Page 114 of Mean Machine

EARLY MAYblessed them with fantastic weather. At first, it looked like it might rain, but by eleven o’clock, the sky was a soulful bright blue, with a few feathery clouds merely there for contrast.

Brooklyn had barely believed his eyes when they’d turned the corner and the manor house came into view—it had apparently been given to Nathaniel’s family for services rendered during the Civil War, oh, some four hundred years ago, and one branch of the Bishops had managed to keep hold of it. Nathaniel’s uncle and aunt were the current owners, and according to Nathaniel, had built out the grade II-listed building to a “destination wedding venue,” which not only attracted wedding guests from all around the world but also meant that neither Nathaniel nor Brooklyn had to worry about anything except telling the attached wedding planner how many people would be expected.

The manor house and its various converted outbuildings had all been turned into accommodation, and could easily house a hundred fifty people without even stretching its capacity. Brooklyn and Nathaniel had shown up two days before from London and spent an afternoon and evening largely with Nathaniel’s family, who seemed genuinely intrigued that Brooklyn was an ex-boxer, though Nathaniel stressed that Brooklyn had been “in law enforcement,” which seemed to make more sense to these people.

Brooklyn felt a lot less self-conscious than he’d expected, considering that pretty much the whole family sported those posh accents you acquired from public schools and top-notch universities, and he was positively surrounded by senior civil servants, a number of university professors—some of whom had written authoritative tomes on their chosen fields—judges, and barristers.

Nathaniel had clearly emerged from that same bookish mould, and he carried both his education and poshness with the same ease that made it impossible to hate these people, especially as none of them made Brooklyn uncomfortable about his much more humble origins.

If anybody, for example, remembered the wedding to Dion, nobody mentioned it, and they seemed genuinely delighted that Nathaniel was “finally getting hitched.” The “again” simply dropped away and faded into the unspoken, and it only took a couple glasses of some lovely wine from the cellar until Brooklyn relaxed.

Nobody commented on the fact that the only person who showed from Brooklyn’s family was his sister—his father hadn’t been invited; his mother was too unwell to travel. After a few unexpectedly pleasant phone calls, Tracy came and brought a husband who clearly adored her, and that counted for something, because Brooklyn took the opportunity to walk the grounds with her late that evening, and after a long, at first halting chat, they then sat down on one of the wooden benches under a large oak tree, listened to the complete silence of the countryside, and she slid her hand into his and leaned her head against his shoulder.

They were both survivors, and he imagined she had her own scars from that childhood, but she too had had the guts to roll the dice and trust another person, and that made him hopeful and glad.

The next morning, the rest of his “family” appeared—and the day was spent with socialising and welcoming old Mean Machine crew and boxers, and there was palpable excitement when Cookie’s band bus rolled into the parking lot. Nathaniel had warned his family that this wedding reception would be “different,” but they all took it in stride.

And then Saturday came around, and Brooklyn felt almost faint with stress. He’d managed to get through his first wedding largely because he’d been so hungover and exhausted from the party the day before that he meekly went with the plan, and he’d been young and stupid and invincible back then, with no concept just how wrong his life could go.

Rose slapped him on the shoulder and joked about him and Em blocking all exits so Brooklyn couldn’t get away. Still, when the waiting area cleared and all the guests went off to be seated, Brooklyn suddenly felt terrified, as if he had to enter another ring.

Joseph patted his arm and cracked a smile. “At least Nathaniel won’t punch you.”

“He also won’t stay in his corner,” Brooklyn muttered. “And there’s no ref.”

Joseph chuckled at him.

It had started as a joke—after all, there was no need to give a bride away, but the wedding planner had assured them that lots of same-sex partners opted to have one of them being “given away,” and Brooklyn had quipped that he should really have his big entrance, considering Shelley had had it that first time, and by rights it should be his turn now.

What he hadn’t taken into account was how strangely emotional it was when the doors opened in front of him and Nathaniel already stood in front of the registrar, looking very serious and noble in his suit, and what it meant to Brooklyn that Joseph walked at his side.

Cash had waved it off when Brooklyn approached him about it, not keen on standing so long outside and even less to hobble down the aisle with Brooklyn, though Brooklyn assumed it was that Cash simply thought Joseph deserved it more, considering he’d been a later addition to the team but had masterminded single-handedly how Brooklyn had won his titles.

And for all his calm and tough exterior, Brooklyn noted that Joseph looked very sombre and proud next to him. He knew Joseph didn’t have family, but just what that meant struck him hard in his soft spots. Between Joseph next to him, Nathaniel turning towards him, hands folded in front of him largely because he didn’t seem to know where else to put them, and all these people—friends, family, and friendly strangers who welcomed him with open arms, Brooklyn swallowed hard and had to blink his vision clear.

All the guests had risen and watched him, and then him and Nathaniel. Nathaniel nodded his thanks to Joseph, who took his seat in the first row next to Nathaniel’s parents, and took Brooklyn’s hand. Their gazes met, and there was relief and so many other goddamned emotions that Brooklyn had to clear his throat. He noticed Em and Rose, saw Soledad and Cookie beam at him, and had to turn away from his guests before they saw that he was fighting tears.

Nathaniel leaned closer. “You okay?” he whispered.

“Let’s not do this again, please,” Brooklyn said.

Nathaniel shook his head. “Only the once.”

The registrar said a few words, then asked for the ring bearer, and at the back of the hall, Hazel, who’d been waiting with Nathaniel’s aunt, made a small triumphant sound because it was finally her turn. She remembered not to run towards them and slowed down just in time with the little blue pillow with the rings. They picked up the rings while Hazel stood between them, beaming her mock-shy smile at them both.

Nathaniel and Brooklyn had both decided that Hazel would be with them during the vows because she was an integral part from the start, and ultimately what had drawn them together in the first place, even though they were the only people in the room who knew the particulars.

And by God, but Brooklyn was so happy, so nervous, so full of emotion that he struggled getting out the words “I do.” He was only glad that he managed to slide the ring onto Nathaniel’s hand even while his own fingers were nerveless and clumsy. Nathaniel laughed and kissed him and was told off by Hazel, who despite her tender age had remembered the order of events from the rehearsal.

Their audience, including the registrar, laughed, and Nathaniel managed to slide the ring onto Brooklyn’s finger and clutched his hand as if he were never going to let it go, and that was just fine with Brooklyn.

The registrar then pronounced them married and invited them to kiss, and now it was Brooklyn who stepped closer, placed a hand against Nathaniel’s face, and kissed him, his heart hammering in his chest while all his emotions crested into all-encompassing love for Nathaniel, Hazel, and all the people there with them who came to witness their commitment.

“I love you,” he whispered against Nathaniel’s lips, and Nathaniel smiled and blinked and kissed him back.

With a wide grin, the photographer asked for another kiss, and Brooklyn wasn’t in any state to tell whether that was joke or a light-hearted complaint, but they kissed again, and again while the witnesses were called to sign the paperwork.

After the congratulations, the wedding planner herded the various guests towards the reception, while the photographer requested a few minutes for the official photos, and most of those also included Hazel, of course.

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