“Oh, Brant,” she cried, “I don’t know what to say. I never knew how much I needed a part of them until now. Thank you for always taking care of me.” When she went to hug him, he held her off, setting the empty box down before picking up the other, smaller one.
“Wait. There’s another one, and I don’t want you crying more than once, so try to hold it until—” As a knock sounded on the door, Brant smiled and went to open it. Ava’s mouth fell open as her other brother walked in, looking equally emotional as he looked at her.
“Sorry, guys. I . . . got tied up. Oh, sis, you look beautiful.” As Declan leaned over to kiss both her cheeks, he whispered in her ear, “Mac is one lucky bastard.” Brushing an errant tear from her cheek, he pulled back, taking the box from Brant’s hand. His eyes softened as they lit on their mother’s necklace. “Looks beautiful on you, Av. I know she would have wanted you to wear it today.” Clearing his throat, he held up the velvet box in his hand, saying, “Ella and I wanted to give you something new for your day.” Opening the box, Declan turned it for her to see a bracelet very similar in design to the necklace that she wore. As he put it on her wrist, he continued talking. “I’m sorry if I haven’t always been there when you needed me, Av, but please never doubt that I love you. There is only one man that both Brant and I would ever pass your hand along to without reservation, and you’re marrying him today. He’s always loved you, Ava, and I know that he always will.”
After that, they all exchanged emotional embraces and just enjoyed the moment of togetherness with their feelings unguarded. As the rest of the gang filed back in, Suzy shook her head while the other women ushered the men out. “I’m not even going to bother fixing your makeup until your last visitor comes in, because I know you’ll just cry again.” Then in an uncharacteristic display of emotion, Suzy gave her a side hug, saying, “And you know what, you cry as much as you need to. If we can’t fix it, then screw it. Mac will only see your beauty, not your makeup.”
When Suzy moved back, Ella stood there holding her newborn baby, Sofia Grace, and doing a mixture of laughing and crying. They all gaped at their soft-spoken friend when she covered the baby’s ears and said, “Now, would I miss the wedding of my favorite whore?” Laughter rang out in the room, and they all knew they’d never forget Ella’s multiple-personality delivery and the laughs that it would bring to them for years to come. Ava smiled, thinking that now she knew how Brant had managed to get their mother’s necklace here so quickly.
“Now I believe we’re missing the borrowed and blue items, right?” Claire asked while holding a hand behind her back. When Ava agreed, the other woman brought her hand back around, showing Ava the pearl and diamond ring there. “My mother gave this ring to me when I got married and I thought it would go perfectly with your necklace and bracelet.”
Ava wanted to protest, not sure about wearing something so special to Claire, but the other woman seemed so excited. When the ring actually fit Ava’s finger, she found herself hugging Claire while trying to hold back her tears.
Next, Suzy and Beth stepped forward, holding out a long white box. Ava looked at it suspiciously, before shaking her head. “Please tell me that isn’t the Channing Tatum that you bought.”
Beth started laughing as Suzy winced, rubbing her lower back. “Um, no, Gray buried that at the bottom of the trash can. I think he may have stabbed it a few times for good measure.”
“Then he buried something else, right?” Beth joked, holding her sides while she laughed.
Suzy, never one to be embarrassed, gave a smug grin. “Yeah, he sure did, again . . . and again. God, I love pushing that man’s buttons.” Beth finally had to nudge Suzy to shake her out of what appeared to be some vivid memories. “Oh, right, so, anyway, Beth and I took care of the something blue.” When Ava hesitated, Beth opened the box, showing her the light blue garter belt nestled inside it. Ava sighed in relief before donning the last item.
Her friends left to join the rest of the wedding guests, while Brant and Declan returned and took their positions on each side of her. Strangely, she was barely nervous. Nothing had ever felt this right. The only thing she needed now was to be standing next to the man she loved. “Ready?” Brant asked, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.
Before she answered, she hugged both of her brothers once again. “I’m ready,” she said softly. “I’m finally ready.”
All three of them knew that her words had little to do with the ceremony and everything to do with where she was in her life.
* * *