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“I got contacts,” she said quickly. “But I still wear glasses at night. Ian would be sad if I got rid of them, and I probably would be too.”
“What did I say?” Janelle sighed, shaking her head.“Lucky.”
“You look great,” Brendan assured her. But inside, he felt unsettled. He didn’t like change. Not when it had to do with the things he’d grown up with.
Nearby, Ian was picking up the youngest flower girl and tossing her in the air. She squealed with delight.
“I can’t believe you’re getting fucking married, O’Brian!” Hunter hollered, earning a death glare from Diana’s mom.
But Brendan could believe it. Ian stood straighter now. He spoke confidently and kept his jokes reasonably appropriate. He looked out for Diana. Even his driving had significantly improved.
Brendan studied his brother as he walked beside Di. All of this was good. Very good. But the hollow feeling in Brendan’s chest was back.
The button-down shirt and tie Ian wore felt all wrong, even though they were right for the occasion. Ian belonged in tank tops, athletic shorts, and hoodies. Brendan could count the number of times Ian had worn a tie on one hand, and that same hand had tied the tie for Ian, every damn time.
“Are you okay?” Di was giving him a puzzled look. “You’re being quiet.” A lithe body squeezed past Brendan, making him prickle. “Sonia!” Diana’s face lit up, and she grabbed Sonia in a hug, rocking her back and forth. “God, I’m so glad you’re here.”
In the tight crowd that was making its way down the sidewalk, Sonia was pressed between Brendan and Di. He tried to keep his cool as Sonia patted Di’s shoulder with a long-suffering look, then gave up and hugged Di back, laughing. Di whispered something in Sonia’s ear and rubbed her cheek against her hair.
The intimate gesture made Brendan wonder. It also made him hard.
As the two women separated, Diana took Sonia’s hand and pulled her to the side, talking in a low voice.
Brendan quickly made his way to his brother and clapped Ian on the back. “Therealman of the hour is finally here,” he said.
Ian pulled him into a bear hug. Brendan heard coos from the bridesmaids.Awww, look at them hug!
“Nah, that’s you, bro,” Ian said in an undertone. “I heard you saved the day. Sorry about running late.”
Brendan hugged him silently.Miss you,he wanted to say.Miss you all the time.
Instead, he pulled back and pointed to Ian’s tie. “You tie that yourself?”
Ian guffawed. “Hell, no. Diana did. She watched a video tutorial first.”
“Where were you?” Brendan asked under his breath. “Everything okay?”
Ian laughed, not bothering to keep his voice down. “You know us. Gotta enjoy the Jeep while we can. It’s nine years old, it’s not gonna last forever. But it’s got a great backseat.”
Brendan rolled his eyes. “Everyone was losing their shit.”
“Relax, B. Looks like you had it all under control. And what was going on with you and Sonia? Standing in front, looking likeyouwere about to get hitched? You were staring at her like she was—”
“Okay, man. It was nothing. We were just pretending to be you so we could do the rehearsal.”
“Uh-huh.” Ian looped his arm around Brendan’s neck and began to chant in a whisper. “Brendan and Sonia, sitting in a tree…”
Brendan punched Ian’s shoulder. “Grow up. We’re not five.”
Their parents came over, along with Uncle Andy, wanting to talk to Ian about some wedding detail. And finally, Brendan felt himself smiling as they reached the restaurant.
22
Friday
7:45 p.m.
The rehearsal dinner was a complete success.
