Page 81 of You Are Cordially Invited

“Okay, gather around,” I said, holding out my hands and flicking my fingers.

“Oh, fuck me, no.” Jake’s eyes bugged. “If you’re going to do a group hug, then I might have to vomit. This new, touchy-feely Cam version 2.0 is freaking me the hell out.”

“Get over here, sexy.” I grinned at him. “I give you full permission to punch me in the balls if I start chanting.”

“I won’t need your permission.” Jake sidled over and tentatively slipped his hand into mine. “It will be my personal contribution to world peace.”

I chuckled, then leaned in close. “Are you okay?”

He shrugged. “Trent texted this morning. Nothing important, and I’m not gonna let it fuck up today. I’ll tell you another time.”

Bugger.

Michael squeezed my hand. “Okay, so what’s the deal?”

I looked around at some of the best men I knew and put Jake’s boyfriend problems to the back burner. “Right, well you might want to take notes because you’ve as much chance of hearing this again as the Hurricanes have of winning the Super Rugby this year.”

They glanced at each other and chuckled.

I waited until I had their attention once again and then made sure to catch each and every eye. “There’s a lot of people I need to thank for making today happen, but no one more than you guys. I screwed up badly this week—a sentence I guarantee you are unlikely to hear from me ever again. And if you breathe a word of it to anyone, I will fuck you up, understand?”

There was an almost choreographed nod of solemnity that I didn’t believe for a second.

I narrowed my gaze. “I know it may come as a surprise, but I don’t ask for help very often—”

“At all,” Jake added cheerfully.

“Anywaaaaaay.” I pinned him with a glare. “You rescued me, rescuedus.” I might have flushed. “I don’t know the details of who did what, which I’m inclined to think was a deliberate ploy so that I couldn’t run anyone down after—”

Everyone laughed thinking I was joking, and I was... mostly.

“—but I know you all pitched in, and Reuben and I are so damn grateful for what you’ve done. Thank you for being there for us, for making sure today happened. I love every one of you, even Michael.” I flashed him a grin and swallowed hard. “Okay, that’s it.”

“Aw, bro.” Mathew went to hug me, but I sprang out of his reach.

“Have you lost your tiny little mind? You’ll crimp my tulle.”

“Two minutes till curtain call,” Sandy warned.

I gathered the tulle to stop it dragging on the floor and then grabbed the Kleenex Sandy held out for me.

“Shove a couple in your waistband,” he said.

I did as he suggested, then held my hand out for more. “Just bring the damn box,” I grumbled.

He grinned and shoved the box under his arm.

Michael stepped close. “Give me that; you’re creasing it.” He took the tulle skirts from my hand and fell in behind me.

I spun and took a second to register the sight of my blustery friend holding my wedding train as if it was the most natural thing in the world and wondered how my life had found its way to a place where this kind of thing happened.

“Come on, he’s waiting for you.” Jake elbowed me gently.

And I knew that for the eternal truth that it was. Reuben would always wait for me without question, whenever I needed him to, as I would for him.

My mind skipped back three years to the memory of that wet parking lot and the gorgeous blond-haired beauty who left the rugby after-match inside to find some quiet. Instead, he found me. And I remembered briefly wondering at the time, what lucky person would get to claim his heart, never dreaming it would also be me.

I took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “Come on, girls, I’ve got a damn All Black to marry.”

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