Page 89 of Roll With The Punches
Chapter Twenty-Four
This wasn’t exactly the wedding day Jeff had envisioned for himself, but he’d take it.
Still, he couldn’t help but feel a little guilty that Brandon and Stuart had decided he should be the one Brandon married simply because of his stupid body.
Warring with that, the infinite love he felt for both of them for deciding based on that,becausethey loved him and cared about him. Selfless, both of them. He knew he could never do enough to show them how much he loved both of them for it.
They were having it there at the house for both expenses and logistics. Nothing fancy, but when Emma had taken over the arrangements with help from Tracey, Grace, Faith, Loren, June, Cali, and others, none of the three men had the heart to stop them, much less get in their way.
For now, Jeff stood in “his” bedroom, staring at the mirror over the dresser. There wasn’t a theme so much as there was a mood, casual vibe, the men all wearing matching button-up short-sleeved shirts with classic cars emblazoned on them, and khaki shorts.
He’d heard rumors about the decorations and cake having a similar theme, but since all three of them had been banned from the lanai and backyard since that morning, he didn’t know for sure.
Someone tapped on his bedroom door. “Come in.”
Emma peeked in, smiling. “Ready?”
“Yeah. Why’d I have to hide, again?”
She opened the door wider. “Because you’re the bride,duh.”
“How’d I become the bride?”
She planted her hands on her hips and tipped her head exactly the way Brandon did. “Are youseriouslygoing to tell Dadhe’sthe bride?”
“Fair enough. Let’s do this.”
His parents, Iris and Calvin, and Sylvie were all there, too. Iris and Sylvie especially had felt horrible when they’d learned about his Lyme disease diagnosis, but he didn’t blame them for him contracting the disease.
Shit happened.
Sometimes, bad shit happened to good people, or while trying to do a good deed for someone.
He’d have enough struggles trying to overcome this without adding extra mental baggage that had no place in his life.
Jeff knew the guest list was around thirty-five people, but on their lanai it felt like more than that. Next week they were going to have a kinky reception at Cali, Max, and Sean’s house, and had invited people to that who couldn’t be here today, or whom they’d excluded from today for the sake of space and trying to keep it simple.
Brandon had told them to keep their rings on. Now that they were on, he only wanted them taken off for work, and then they could wear them on their day collar around their neck.
Well, Stuart could. Jeff wouldn’t have much reason to remove his for a while, unless he was working on the Edsel or something.
They stood together, Brandon in the middle, Stuart on his right, and Jeff on his left, both men holding hands with Brandon and each other.
Loren smiled. “I hear we’re dispensing with the ring exchange portion of the ceremony?”
Brandon nodded. “Efficiency.” The smell of whatever Bill was grilling wafted through the air, making stomachs growl. “And I’m hungry.”
“I’ve had a special request,” Loren said before looking past the men. “Who gives these men away?”
Emma and Grace stood behind them, their arms around each other’s waists. “We do,” they echoed, grinning.
“Well, and Jeff’s parents,” Emma added, pointing to them. His dad smiled and waved, cracking Jeff up.
Jeff tipped his head over onto Brandon’s shoulder as Loren spoke, his mind drifting. Tracey and Faith were taking video for them, and Cali was once again manning a camera, so he could watch it all later.
Never in his life had he dreamed he’d be this happy in a relationship. Especially with two men.
He’d hoped to one day get married, but then when they’d formed their triad he’d let that slip to the side, knowing it was the structure, not the title, that was important.
