“But who’s going to fight over us if we have our own place here?” Adam asks.
Tara and I both laugh. It’s a constant battle between Elizabeth and Ethan about where we’re going to stay whenever we visit.
“I’m sure they’ll find something else to fight about.” Tara hands each of us a glass of wine and we toast. “Let’s go see the new place. Ethan’s designer will be here to meet with you tomorrow.”
“Thank you, but no more gifts,” Adam says while we follow them out of the penthouse.
“Wait until you hear about the second part,” Ethan says, ignoring Adam.
Jason walks down the hall, and Alex’s eyes light up when she sees him.
“I haven’t seen you in a tux since our own wedding.” She spreads her hands across his chest and smiles up at him. “Isn’t Mellie beautiful?” Alex asks when she finally drops her hands.
“She’s still Smellie,” Jason says, but he smiles when he sees me. “You look great, Sis. Beautiful. Flynn is going to lose his mind.”
I adjust his bow tie. Instead of black ties like the rest of the guys, Jason’s is the same shade of blue as the bridesmaids’ dresses. We’ve come a long way, but there’s no one else I’d rather have as my best person. I know his relationship with our mother has suffered, but true to his word, he’s left things alone. He’s made no other attempts to fix things.
Mom’s moved a few streets away to her new place, and Adam and I still live upstairs. At least for another few months until our house is ready. We never found a home we could agree on. We couldn’t find one in our neighborhood with the swimming pool he insists I have, so we bought two old houses that were next to each other, knocked them down, and are building our dream house. Jason bought a house down the same street.
“Speaking of your groom.” Jason pulls the phone out of his pocket, puts it to his ear and walks away.
A photographer starts taking snapshots. “The limos are here. It’s time to go,” Ananda says. She stands back and I run my hand down my fitted white wedding gown. It’s strapless and has a sweetheart neckline. Tara let me borrow the diamond earrings and necklace she wore to her wedding, but I feel naked without the cross Adam’s mom gave me. In fact, I can’t wait to put it back on tonight.
“You’ll see her in about an hour.” I hold up my phone and roll my eyes at Jason. He smiles and that only makes me more anxious. “You’re already married, so relax,” he says.
Frustrated, I give him the middle finger. This time he laughs at me.
“Hey, Flynn,” Jason says.
“Yeah?”
“I’m happy for you and my sister. You’re a good guy.”
We’ve come a long way in the last three months. He apologized for being an asshole, and we’ve actually formed a friendship. He and Ethan planned my bachelor party. The same party I told them I didn’t want, but they managed to whisk me away for a weekend in Bermuda.
“I guess you’re okay now that you’ve stopped being a mama’s boy,” I tell him.
“I’m the mama’s boy? Your mother was literally wiping your mouth at dinner last night. And her house is like a shrine to you.”
“Twine? Why do we need twine at a wedding? Adam! Come take a look at your Uncle Finn. Don’t be mad at your uncle for being the handsomest man at the wedding today.” I give Jason the finger one more time and end the call. Uncle Finn spins around and whistles at himself. “You two don’t stand a chance.” He playfully slaps my face and does the same to Ethan. “And you,” he says to Ethan. “Get your own face. This one already belongs to Adam.” He says that to him every time they see each other. I think the first time he said it was his way of apologizing after their first meeting. Now, he says it all the time.
“Except I had this face first.” Ethan gives him the usual response.
“Thirst? The only thing I’m thirsty for is that open bar.” Uncle Finn spins around one more time. “Come on, boys. Our ride is here,” he shouts before walking out of the room.
Ethan turns to me and adjusts my bowtie. We’re wearing matching tuxedos, and it’s still unnerving to look into his face and familiar eyes, but we’ve become very close very fast. A day doesn’t go by that the three of us don’t talk, and I’ve started calling them instead of the other way around. The similarities between me and Ethan are more than just skin deep. We like the same foods, we’re protective of the people we love, and we both carry the similar baggage left to us by the father we share.
“I’m still taller,” I say.
He smiles, and when he tries to mess my hair, I duck and he misses.
“Barely,” he says. “I’m still older, wiser, and I can still kick your ass.”
“But you can’t,” I remind him. “And how did I end up with three best men?” I had originally asked Uncle Finn, but Vincent asked if he could be my best man too. When I told him yes, he insisted his dad stand up there with him.
“You picked a good woman, Adam. I’m happy for you, and I owe Mel a lot.” My siblings love my wife, too. She’s gotten extremely close to Tara and Elizabeth, but when Ethan was in Boston on business a few weeks ago, she asked him to stay with us and threw a small dinner party in his honor. Ethan had fun gloating to Elizabeth about that. He even FaceTimed her during the dinner party.
It’s been nice having them. I never thought they would want anything to do with me. I assumed they would see me like our father did, like a dirty little secret. Even though I’ve always admired the sibling bond that Mel and Jason have, I never considered that I could have that too, but now I do.
