Page 49 of Hands off his Dudette

"Yeah, and look how it ended up going for all of them," Mike replied.

Jacob stood with Chris."It's Anna. You know you'll do it eventually."

Did he? Fuck, Finn had never once in his life thought about getting married. That was the thing people did before settling down and getting kids, and a house, and...

That was when it hit him. He was getting a house. And he didn't want Anna out of his life, ever. Was there any other ending he'd imagined, any other way this story could go?

"It's too soon," Finn said, resolutely.

But he thought about the conversation that night, and the next morning. He certainly was thinking about it as he watched his brother waiting for his bride at the end of the aisle.

Trick and Carter's wedding was, of course, absolutely perfect from start to finish, to his mother's great frustration. The woman would have loved a bit of chaos, to be allowed a stern "I told you so," but Bobby, the wedding planner, had been a true miracle worker. The bridesmaids and groomsmen did their jobs well, performing a number of tasks to take the load off the happy couples' shoulders. Anna set up the wedding registries, Finn booked the band, and carried the wedding band.

On the day, everything went smoothly.

They'd booked the reception room in an elegant hotel, as neither couple had wished to tie the knot in a church. The wedding list was relatively small—a dozen guests per person, roughly, but as there were two weddings, that translated to over forty people.

Finn smiled as the first lady of the wedding procession appeared, a little basket of flowers in her hand.Maya Lucy Stone-Kennedy had started a Sailor Moon phase the last time he'd seen her, over the that summer, and apparently it wasn't over yet, because the seven year old's hair was in two familiar buns high on her head. She wore a white dress with a blue skirt, and a big red bow on her chest like her hero.

Finn laughed. "You guys are raising an otaku," he whispered to Bennet, who shrugged.

"Whatever makes her happy."

Maya took her job very seriously, taking some rose petals out of her basket to cover the brides' way in flowers.

Next came Cassie and Lucy, at the same time.

No wonder his mom was smug, sitting from the front row. They both looked fantastic. Lucy's dress was an off white backless sheath that highlighted all her curves, while Cassie wore a simpler knee-length silk number with a white petticoat underneath. It truly suited both of their styles. Finn only paid them a second of attention, as Anna walked in behind them.

Shit. He'd left early to meet his brother, so it was the first time he saw her in the blue-green satin gown, with her hair in an updo and her mouth painted pink. Fucking hell, she looked like she belonged on a red carpet. He couldn't look away, through the entire ceremony. Finn almost missed the moment when he was supposed to hand his brothers the rings.

Just when the grooms kissed the brides, Anna looked right at him and grinned, visibly delighted for her friends.

Finn couldn't smile back.

"Did you cry?"

"Why would I cry?" Anna rolled her eyes at Finn on their way to the main table.

It fit a dozen people—the two couples, Carter's mom, Piper, Maya, Bennet, the two of them, Arabella, and Arnold.

"Isn't that what women do at weddings?" he teased.

"Well, you cry when you watch Disney movies, so you're one to talk."

"Lies!" Finn protested. "Libel! Defamation."

"You cried when you watched How to Train Your Dragon with me," Maya interjected.

"Onions. I was cutting onions."

With the great company, a fair amount of champagne, and Maya, who was always an endless source of entertainment, they enjoyed five courses of delicious food, and then Finn got up for his speech.

Anna knew it was entirely improvised, like every speech Finn had ever made. One did not become such a good lawyer without an uncanny ability to speak in public.

"I want to tell you about Trick's fifteenth birthday. He had a huge party, invited most of the school, because Trick being Trick, he'd gotten great grades the previous year and mother wanted to reward him. I won't mention the cake, or the pool party with Californian senior girls in bikinis, although at the time, I paid attention to little else. I will tell you where Trick was, during most of the party. In our father's study. It had the best chessboard, you see, and his idea of fun was playing, against a little girl who was the only person who could really challenge him. Fast forward four years, and we were all on our way to the East coast. I won't lie, at the time, like everyone else, I thought that was the end of it. But last year, when he told me he wanted me to meet his girlfriend, and I recognized her, I knew we'd end exactly where we are now. Lucinda, you're crazy, and smart, and beautiful, and there just was no one else for my brother."

Some applauded, others cooed dreamily. This was exactly the kind of speech everyone liked at weddings—sweet and to the point.

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