Nate nudges me with his elbow as he stands tall beside me, right where I’ve always imagined him to be on my wedding day. “She’s fucking radiant, Jess,” he murmurs. “But hold it together. You’ve got this.”
I suck in a deep breath. I will not break down. I will not break down…but fuck, she looks perfect. I’m near falling to my knees.
I stand with all my boys right beside me. Nate, Jackson, Tyson, Max, and Puck and naturally, all their girls are standing on the opposite side of the aisle, only over there Kaylah has Henley within her group. My boys look incredible, but the girls look mouth-watering and the way the guys have been staring at them since they first appeared on the aisle, proves it.
Kaylah’s father walks her down the aisle, looking proud as her mom sits in the front row, holding a tissue to her eyes, already unable to control the tears of joy. He gets her all the way to the top to where she stands right before me and her father takes my hand. “She’s all yours now, son,” he says proudly. “I couldn’t have asked for a better man for my little girl.”
Kaylah’s eyes fill with tears but she blinks them back, determined not to cry. I thank her father and he raises Kaylah’s veil just enough to press a kiss to her cheek before lowering it back down and offering me her hand.
I take it greedily, though the touch is not nearly enough and has me desperate for so much more. Without a doubt, Kaylah and I are going to have to sneak off somewhere to consummate this marriage as there’s no way that either of us will last until the end of the night.
“Are you ready for this?” she whispers as her eyes brim with love and excitement, and despite her eyes being covered by the veil, they still look so much brighter than I’ve ever seen them before.
“Tiger,” I say, loving the way her eyes crinkle with fondness at the familiar nickname. “I was born ready.”
Five hours later, I sit at the bridal table next to my new wife, struggling to keep my hands off her. The day has been so much more than I could have hoped for and I have Kaylah to thank for all of it. She put so much dedication and hard work into planning the perfect wedding for us, and that’s exactly how it turned out.
The ceremony was beautiful and getting to kiss her for the first time as my wife was something I wasn’t prepared for. The feeling of completely giving yourself to the woman you love is amazing and it’s a moment that I’ll happily repeat over and over again.
I got to put my ring on her finger and watch as her brother blamed the lighting on his tears. Everyone has been having an incredible time, the photographer was quick and to the point, the food has been excellent, the wine, beer, and spirits have been flowing, and what’s more, my wife hasn’t stopped smiling.
The emcee gets up between dinner and dessert and announces that we’ll be starting on speeches and I listen, laugh, smile, and scowl and we make our way through what everyone has prepared, but then one person stands up and I feel my heart kick into gear.
Nate makes his way over to the podium and adjusts the microphone as a cocky grin stretches over his face.
Oh, no. With Nate, it’s all in the grin, and this one is telling me that he’s been keeping tabs on every little fucked up thing I’ve ever done and now’s the time it’s all going to come out.
Kaylah grabs my hand under the table. “Is he about to reveal something that’s going to have me running for the hills?”
“It’s possible,” I tell her, “but too bad, you’re locked down now.”
Nate looks out at the three hundred guests who have all come to celebrate with us before his eyes return back to me with the same spark of mischief that I practically invented. “Hi everybody and welcome to the wedding of the year,” he starts. “For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Nate Ryder, Jesse’s wiser and better looking big brother.” The crowd begins cheering for him and his cocky grin returns for a whole new reason. “Being Jesse’s best man, he’s asked me to stand up here and give a little speech and I quote ‘don’t fuck around up there, just say something small, don’t embarrass me, and move on.’”
I hang my head. This is going to be bad.
Nate continues. “You see, I’ve never really been one for rules and tonight, well I don’t see why it should be any different. Besides, I’ve been holding onto some of these stories for far too long and it’s only right for Jesse’s new wife to really know the man she’s just hitched herself to.” The guests cheer and urge Nate on as Kaylah shakes her head in fear, though there’s intrigue in her eyes. I trust my brother with everything I have, so I know he’s not about to say something that’s going to get me in trouble, but he certainly has no issues with some epic embarrassment.