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Part of me wished she’d grow up and make a move on him already, but that wasn’t Lyndi. She was way more comfortable keeping the romance in her life limited to between the pages of her books. She dated, sure. But to me it seemed like she was comparing every man to the heroes in her books, and that was bound to make them all look lame in comparison.
But I wasn’t much better. Every guy I dated got compared to Zac, which meant they suffered the same fate. Zac, who was off-limits as far as my headspace went.
“Oh, hang on,” Aria said, looking toward the door and grinning when Ms. Hattie and Thatcher arrived.
They weren’t technically part of the wedding party, but in addition to supplying the flowers tomorrow, Ms. Hattie had become ordained for Paul and Shelby’s wedding, so she was officiating Aria’s, too.
She gave us one last grateful smile and headed off to greet them while Lyndi and I found a seat at the long table and settled in. We sat down across from Shelby, who chatted with Aria and Paul’s parents, slipping into easy conversation with them.
Moments later, Will, Paul, and Chase came in with a man I presumed to be Brody following closely behind them. He was tall, his buzzed hair in sharp contrast to the other guys’ longer cuts, as they seemed to prefer to keep it to the maximum length regulation would allow.
Brody had a strong jaw and sharp eyes. They zipped around the room like he was trying to suss out danger and memorize the locations of the exits. I’d heard Will say that he owed Brody his life, and now that I saw him with his massive frame and protective posture, I couldn’t help but wonder what had happened.
Something flickered at the back of my mind while I watched the guys interact, and my throat suddenly felt tight. Brody didn’t look like Zac, unless you counted the fact that all Marines were required to have a clean shave and haircut at all times, but maybe it was the way he held himself. Like it was his personal responsibility to look out for his people, no matter what. Zac had always been that way. I’d always wondered if it was a chicken or an egg thing, like if he carried himself that way because he was military police or if he ended up military police because the job fit him so perfectly. Either way, it was hot.
“Okay, everyone,” Aria said to the room, saving me from my dangerous line of thought. She took Will’s hand and beamed up at him. “We’re going to go ahead and get started now that everyone is here.”
Small cheers came from the guests as everyone made their way to their seats. The bride and groom stood in front of theirs, smiling at each other as they picked up their champagne glasses.
Aria sat down, but Will cleared his throat, looking a little nervous. Most of the people in this room were here because of Aria. It would be the same situation at the wedding tomorrow, too. Will’s family was pretty much nonexistent in his life, but Aria’s was a huge part of her world. He had his buddy, Brody, of course, and Chase, a more recent friend. But even Paul had been Aria’s brother before he became Will’s best friend.
“I want to start out by thanking you all for being here to celebrate our big day tomorrow,” Will began, looking around the room. His eyes landed on Aria’s parents, and I put a hand over my heart when their eyes got a little misty. “I’d especially like to thank Donna and Joe, not only for hosting this dinner but also for welcoming me into your family. You too, Paul.”
Everyone chuckled when Paul threw his hands up like he was an afterthought, and Aria’s parents smiled at each other and then back up at Will.
He took a beat to collect himself, looking more confident when Aria took his hand again. “As most of you know, I started hanging out with the Bristols when we were kids. The three of us—Aria, Paul, and me—were the three musketeers. I honestly don’t know where I’d be if it weren’t for this family, so to be standing here in front of you, about to marry the girl I’ve loved for pretty much my whole life … honestly, I don’t even know how to describe it.”
He paused again, swallowing hard. I couldn’t keep my eyes off Aria and the way she was gazing dreamily at her groom-to-be. She was so happy, so whole, now that she had Will, and as glad as I was for her, lead filled my stomach. And it wasn’t because I didn’t know what it felt like to be in her shoes. It was because I did. It was because that was how happy I’d been with Zac three years ago. Before it had all come crashing down.
“All I know is that I’m so grateful,” Will went on. “To all of you for being here, to Paul and my in-laws for welcoming me not as the kid next door, but as one of your own, and lastly, to Aria. Thank you for being a hundred times more stubborn than I am.”
It was a fitting description, given their love story, and she grinned up at him as he leaned down and kissed the top of her head. Everyone clapped and raised their glasses, toasting the couple. And then, it was time for the pre-wedding festivities to officially begin.
* * *
After dinner, the Bristols and their out-of-town guests left fairly quickly, but the bridal party hung around for a bit. Aria and Will had decided to skip the bachelor and bachelorette stuff because Aria’s weekends were so packed with other peoples’ weddings, so this was the first time we’d all gotten together to celebrate them.
Brody seemed like he fit in well with the other guys. They talked and laughed like they’d known each other for years as opposed to hours. But after spending so long with a Marine of my own and being so close to Paul and Will, I’d learned that being a Marine meant you were automatically brothers, even if you didn’t know each other.
“Guess what Ms. Hattie told Aria,” Lyndi said to me, leaning close so the others wouldn’t hear as we sat around the table and talked.
“What?”
“She said Zac’s sister is seeing one of the groundskeepers here at Starlight.”
My brows flew up. “Really?”
“Yeah. And not just any groundskeeper.Trevor.”
“Stop it.”
“I swear.”
Aria had been surprised when the hot-as-heck, man-bun-rocking, beefcake of a dude had been hired as the lead groundskeeper at Starlight a few months ago. He was way more attractive than the old guy who used to occupy the position, and for a quick second, it looked like there might have been something between them. But, of course, Aria had always been head-over-heels for Will, so nothing came of it.
At the time, we’d all joked that if Will hadn’t existed, Trevor would have been a serious catch for her. He looked like Jason Momoa, complete with the gorgeously deep complexion, tattoos, scruffy jaw, and luscious waves. As for his body? Well, let’s just say he was as close as a man could get to the real Jason.
“Good for her,” I said, trying not to think about that embarrassing first day when I’d wrongfully thought Zac’s sister was Grayson’s mother.
