Page 76 of Hello Handsome
I gave her a watery smile, wishing yet again that my wife could be at her son’s wedding. “Maya would have loved you.”
Now she pressed at her eyes. “Oh, Gray...”
“I know,” I said roughly. “Before we get to the ceremony, I wanted to tell you how grateful I am to have you in our family. You are exactly what Hayes needed. And you’ve made our familyso much fuller with your presence, Dell. I can’t wait for you to be a Madigan.”
She smiled up at me and then hugged me, pressing a kiss to my cheek. “Thank you, Gray.”
“Of course,” I replied. “I’ll let you get to it. I’m sure other people want their time with the bride.”
At her wave goodbye, I let myself out to find Liv waiting in the hallway with Della’s parents. We exchanged a few kind words, putting me on the verge of tears again, and then I made my way downstairs to see my son, tucking the handkerchief into my jacket pocket.
It was almost time. And even though I knew Hayes loved Della with his whole heart, part of me worried he would take up his old ways and run.
So I took a deep breath before knocking on my bedroom door, not quite sure what I would find with the seconds ticking down.
“Come in,” Hayes called.
I walked in, seeing Fletcher adjusting the black tie at Hayes’s neck. Hayes wore an all-black suit with a black tie, and it looked damn good on him. Especially when Fletcher stepped back, revealing the perfectly straight tie.
“You look so grown up,” I uttered.
Hayes gave me a pained look. “I’m over thirty, Dad.”
“You’re still my little boy,” I managed, reaching for the handkerchief.
“Oh, boy,” Fletcher said, coming to my side and wrapping his arm around my shoulders. “You don’t want to show emotion in front of groomzilla.”
I raised my eyebrows in surprise as I dabbed at my eyes. “Groomzilla?”
Hayes shot him a glare. “Just ‘cause I want Della to have a good fucking day, all of a sudden I’m a groomzilla. Bah.” Hayes turned back to the mirror, adjusting his jacket.
Fletcher leaned closer to my ear. “Turns out the company wanted to send anewlimo instead of the vintage one Hayes picked out months ago. Hayes had words for them.”
“Yeah,” Hayes chimed in. “And they’re sending the right fucking one. With free champagne.”
I chuckled. “Atta boy.”
Hayes smiled slightly, and I walked up to him, rubbing his shoulders through the suit jacket. “How are you feeling, son?”
He lifted a shoulder in response, looking at me in the mirror with a weary expression. “I’m thinking I’ll feel a hell of a lot better once Della says, ‘I do.’” He turned around to face us. “Why the fuck didn’t we go to Vegas the second she said yes to marrying me?”
Well, I guess he was still my son. “Because you wanted to make her happy. Like a good husband does.”
Hayes’s lips twitched. “Fucking stupid of me.”
Fletcher and I both laughed.
Hayes fiddled with the sleeves of his shirt, adjusting the cuff links. “I knew I wanted her to be my wife on our first date... I thoughtshe’s the one. Scared the hell out of me.”
I smiled. “I thought the same thing about your mom the first day I met her.”
Both Fletcher and Hayes looked at me in surprise. “You did?” Hayes asked.
I nodded. “Of course, it took me four years to stop running from it.” I shook my head. “Turns out you’re a smarter man than me.”
“We already knew that,” Hayes cracked. But there was a hint of his usual playfulness missing from his voice, and he looked down and turned back to the mirror.
Fletcher looked between us and said, “I’m going to make sure everyone knows it’s about time to start.”
