Swoon: A Brother's Best Friend Standalone

“Let us pray,” the officiant says, and I suddenly realize I’ve been thinking about vibrators in church. Yeesh.

I bow my head with everyone else. And a little while later, listen with tears in my eyes to the beautiful exchange of vows. Finally, the pastor says, “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m thrilled to present to you: Mr. and Mrs. Logan and Kennedy O’Brien!” Of course, I clap and cheer along with everyone else in the church. And as I do, I’m feeling more determined than ever not to let my insides turn to mush over Colin, ever again. Starting now, he’s my friend and nothing more! I’m finally free of my crush on him, forever! Determined to open my heart and find true love!

As I bounce in place with excitement, each bridesmaid ahead of me in line links up with her assigned groomsman, until, suddenly, Colin Beretta is standing before me, his dark eyes soulful and his smile breathtaking.

Swoon.

He extends his arm and says, “You look gorgeous, Amy.”

Swoon.

“Thank you. So do you.”

I link my arm in Colin’s—swoon—and catch a whiff of his cologne—swoon—and practically dance down the aisle with him, buoyed by the cheers and applause all around us. And as I walk with Colin, my arm in his, his cologne in my nostrils, his sex appeal wafting off him like a physical thing, and his smile constantly directed at me, I can’t, for the life of me, remember a damned thing I promised myself only a few minutes ago.

Eight

Amy

Best. Party. Ever.

That fancy up-do I wore during the ceremony? Yeah, it’s down now. I pulled out the bobby pins holding it together and shook out my auburn waves hours ago, while shaking my booty on the dance floor with Colin and his incredible friends—Dax, Fish, and their beautiful partners, Violet and Alessandra—all of whom have welcomed me with open arms into their group.

At dinner, I snuck away from my stodgy, assigned table to dine with Colin and his four friends, at their invitation, at which point, conversation flowed as easily as the booze we were throwing back.

During the meal, the Goats asked me questions about the RCR tour and laughed at all my stories. In return, they told funny anecdotes of their own, like my experience somehow equated to theirs. Tour talk led to Fish and Alessandra talking about Alessandra’s upcoming debut album that was co-written and produced by Fish. And after that, I had an interesting conversation with Alessandra about flowers, prompted by my bridesmaid’s bouquet sitting on the table. Who knew there’s a whole “language of flowers” from Victorian times? So interesting.

After a bit, I had an amazing conversation with Violet and Dax about their toddler, Jackson, who’s staying the night at Dax’s parents’ tonight. At my urging, the proud parents showed me a million photos of their adorable boy, while telling me stories about him that made me guffaw.

When the boys went off to the bar to grab the table another round of drinks, Violet told me about the cancer charity she started in honor of her young brother who died. Plus, she told me about her passion for designing wedding dresses and showed me some of her sketches on her phone. Currently, Violet only makes actual wedding dresses for her closest family and friends, if requested, but, one day, Violet said she dreams of having her own wedding dress label.

Violet hadn’t met Kennedy before today, but I asked her what kind of dress she might have designed for my new sister-in-law, if requested. And Violet’s response was absolutely lovely. “Oh, I couldn’t have improved on Kennedy’s selection,” Violet said. “She looks absolutely perfect tonight.”

When the men returned from the bar with drinks and shots for all, we started talking about Colin’s upcoming movie. Interestingly, however, the conversation about the topic with Colin’s best friends bore little resemblance to the same basic conversation during the rehearsal dinner last night. Tonight, among Colin’s best friends in the world, he was exponentially more open and vulnerable—real and disarmed in a way he wasn’t last night with people he didn’t know well.

Plus, it helped that Colin’s best friends asked him much more meaningful and intimate questions about the movie and his preparation for his role. They didn’t care about whether the lead actor, Seth Rockford, is a douchebag in real life or how much money Colin is making on his small role. No, they wanted to hear about how hard Colin has been working with his acting coach this past month. They wanted to hear about whatever nerves he’s been feeling in anticipation. And I must admit, watching Colin’s much more vulnerable interactions with his friends made him even sexier to me. And not because of all the booze I was drinking while listening. Because Colin Beretta is a gorgeous freaking man, especially when he lets his guard down.