“Lucky you were too nervous to have breakfast then, I guess.” Riley squeezed his hand, hearing a stitch pop inside the pocket.
Another time he might have taken his hand away, but the state of Brent’s pants were the least of their worries right now.
“Why?” Brent asked, his voice tiny and unsure. He wasn’t asking about breakfast. He was asking about Rose.
“I don’t know,” Riley answered honestly. Rose had seemed nice. Brent would have made a kind, stable husband who would have looked after her forever.
Throwing that away didn’t make any sense to Riley. Brent was easily one of the best people he knew. Shy and a little on the quiet side, but kind, and warm, and caring. Funny when he wanted to be. Definitely not hard to look at, especially now that he was all grown up and his lanky teenage frame had filled out to solid, square shoulders and a neatly-defined waist.
He’d already proven himself as a good father, too. He’d raised his little sister alone after their parents died in a car crash right after he finished college.
As far as Riley was concerned, Brent was a catch. Anyone would have been lucky to have him.
“Ready to get out of here?” Riley asked.
“Yeah.” Brent nodded. “Yeah, I’m ready.”
Reluctantly, Riley took his hand away from Brent’s so that he could lead the way out of the church, giving the pastor—who’d been patient and silent the whole time—a nod on the way out.
It had been Rose who wanted a church wedding. She’d justified it as making it feel more real.
Why the hell hadn’t she shown up? Or at least told Brent she wasn’t going to?
Cold feet were one thing, leaving someone you were supposed to love standing at the altar was another thing entirely. Maybe she had a great reason, but Riley wasn’t feeling all that charitable right now.
He wanted Brent to be happy, and Brent wasn’t happy.
“I’ll stay with you,” Riley said. “I’ll help you with whatever you need.”
“Thanks,” Brent murmured, shoving his hands in his pockets again. “Thanks, man.”
No one deserved to be left like this on their wedding day, but Brent was the least deserving of everyone Riley knew. His heart broke as they walked out into the sunshine, the rings weighing heavily in his pocket.
This wasn’t how he’d been expecting today to go.
