The photographer first posed them for one large group picture. Bianca took several with Quentin and their friends split off to take their own. Win and Elliot could’ve been posing for their own wedding portrait with how lovingly they stared into each other’s eyes.
Whether it was the alcohol or the good mood, even Spencer and Wolf seemed to have buried their mutual resentment and posed together. He had to blink several times to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating, then poked Chess in the side. “Holy shit. Check out Spencer’s hand on Wolf’s ass.”
Chess’s jaw dropped, and he whistled long and low. “Damn. I don’t know whether to be more surprised that Spencer has the balls to do it or that Wolf is letting him.” He shook his head. “They must be drunk.”
Personally, André thought it was long overdue. “When I spoke with him in Florida, he was having a hard time with one of his cases. It was really getting to him. The man needs to loosen up and enjoy himself, or he’s going to snap one day. If it means having a little too much to drink and letting someone get handsy, so be it. Maybe they’ll finally stop jumping down each other’s throats all the time.”
“They might end up with their tongues down each other’s throats.”
“You never know.”
The photographer took a break, and Wolf jerked away from Spencer as if he’d been touched by an open flame. Several words were exchanged before he walked away, trudging up the steps to the grassy lawn, and leaving Spencer standing by himself, his hair ruffled by the gentle breeze blowing off the ocean.
“Well, that was a fail.” Chess’s shoulders slumped. “I wish I knew what made him so tightly wrapped.”
“I’d like to unwrap you. Inch by inch.”
Chess came willingly into his arms, and they stood for a moment, simply holding each other. All the chaos and pain they’d been through…when he thought about it, he knew it was worth it if it meant he’d have a man like Chess to love him forever, and he’d gladly walk in those footsteps of the past again to be where he was at this very moment.
“I love you.” Chess kissed his neck. “And much as I wish we could be alone tonight, we should go greet our guests.”
“I suppose so. Come.”
Hand in hand, they left the beach and joined the rest of the party. Guests had begun to trickle in, and his mother and Spencer were in their social element, air-kissing, meeting and greeting. Soon he was surrounded by friends he hadn’t seen in years, and Chester was the center of attention in an animated group of colleagues from the university.
When he went to the bar to get his second drink, he caught Spencer by the shoulder. “How did you do all this in such a short time? And where did you find my old fraternity brothers and law-school buddies?”
Spencer’s eyes twinkled. “When there’s a will, there’s a way, and let’s face it, everyone loves a Hamptons party with an open bar.” He grew serious. “But it wasn’t hard. Bianca showed me your yearbooks, and I looked them up. Your friends couldn’t have been more thrilled for you. Same with Chess’s colleagues. They were easier, since I’ve met them.”
“I’m more grateful than you know. The years I spent running around the world for work left me little time to keep up with people. I’m not going to make that mistake again. Time and life are both too short to waste.” He picked up his flute of champagne, allowing himself a night to enjoy. He held it up to the sky. “To you, Dawson. I wish you could’ve been here with me to share in it all.”
Wolf, Elliot, Win, and Chess joined them, and with drinks in hand, they all raised their glasses to Dawson.
“To Dawson.”
A tall woman dressed in a cream suit, with a beautiful handwoven tote bag on her shoulder, stepped out on the deck. Her red hair caught fire in the waning sunlight, and she looked around uncertainly until she caught his eye. Without taking a sip of his champagne, he set it on the bar. “If you’ll excuse me.” And he hurried off to greet her.
“Susan, so glad you could make it.”
Her green eyes danced. “I wouldn’t miss this. When you told me what you planned, it made my little romance-loving heart beat faster.”
He chuckled. “Shall we get this started? I have a feeling once people see what’s happening, there will be an uproar.”
She hooked her arm through his and gave his shoulder a nudge. “And rightly so, you devious thing. I love it.”
He gazed across the deck to see Chess engaged in a spirited conversation with his professor friends. André waved, and Chess said something quickly, gave each person a farewell kiss, and hastened across the deck to meet him.
“Hi, what’s up?”
He slid his arm around Chess’s shoulders. “This is Susan Weatherby. I asked her to say a few words.”
“Nice to meet you.” Chess slanted a look at him. “Words? About what?”
“You’ll see.” With his arm still around Chess, André called out, “Can I please get everyone’s attention? My friend, Judge Susan Weatherby, has a few words for Chess and myself. If everyone would walk down to the lawn, please?”
Leading the way, he and Chess descended the stairs, with Chess rapid-firing questions at him. “What’s going on? Who is she? What can she have to say when she’s never met me before? What’s going on in that brain of yours?”
They stood by the arch of flowering rosebushes, with the crowd of thirty or so people around them.
