Page 92 of Consummation

The emotion on Uncle William’s face is making my eyes water—I’ve never seen him look quite like this before.

Uncle William turns to go.

“Hey, Uncle William?” Jonas says.

Uncle William stops and turns around.

“Thank you for letting Sarah wear Sadie’s necklace. It means a lot to me that you did that for her. Sarah was absolutely thrilled. Thank you.”

“Oh, I’m glad you mentioned that,” Uncle William says. “When I gave the necklace to Sarah last night, she seemed so excited to make itbothher ‘something old’andher ‘something borrowed’ for the big day, I didn’t have the heart to tell her I wasgivingher the necklace and not just loaning it to her.” He chuckles. “I figured I’d tell her after the ceremony. So when I drink way too much Scotch at the reception and forget to tell Sarah the necklace is hers, will you make sure to tell her for me?”

“Oh, wow,” Jonas says. He looks at me, astonished—but since I’ve never seen the necklace they’re talking about, I can’t return his expression. “Sarah’s gonna be shocked as hell. Are you sure? She’s not expecting thatat all.”

“Of course. It’s my wedding gift to Sarah—my way of welcoming her into our family.” He looks wistful. “Sarah reminds me of Sadie, you know. Same spirit. Sadie would have been thrilled to know her favorite necklace will be worn again, especially by someone as beautiful as Sarah, rather than sitting and collecting dust in a vault for another thirty years.”

“Thank you so much. Sarah will be thrilled. I’ll be sure to tell her.”

Uncle William grins. “Now go get married to your dream girl, son.”

“Yes, sir. With pleasure.”

When Uncle William is gone, I take a good, long look at my brother from head to toe and marvel at the joy wafting off him. I’ve never seen him look so damnedhappybefore. Hell, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen Jonas look happy at all before Sarah came along. Maybe every smile and laugh before Sarah was nothing but a dress rehearsal, a dry run preparing him for true happiness.

“You ready?” I ask my brother.

“I’ve never been more ready for anything in my entire life,” Jonas replies.

I hug Jonas and kiss his cheek, and as I do, my eyes tear up. I pull back from our embrace, wiping my eyes, intending to turn my back on him, but Jonas grabs my neck and forces me to stay put.

“Josh,” Jonas says softly, his palm on my neck, his forehead against mine. “You’re the best brother a guy could ask for. I thank God for you every single day.”

My body twitches with the emotion I’m stuffing down. What the fuck is happening to me? I’m a fucking wreck. I swallow hard, successfully forcing down the huge lump in my throat.

A woman with a clipboard pokes her head into the room and saves me from myself. “You gentlemen ready?” she asks.

Jonas nods. “Just give us a minute.”

“Okay. Take your positions in the courtyard whenever you’re ready. We’ll cue off you.”

“Thanks.” Jonas takes a deep breath and smiles at me. “You need a minute?”

I nod.

“Take your time, Josh,” my brother says, grinning. “They can’t start this shindig without me.”

I look up at the ceiling for a moment, and once I’ve got complete control of my emotions again, I fix my eyes on Jonas’ face. “Jonas, I’d be lost without you,” I say quietly. I rest my palm on his broad shoulder and take a big gulp of air. “Seeing you happy is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” I swallow hard. “I love you.”

Jonas’ lip trembles and his face contorts like he’s trying to keep himself from crying. But it’s no use. His eyes fill with water. “Fuck, Josh,” Jonas says, sounding pissed. He wipes his eyes. “What are you trying to do to me, motherfucker?”

“Sorry.”

“I was fully prepared to cry like a baby at the sight of Sarah walking down the aisle—that’s to be expected—but I wasn’t prepared to cry withyou, just standing here, talkingabout our fucking feelings, for Chrissakes. Come on, man, leave me a shred of dignity on my wedding day, would you?”

“Sorry, bro. How’s this? ‘Hey, fucker. Congrats on bagging anawesome babe. Hope you have a fucking awesome life, you cocksucker—now fuck off.’”

“That’s much better. Jesus. You scared me. For a minute there, I thought you were going soft on me.”

“No chance of that,” I say. “I’m the emotionally stunted asshole of the two of us—you know that.”

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