Damien had meant it as a joke, but as soon as the comment went live in the chat, he winced. God, was that going to come back and bite him in the ass.
KnotMyProblem: So where are you guys? Don’t make me sit next to great-aunt Hildegard
GlitterDoctor: As boyfriend of both the grooms’ brothers, my glittery ass is sitting front row
GlitterDoctor: I’ll take “sentences I’d never thought I’d write” for 500, Alex
Gwynning: uh?
GlitterDoctor: I mean of the Trebek variety
GlitterDoctor: I’m not insinuating that your husband moonlights as a game show host
LoveHarley: Evie, Simon and me are sitting in the 5th row from the front on the left if youre walking down the aisle. Were here with xV, mal and their kids
KnotMyProblem: Not Gwynn?
Damien craned his neck to get a better look. In the fifth row, as promised, was Harley. His broad shoulders and blond hair gave him away. With a destination in mind, Damien started to move.
Gwynning: I’m in the first row. Alex is TD’s best man
KnotMyProblem: Sliding in on a technicality. What do the rest of us schmucks have to do to get front row accommodations?
xVerity: I’m sure there’s a nice plant somewhere in the venue in need of a date, Knot. If you couple up with the arrangement in the front row, you might be able to score the aisle seat.
KnotMyProblem: Haha
KnotMyProblem: Excuse me while I go gargle some chlorophyll
Chlorophyll. What mutant language had that word escaped from?
Thank god for autocorrect.
Damien sidled down the fifth row and took the empty seat between Harley and xV.
“I feel like I should still be typing to you guys,” Damien admitted. He brushed the wrinkles from his dress pants and straightened his jacket. “That being said, well met, gentlemen. It’s a delight to see you again.”
“Well met,” xV declared, parroting Damien’s jokingly formal manner. He inclined his head. “On behalf of Lord LoveHarley of Los Angeles, allow me to introduce his daughter, the fair Ms. LoveHarley.”
“Um, no thanks.” Evie grinned. “Mr. P and I go back. Waaay back. All the way to Fiji back. So we’ve all been introduced.”
“Oh.” xV blinked. “Well, in that case, don’t mind me.”
“Pretty sure that’s where you’re supposed to swear, xV,” Damien teased. “Or are you saving that for when TD’s around to hear it?”
xV sighed. He was about to say something when the first notes of a piece performed by a string quartet put an end to the chatter in the room.
“It’s starting!” Nikki, xV’s daughter, whispered in a loud and overly excited way. “Eee!”
xV kissed the top of her head to silence her, and not long after, the ceremony began.
* * *
All things considered, TD cleaned up nice. With his hair tamed and his tailored suit shaped to his narrow body, he embodied maturity and confidence in a way that his online presence did not. But the sparkle in his eyes as his father walked him down the aisle? That was TD through and through. Damien was glad to see him happy.
TD parted from his father and joined his favorite asshole at the altar. While he did, his young daughter, Penelope, threw petals at him from her flower basket. She’d been given a seat next to the leafy arrangement in the front row that was supposed to have been Damien’s date. TD’s son, Bo, stood in front of the groomsmen by the altar, looking very serious as he held the pillow on which rested his fathers’ wedding bands.
What did they think about the wedding?
