? Sutton? You can’t lie to me. Tell me what’s on your mind, brother.”

Lifting a piece of pineapple off of the plate, I take a bite and watch as the water rushes to the shore, white and foamy, seagull swooping down, kissing the surface, tearing away again.

Sutton flops down onto a beach towel next to Cade, who is sitting in a small chair, reading a book.

“I adore Avery. And Sutt has surprised me. He’s really letting me in, and we’re really repairing the damage of my lies. ”

Ford, whose blue eyes look icy against his tanned skin, covered in black ink, just shakes his head. “So?” He prods, knowing there’s more.

I let out a long, heavy sigh. “I should be able to see my son marry the love of his life without thinking about mine and how she won’t be here to see her son get married.”

Ford is quiet, and if he were anyone but my brother, I wouldn’t share these feelings with him, knowing what he’s been through.

Like me, my brother met his soulmate, the love of his life, his utter fucking world when he was in his early twenties.

And like me, he was left to be a single father to his children when his wife died unexpectedly.

Ford’s wife had cancer, and he took care of her until her very last breath, and he’s not been with a woman since. Though the truth is, I’m the only one who knows that last part. He takes plenty home, but never seals the deal.

He looks at me, a crooked, sad smile lifting the edge of his lips.

“I think you’re always going to think of her during big times.

I know I think of Katie every time Kat calls and says she made another deal, or when Cade gets some achievement at the university–hell, when I open a new bar, I wonder what Katie would wear if she were here, what she’d think and how she’d greet the crowd.

I think about Katie all the time, still, all these years later. ”

I let out a long sigh, Margot’s wide eyes and vibrant smile echoing painfully through my mind. “It feels like being in prison, doesn't it? Being here still, remembering them so much, but they’re gone.”

My brother volleys his head. “I used to think it was torture, having to be here for the kids and live in this pain. But you know, we’ve gotten good at managing the pain and the rush of memories when they hit, haven’t we?

I nod. We have. The mention of her used to bring me to tears, and now I can fully discuss her and what happened without even a mist. “It feels like we haven’t made progress because we’re unmarried, but think about where we were then, and where we are now.

You’re not in prison, you just haven’t loved again.

” He takes the last piece of pineapple and dips it into the bowl of yogurt on the porcelain plate, tossing it back.

Chewing around the fresh fruit he says, “When we were kids, did you ever think we’d be fifty-year old men eating fruit in bathrobes while watching our grown sons on the beach while discussing love? ”

I sip my coffee. “The only part of my life I accurately predicted is wealth.”

We watch the water in silence a few minutes before Ford speaks again, his voice a bit soft and fond when he says, “That’s not true.

We always knew we’d raise good ones. And we did that, too.

” He pops the champagne, and we silently toast to raising good people amidst shattered hearts.

When we clink our glasses, Ford says, “To Sutton and Avery.”

“To Sutton and Avery.”

Amidst the serene embrace of towering eucalyptus trees and lush ferns, the altar waits, glowing from the Edison lights strung loosely above.

Beneath the charming wooden arch, adorned with vibrant blooms of pink, orange, and red, stands Sutton, talking quietly with his cousin, while on the cusp of promising his life to Avery.

The already gorgeous space screams Avery, each touch more beautiful than the last.

The aisle, lined with delicate flower petals in hues of crimson and coral, leads the way to the altar, where rows of wooden chairs, each graced with soft white bouquets, await the vows.

The gentle rustle of eucalyptus leaves and the distant murmur of the sea weave a tender melody, encouraging my body to relax as I wait.

The music starts, and my brother sends me a nod from his place smashed into the tiny wooden chair.

Moving down the aisle, I smile at Avery’s mother and a few other guests before coming to stand next to my son.

I’d planned on standing on the other side of Cade, but as I approached, Sutton nudged Cade aside, and my heart nearly burst at the gesture.

I send him an assuring wink, and then the music changes, and my heart never gets a chance to regulate before Mr. Bennett appears, Avery on his arm.

“Fuck,” my son mutters. He doesn’t really curse, and I always assumed it’s because I do but the last few months have shown me that he doesn’t curse and it’s got nothing to do with me.

It’s who he is. Pinning my gaze to his profile, I watch his eyes soften and grow damp as Mr. Bennett passes his daughter to my son.

They shake hands, and Mr. Bennett asks my son to promise he’ll always do right by his girl, which earns a healthy promise and a hug from Sutton.

And then, he lets himself really look at her.

He takes her hands in his, his thumbs rubbing the tops of her knuckles as he says, “You make it hard to breathe, you’re so insanely gorgeous. ”

Her cheeks flush, and my stomach flips upside down, sending a flush of arousal and nerves through my core.

Sutton isn’t wrong. Avery is breathtaking.

The most beautiful bride I think I’ve ever laid eyes on.

Her gown is simple—trumpet fit made of lace, with a chapel length train, the bodice clinging to her slight curves, the open back and button detail accentuating the delicate slope of her spine.

I knew Avery would be a classic bride, and as she recites her lifelong promises to Sutton, her lips painted vibrant ruby and her blonde hair dancing in the gentle breeze, my chest squeezes.

The feeling behind my ribs simply speaks to her beauty and the overwhelming emotions tied to this moment.

Sutton recites his vows, and my vision locks the gold band on his finger, his hand lost in her silky hair as he holds her, sealing the ceremony with a kiss.

They lift their hands in unison, and the people in the chairs clap and cheer, Kat throwing rose petals at their feet as they make their way back down the aisle.

And I wipe a singular tear, happy that my son and I have righted things, and that he is starting his life.

He’s earned degrees, worked, made killer deals, been in newspapers and magazines for his sales–but giving Avery our last name and making her his, officially, is the start of his life. The life that actually matters, at least.

And I’m happy for him. For both of them.

The meal was delicious. The cake was even better.

And the whiskey that followed all of it?

Perfect. I’ve managed to chalk all my strange and intense feelings today up to the pressure cooker of emotions that a wedding brings, and the fact that my son and I are only very recently allowed to be emotional for one another.

Had this wedding taken place months back, I’d have been shoved into a small wooden chair just like Ford.

Maybe merely having the privilege to stand with my son is what has me so twisted up today.

Maybe it’s watching my son find a better love than I ever had, finding a love that will take him through this life and the next–I don’t know.

What I do know is that I refuse to dwell on the sea of strange feelings that’s arisen inside me today, and instead focus solely on providing the best reception for my son and daughter-in-law.

Zennie, Kat’s girlfriend, comes to my side, sweat glittering on her upper lip as she sips a rum and Coke. “This music is killer,” she says, lifting her heeled foot to wiggle it. “My feet are killing me, but I can’t stop.”

“Live music is always so much more fun than a DJ,” I comment, because the music has been extraordinary. A mix of new music with old classics, love ballads and classical during the transitional times—the band is a perfect fit for a classic wedding.

“Your daughter-in-law is, like, super good at wedding planning. She should be a wedding planner.”

I wag my finger playfully. “Don’t tell her that. Mercer Properties needs her. She may have an eye for weddings, but she’s really got an eye for home staging.”

Zennie smiles. “Oh, I know! Kat’s shown me some of her work on the Mercer site.

” She shakes her head, smoothing her fingers over some loose strands of hair that have danced their way out of her updo then extending her hand to me.

“I know we were introduced in a crowd earlier but I’m Zennie, Kat’s girlfriend. ”

We shake hands. “Geo Mercer. What do you do for work, Zennie?”

She smiles, but looks at Kat in the crowd, dancing with Cade, and watches on, affectionately. “I’m a lawyer.” She makes a face, her lips and nose wrinkled in confusion. “I work at Parker and Pen, with Quincey Parker—I thought Kat told you that?”

I didn’t know. In fact, I didn’t think any female litigators worked at Parker and Pen.

“She didn’t tell me.” I look out at the room, everyone huddled up for a slow song, Sutton holding Avery so close I can’t see where one ends and the other begins.

My chest squeezes, and I ignore the unexplainable freefall in my belly.

“That’s how we met. Kat came down to bring some of the duplicate copies of paperwork to Quincey and I was in his office when she came by.”

“The rest is history?” I ask, smirking.

She smirks, too. “I certainly hope. I mean, I bought a ring on our fifth date.” She cuts me a look. “Don’t say anything.”

I lift my hands. “I wouldn’t spoil a thing like that. I’m love’s biggest advocate.”

Zennie laughs, tossing back the rest of her drink, which seems like it was more rum than Coke. “You’d do anything for love, eh?”

I smile. “You know it.”

She leaves, and I congratulate and say goodbye to my son and daughter-in-law before ducking out, finding the cool evening waiting.

Ford is outside, enjoying a cigar as the limos pull up, waiting to take the wedding party to our suites.

Some are close to the area where we are, but the suites are spread out, and some require a short drive.

Sutton and Avery chose limos to guide their guests around the property to their suites, and I would have chosen the same.

“That was a great wedding,” he says, his words hanging in an exhale in the night air. “So tell me, since I’ve seen Kat making heart eyes at Zen, what am I looking at, in terms of cost?”

I shrug, reaching for his cigar, taking a long, heady pull. I don’t smoke these anymore, but I love the way they taste. I pass it back to him. “Don’t know.”

“The Bennetts paid?” he asks of Avery’s parents, who left in a rental car one hour after Sutton and Avery said I do.

Everything I’ve been told and all things witnessed, I get the impression that Avery and her folks aren’t close, and I’ve reframed my idea of her through this thought, the one where she’s been alone forging her way in the world until Sutton, and I only feel more for her.

“No. Sutton paid for everything himself.” Another long, shiny car pulls up, and a man in a suit gets out, bobbing his head at me before taking a solemn stance in front of the bumper.

“Is that how it works? If your kid is fully grown then they’ve gotta pay for their own wedding?”

A few guests come out, waving and saying goodbye as they traipse through the lighted parking lot to their car. “I would have paid for everything. When he proposed, we were still estranged.”

My brother claps my shoulder, the tattooed diamond near his eye scrunching with his crow’s feet as he smiles.

“You’ll make it up to them, one way or another I’m sure.

” He puts his cigar out and climbs into the back of the limo.

“We could walk but why let Sutton’s money go to waste.

” His brows furrow. “Unless you’re not ready? ”

I glance back inside. Not a lot of people are still here. Sutton catches my eyes through the double sets of doors. He lifts a hand and I do the same, then join my brother in the backseat of the limo, headed to my suite around the corner, overlooking the water.