AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Braden
Maia and Vince turn to look at me.
Vince smiles and steps back. “She’s all yours.” He kisses her cheek, then gives my shoulder a squeeze before walking away.
Maia smiles as I pull her into my arms.
“Not quite our song, but still Billy Joel,” I say as she wraps her arms around my neck. It feels both familiar and not—like a memory of a memory. “I liked the song you and Vince danced to, by the way. It fits you perfectly.”
“Slow and Steady. That song always makes me think of him and our relationship.”
“Definitely more romantic than our song ever was,” I joke.
“It ended up fitting us pretty well in the end, though.” She smiles playfully.
“That is very true. And I will always meet you at our Italian Restaurant.”
“I know you will,” she says softly.
“Do you ever miss it?” I ask.
“What? Us being together?”
“Those early years. When life was simpler. I’m happy where I am, but I still think of it a lot—maybe because I see it all differently now.” I sound like a fucking sap. But today has left me feeling nostalgic. It’s a reminder of what Maia and I once were, and the moment that started it all.
She sighs softly and smiles. “I don’t miss it, exactly. I look back on it fondly. And I feel so lucky that we got to grow up the way we did. We had a rough couple of years, but before that there were a lot of great moments. We had a pretty good first love story. Even if it didn’t end the way we planned.”
I chuckle at that. “No. It didn’t. But we made it through. Mostly because of you.”
Her brow furrows. “It wasn’t just me.”
“I was a wreck, Maia. I remember thinking how thankful I was that you never give up.”
“I’m thankfulyoudidn’t give up.”
As the song ends, I step back and look at her. “When I was in the hospital, you told me this was the forever kind of love. I didn’t understand what you meant then—and I definitely didn’t think I deserved it—but I get it now.” I look around the dance floor at our friends laughing and joking. Vince spins Harper around as she giggles. Nick and Leigh are whispering to each other as they walk back onto the dance floor. “It’s all this,” I say with a smile. “The people who never quit. Glad I’m one of them now,” I joke.
She chuckles. “Me too, Brade. Me too.”
“Excuse me. May we cut in? This little girl desperately wants to dance with her daddy,” Vince says with a smile.
I take Harper from his arms as she bounces up and down like the tiny maniac she is. “I think you just want Maia all to yourself again.”
He pulls her closer and looks at her seductively—gross. “Well, she is my bride, after all.”
Just then, the DJ starts playing an upbeat pop song, and Harper begs to get down and dance. We all dance together, Harper bouncing around and giggling to herself. Nick and Leigh walk over with Hunter and Nick makes a grinding motion toward me.
I give him a shove. “Get out of here.”
“Oh, here’s the party,” Brett says, leading Jenna over.
Then my brother shows up. He’s become a part of our friend group—much to my surprise. But he clearly meant it when he said he wanted to fix things. He’s been there for me through every tough moment over the last year, and I appreciate that.
We all start dancing together, Harper on the floor in the middle of us.
“Keep dancing! I want some pictures of this,” Micah says.
He snaps a few, then has us all huddle together for a group photo.
