Page 114 of Saving Wyatt

Ari grimaced and shook his head, his mouth opening and closing several times before he said, “You’re telling me you’ve been MIA to play hockey? What about all the all-nighters?”

He shrugged. “Yeah. We’d get wasted with my teammates and crash in each other’s houses. You know how it is.”

“No. No, I don’t. Jeez. Why have you been hiding it for so long?”

“It didn’t seem important with everything going on. But now the coast is clear and we’re playing our first game soon, so you can come watch me fail.”

“Oh, I’m sat already,” Ari said, and Elliot laughed.

“Harsh,” Warren mumbled, and he turned to me.

I raised an eyebrow. “Of course I’ll be there. Someone has to carry you off the ice when you bust your knees.”

Warren laughed out loud. No idea why because hockey injuries were a serious thing. Especially at his age. But it felt good to be able to talk like that with my brother. To be able to joke and laugh with him.

For the first time in my life, I felt like I had a brother. And I knew it was my fault for being an old curmudgeon with him—well, with everyone, really—but I hoped that was yet another thing I could make up for from now on.

I had all the time in the world to do that. Even if it didn’t seem that way, considering my age, I felt like I had a future.

And it was all because of Ari.

THIRTY-NINE

ARI

It was hard not to reminisce.

Everything around me was beautiful. From the ceremony with the sea breeze as the guest of honor, to the flower arrangements everywhere I looked—handled masterfully by Santiago’s parents, as I was told—to the gentle fairy lights—in white and pink, of course—that floated over the reception venue like fireflies. It was like a scene from a movie. One of those cheesy rom-coms with a terrible script and contrived plot that still managed to make you tear up at the end.

Only this end was real, which made it all the more precious.

So of course, I reminisced. Especially when the couple took to the dancefloor for their first dance, it was impossible not to think about my first dance with Evan.

My wedding had felt like a dream too. Something surreal. Something I thought would never happen in a million years, especially for guys like Evan and me. And yet it had. And we’d lived an even dreamier life together for nearly ten mind-blowing years. No matter what happened after, no matter the pain, the grief, the trauma, no one could take that away from me.

“May I have this dance?”

I blinked and looked to my side, at Wyatt. The fairy lights danced in his eyes, giving them an ethereal glow, and I blinked several times before I noticed the outstretched hand.

“Wh-what?” I asked.

Wyatt chuckled and pointed to Hwan and Parker.

“A dance? May I have one?” he repeated, and I blinked again.

I looked around us, at all the people sitting at their tables and watching the happy couple and then back to Wyatt.

“If you’re sure.” I took his hand, and he led me to the empty dance floor.

Even if no one had paid us any mind before, they definitely were now. And yet I couldn’t take my eyes off him. He hadn’t stopped surprising me since the day he kissed me in front of the whole island.

Instead of backing down into the closet, into the privacy of our own bedroom, he’d taken a step out into the spotlight, not missing a chance to be involved, to be part of something bigger than himself. Bigger than us.

It had been a magical few weeks. Liberating. Dream-like. And every day he’d do something that made me more and more certain that there was no one better to be with than him. Making certain that I’d found my person for a second time in this life.

In all fairness, I didn’t think there was anyone more surprised about this change than Wyatt himself. It was like he’d been sleepwalking his entire life, and all of a sudden, he’d woken up. Or at least that was how he’d described it last night, when we spent the evening in bed rehearsing his stuff for today.

He held on to me, squeezed my hand, and we glided across the dancefloor, next to the married couple who didn’t seem to mind sharing the spotlight. For a moment it felt like it was our wedding, but of course, it was too soon for that. I didn’t even know if I wanted to get married again, but spending my life with Wyatt? That I was sure about.