AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She has asked to decorate the gallery, on her own, for our wedding. Knowing Kate, it’ll be as classy as she is.
“It’s just you two and your families tonight, right?” she asks, readying herself for the ceremony tomorrow.
“Yes,” I answer, and Kate starts to explain some of her ideas, how we enter, where we should get ready.
“Hello, where are you?” my mom calls out from the reception area.
“In here, Mom,” I answer, and she follows my voice.
“I think I have what I need, Ash.” Kate leaves us alone, and when I turn back to my mother, I can see the tears have already begun to well in her eyes.
“Mom?”
“This is a happy event. And hell, you have chosen well. I love Noah. And your dad would love him just as much as I do.”
She doesn’t say what we both know. She wishes Dad was here to celebrate with us.
“You two okay?” Noah rushes across the gallery when he’s sees the state my mother is in.
“Don’t worry about me. Just take care of my boy here.” Mom excuses herself to wash her face.
“She misses my dad today,” I assure my future groom, who I find is as protective of my mom as I am.
Everyone else arrives, but we’re waiting on Liam.
“I hope he’s not late tomorrow,” Tia says under her breath.
“Enough,” I whisper, but her evil smile tells me she’s ready to goad him.
“Sorry, I’m here. A small work emergency.” Liam comes running into the open gallery, still in his suit, but one look at my sister and he perks up. As a gay man, I can recognize a beautiful guy, and Liam is just that. And for some reason, he’s never been subtle that he has his eyes on my sister.
Mom is back in the main gallery. She holds onto me, a small gasp leaving her lips. Even with her fair complexion, she looks like all the color has drained from her face.
I’m about to ask her what’s wrong when Liam approaches us. He stops in front of my sister. “Queen of Sheba, nice to see you again.”
She curtsies, staring at him, and replies, “King of all assholes, nice to see you again, too.”
I expect my mom to admonish her, but she’s quiet, her eyes fixed on Liam.
“Mrs. Brooks, I’m Liam James. I’m so sorry it’s taken so long to meet you finally.”
“Oh,” my mom stammers, “Please call me Caitlyn. And it’s very nice to meet you, too. Sorry for my daughter’s rudeness. I’m not sure if Ashton told you, but we dropped her on her head a few too many times as a baby.”
The joke makes us chuckle, except Tia who has heard it a few too many times, but I stop my mom for a brief second. “Hey, you okay? You looked like you saw a ghost.”
“Kind of felt that way, too.” She’s quiet for a second, and I’m unsure how to respond to her words. “I’m fine, sweetheart. Don’t worry about me. The next few days are all about you.”
I shrug off my mother’s weird behavior. After all, she’s right.
* * *
My sister findsme in Kate’s office. Noah has been relocated to the kitchen. We didn’t succumb to the pressure of sleeping apart last night. Now that I have him, I’m not going without his body next to mine in our bed.
Tia is my witness, and Liam is Noah’s. It seemed right. Today just seems right. We reached out to Devin, Collin, and Lainey’s mom. She’s allowed them to come to the wedding, and we were thrilled, because they’ve burrowed their way into our hearts.
Evelyn is the anomaly in all of this. In the past six months, we’ve cultivated a relationship. She calls me once a week to set up a coffee date, just her and I, as if she’s trying to learn more about me. She still stares, watching every move I make, intently, as if she’s trying to memorize me. It’s very weird. I still stick to my original assessment—she’s odd—but for some reason, I feel a motherly love has grown between us.
Mom pops her head in, just in time to help me with the same cuff links of my father’s she gave me last year. She’s already crying. “Hey, does that gentleman look familiar to you, the one in a tan suit, with a platinum blonde wife?”
