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Everyone sips while she gulps it all down. Keaton wipes away another round of happy tears and stands to hug her, and Liam passes me the microphone.

“One down…” he mumbles.

I want to tell him no worries, but he might need to. I feel very little, slipping out the paper, unfolding it, and giving it a look. The first sentence sticks in my throat. It’s a joke about Liam’s unhealthy obsession with Amelia Earhart when we were kids and how Keaton dressed as her their first Halloween together. The easy part.

Clearing my throat, I scratch my head with the hand holding the mic, still staring at my speech in the other. Then I make the mistake of looking to my right. Bennett is watching, waiting with everyone else in the quiet ballroom.

Fuck it. I’ve thrown enough of myself at her feet tonight.

“Keaton said she’d end me if I wing my best-man speech, so…” I make a show of tucking my well-crafted words into my pocket. “Let’s find out if she meant it.”

Liam drops his head onto the table in front of him. His groan is too low for most to hear above the round of laughter coming from anyone who’s ever met his new wife. I clap a hand on his shoulder and stare straight at Bennett, who’s messing with the stem of her glass.

“A lot of people think of Liam and Keaton as the perfect couple,” I say, my voice bouncing out of the speakers at the opposite end of the room. “Maybe they give off that impression, but I’ve experienced what few others have. Between the sweet moments and them going the extra step for each other is the ugly side of their relationship. And trust me, it’s not something they want getting out there. They yell, pick at insecurities. I can’t tell you how many times in the past year Liam has shown up at my door with a six-pack, begging me to give him shelter from her storm.”

A tension floats in the air, no one brave enough to react. Keaton has settled back in her chair, arms across her chest.

I wink at her and continue, “But I’ve also seen the make-ups. The second one of them misses the other. The tears and forgiveness and promises to be better to one another. And they really work to follow through on those promises.”

I drag my teeth over my bottom lip, trying like hell not to look at Bennett again. “Liam and Keaton are far from perfect, for each other or to each other, but they do have a relationship we can all learn from.” I lose the battle and meet her gaze. “They don’t run from the ugly or try to bury it. Instead, they love through the flaws and discover ways to make them fit. For Liam and Keaton, their ugly side only strengthens them, giving way to more sweet moments, more going the extra step … more of what makes this love worthy of the fight over any other.” I look away from her first, for once, and lift my glass in the air to finish. “And because of them, I can’t wait to find someone to be ugly with. Cheers.”

I knock back my drink, toss the mic to the frat brother next to me, and head for the bar, in need of something stronger to get me through the rest of the night.

Iwait for the bartenderwith my back to the head table and thus the majority of the reception. He looks flustered by a gaggle of Keaton’s cousins, all ordering cocktails at once. When I reach over for a bottle of scotch, he gives a nod. Permission to serve myself.

“You can’t wait to find someone, huh?”

I close my eyes. After all these years, I would still consider jerking the wheel into oncoming traffic at the sound of Aubrey’s voice.

I turn around with my usual greeting locked and loaded. “Why, Mrs. Masters, have you had work done?”

She has. Her lips are fuller than when I saw her at the office yesterday.

Aubrey cocks her head to the side. “Your speech made it sound like you’re having girl trouble.”

Uncorking the bottle, I shake my head. I might not have kept the undertones of the speech as subtle as I’d have liked, but fuck her for being the one to call me out on it.

“And you care?”

She shrugs, turning around to prop her elbows on the bar ledge behind her. It pushes her tits out, her three-year anniversary present to herself. “We are family.”

I take a long sip after that one. “Last time I checked, family doesn’t send each other nudes.”

“That was once,” she snaps.

My relationship with Greg has been abysmal since he left my mom after her cancer diagnosis. Early on, Aubrey thought she could use it to her advantage. Pit us against one another to keep his affections. Because what could be more embarrassing than your wife sleeping with your son? If only I’d shown interest in fucking a woman who’d gone down on my father. Now and then, she’ll test the waters, but they remain ice cold.

As the speeches wrap up, she rushes to her table when the hubs shows too much attention to a server. Staking her claim is a must at events like these, too many places to disappear to. I scan the crowd gathering to watch the bride and groom cut their cake. With so many people in the way, I almost miss a peek of deep purple. Bennett’s sneaking out a side exit. I’m right behind her. I want to see if a change in location matters. Outside, in a wide-open space without walls closing in on us, maybe we can find new air, new perspectives—compromise.

Someone beats me to the door. Her asshole ex glances around before he follows her out. I’ve all but forgotten my injuries until I see the split lip I gave him, and the reason feels as justified as ever. I meant every word about not being a jealous person. She turned me into one, slowly and without my consent. Even if she hadn’t, I wouldn’t trust Bentley near her. He looks at her like a toy. Something to play with whenever the hell he wants.

“My girl,” he said.

As if Bennett would ever let herself belong to anyone.

The door bangs shut behind me, and he spins on his heels to face me. Bennett holds her arms over her chest. They fall away when she sees me, her eyes big enough to reflect the string lights surrounding us. She almost steps toward me, a forward sway that never develops. Like she remembers not to.

“Dane…” She trails off, checking on Bentley to see if we’re picking up where we left off last night.

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