Then I went to find mybrother.
I found Dylan first, standing ready by the doors into the hall, smiling at me. I could hear music coming from inside. It was Ash and Paulie, one of Wet Blanket’s guitarists, playing U2’s “All I Want Is You” for the guests while they waited for the ceremony to begin. Just acoustic guitar, no vocals. And I got shivers, in a reallygoodway.
This was happening.Rightnow.
“Wow, you clean up nice,” I told Dylan, which was an understatement. He’d shaved and his wavy, chin-length auburn hair was tied back; he was wearing one of his trademark kilts, which he always performed in, with his white dress shirt andjacket.
In a word,gorgeous.
“You too, bratface,” he said, kissing my cheek. “Though the cake on your butt was a goodlook,too.”
I sighed. The guys weren’t going to forget that anytime soon. “Have you seen mybrother?”
Dylan cocked an eyebrow and looked over myshoulder.
I turned to find my brother, along with Jude, Zane and Brody, walking up, looking ridiculously handsome in their dark suits. They were followed closely by Katie’s dad, her brother-in-law, and her four-year-oldnephew,Owen.
“Holy shit,” I gasped, getting a good look at my brother as Jude and Zane each gave me a kiss on the cheek. I tried to pretend it didn’t bother me at all—I didn’t even notice, in fact—that Brody completely side-stepped the situation, heading straight over to Dylan like I wasn’t here. “I don’t think I have ever seen you in a decent suit,” I told Jesse as he took his turn kissing my cheek. “I would say tone it down a bit, you know, give the ladies a chance…” I straightened the knot of his champagne silk tie, “… but you haven’t seen yourbrideyet.”
My brother smiled a smile so dazzling it could’ve blocked out the sun. “If I knew all I had to do to get you to come home was get married,” he retorted, “I might have done itlongago.”
“No, you wouldn’t have. You had to find Katiefirst.”
“Howisshe?”
“A little nervous. She told me to tell you she loves you. I hear her last wedding didn’t gosowell?”
My brother’s face immediately clouded over, and he started toward the door to the ladies’ dressing room. “Whereisshe?”
“No, no, no.” I caught his arm and turned him back around, steering him toward the door to the outer deck, where Jude and Dylan were now waiting for him. “You get your ass down that aisle and you wait for her. And once she gets there, you let her know you’re hers, for keeps. And you keep letting her know, every day, for the rest of your life—or I let Devi and Becca kickyourass.”
He grinned at me, but his eyes shone a little wetly. “Not a problem, littlesister.”
I smiled. I had never been prouder of him. Which was sayingalot.
I’d always been proud of my bigbrother.
“But first, I have something to give you.” I pulled the little stick pin from the ribbon on my bouquet and showed him the red stone set into it. “It was Mom’s. Those earrings of hers,remember?”
“Sure. With therubies.”
“Garnets, actually. Passed down from Gran Ashton. She used to love them. I remember when I was little watching her put them on and look at them in the mirror. She never wore them out because they were so damn special.” I shook my head and my brother laughed a little,remembering.
“Yeah, that sounds like Mom.” His eyes met mine. “Or maybe she never wore them out because Dad never took her anywhere worthwearingthem.”
“Yeah.” I bit my lip a little. “Maybethat.”
“They’d be proud of you,” he said, his eyes softening. “They’d both be soproud.”
“Yeah, well.” I sniffed a little. Damn my brother. Making me cry, already? Before the bride even got to walk down the aisle? “The jeweler who made this for me mentioned that garnet is the birth stone for January. And now here you are, having a January wedding… and it just seems fitting that you wear it today. You know, for new beginnings. And to remind you that even though Mom and Dad and Gran and Gramps and… well… pretty much everyone else are gone, we come from somewhere. We have history. And now you and Katie… you’ll make new history. A new branch in thefamilytree.”
I pinned the pin to his lapel and showed him the other stone, which I’d had mounted on a thin chain around my neck. “We’ll both have them with ustoday.”
My brother pulled me in for another hug. “This is the best wedding gift I could get,” he said, “besides youbeinghere.”
“I wouldn’t miss it.” I released him. “Now get going, before your bride thinks you jumped out thewindow.”
Dylan held open the door and my brother and Jude swaggered on down the wraparound deck. I watched them pause outside the hall. Jude said something to Jesse. Then they laughed, they hugged, and they went in through the glass doors, taking their places before theofficiant.
