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“I have been in love with Leia since she was eighteen, but I knew it would ruin our friendship, so I stayed away from her, until you asked me to watch over her. Our relationship was still new when you came home last time, even though we both have loved each other for far longer. You are the reason we stayed apart, and you are also the reason we are together,” he tells me.
I take stock in his words, letting them meld through my mind.
“I knew you were lying to me, when you said you always thought of me as a brother,” he tells me shaking his head.
“I didn’t lie,” I mutter, “I just hadn’t had time to process everything in the moment.”
“Look man, no matter what, to me you will always be my best friend and brother, but I am not giving Leia up. I will always love and protect her. You have a choice to make, you can accept this, or you can get back on the plane and go back to your unit.”
“I’m not going to break my sister’s heart, and you damn well better not either, or I promise you your body will never be found,” I tell him matter-of-factly.
“Yeah, we know how good you are at that,” he mutters.
“What was that?”
“Nothing. I know nothing, and I don’t want to know.”
“Didn’t you promise me a beer?” I ask, avoiding the conversation path he started to go down.
“Yeah,” he says, shaking his head and unlocking the car.
We get to the bar, and the first thing he does after ordering his beer is look at his phone. I watch the smile that forms across his face, before he says, “Your sister wants to know if you’ll be having dinner with us tonight?”
“Sure,” I say as I continue watching him.
He’s almost oblivious to everything going on around him as he continues to stare at his phone with a smile.
Finally, he puts it back in his pocket, and we talk about general things for an hour while drinking our beer, almost like the altercation in the parking garage at the airport didn’t happen.
When I was debating whether to order another beer or not, Leia walks in. She spots Noah immediately, and the smile that graces her face as her eyes light up, I realize in that moment, she really does love this asshole next to me. Then I look at Noah and see the same goofy look on his face, and I know my sister will be taken care of.
There is a pang in my heart, and I quickly realize it’s jealousy. I’m jealous that my best friend and sister have found a once in a lifetime kind of love. I shake out of my stupor in time to hear Leia squeal, “Mike. I’m so glad you are home,” right before she slams into me for a hug.
“Hey, sis. I promised you I would be here, and here I am.”
“Yes, you did, and thank you so much,” she says as she grabs Noah’s hand.
“Is everything ready for tomorrow?” I ask her.
“It is. The venue looks beautiful, and I have your suit all ready for you in the back room. I’ll show it to you tomorrow.”
Then she looks at Noah and says, “Did you ask him?”
“No, he was being an asshole!” Noah mutters.
“Ask me what?”
“Why were you being an asshole?” Leia asks.
“I wasn’t. I was being an older brother. Something Noah doesn’t understand,” I say, glaring at him.
She looks at me, then looks at him and says, “It’s your call.”
“What?” I ask, getting a bit frustrated and irritated at the same time.
Noah takes a big sigh, then says, “I was going to ask you to be my best man, but now I’m rethinking it.”
“You were?” I ask, flabbergasted.
