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Todd stands and smiles at the crowd. I know him well enough to know it’s a fake smile. I don’t think he actually wanted to marry me, but his pride is hurt nonetheless.

“Good evening,” he starts, and the room quiets down. “I’m Todd Du Pont, the groom’s right-hand man.” Whistles and cheers whoop through the crowd. “When Preston asked me to be his best man, I was truly honored. We’ve always been more like best friends than cousins.” Todd gives Preston a tight smile. I can’t see Preston’s face, but I can picture him withholding an eye roll. “Watching Mildred and Preston fall in love has been like witnessing poetry in motion. Or a real-life Shakespearean play. It made me desire that kind of love for myself, something I thought would happen sooner rather than later.” Todd shoots me an annoyed glance.

I grab my champagne flute and take a small sip, attempting to keep my expression neutral and not give away that I think the best man is an infuriating twat.

“But I digress. Preston and Mildred, congratulations. I wish you both a lifetime of happiness.” He raises his glass in the air and more cheers ensue as he takes a sip and then sits back down.

Todd reaches behind the bride and groom to hand me the microphone for my turn. I quickly take it from him, careful not to brush his hand with mine, lest it give him any ideas I’ve changed my mind.

When I stand, I have a better view of the room, and scan it once more for a certain handsome blonde man that’s usually the center of attention. Unable to find him, I roll into my speech.

“As most of you know, I’m Molly, the bride’s little sister.” A collective awe sounds from the crowd. “Mildred and I have had our fair share of squabbles and disagreements over the years.” I place my hand on her shoulder and look at her. Her eyes fill with tears and she brings her hand up to cover mine. I know we’re both remembering the confession in the hot tub the other night and the information she hid from me. But I want her to know I forgive her. “But at the end of the day our love for each other overpowered all of that.” One lone tear streams down her face, and she gives me the tiniest nod of thanks.

“I’ve been around Preston and Mildred a lot over the years, and have been forced to watch them fawn all over each other.” The crowd laughs, and so do my sister and her groom. “There’s never been a doubt in my mind that theirs is a true love.” I glance briefly at Todd, who’s scowling down at his plate. “The kind of love we all long for and deserve.” A few amens ring out from the crowd and a light applause. “You guys have a love worth fighting for.” I raise my glass. “Here’s to a lifetime of fighting for each other.”

We all take a sip of our champagne, and Mildred stands up and embraces me. A few seconds later, I feel Preston’s arms around the both of us in one big group hug.

Once the applause dies down, the wedding planner quickly grabs the happy couple for the cake cutting. Knowing this is my opportunity to sneak away, I skirt around the perimeter of the room until I’m through the mistletoe awning and looking around the hallway for Brooks.

Harold is making the rounds throughout the house, making sure nothing is amiss, when he notices me.

“Are you looking for a certain large blonde man?” There’s a hint of a smile in his serious voice. Harold has always had a soft spot for me.

I look at him sheepishly. “Yes, I am. Have you seen him?”

He nods his head toward the small sitting room, smirks, then continues walking down the long hallway.

Wasting no time, I peek inside the sitting room. Ahh, so this is where they stuck the children of the guests. When I see a flurry of paper airplanes flit across the room, my eyes widen. The half-dozen or so children erupt into giggles and run to capture their paper airplanes. Brooks is at the far edge of the room, clearly the leader of the chaos.

His hair is rumpled and his cheeks are pink like he’s been running around … playing. I smile to myself. How did it take me this long to realize how breathtakingly adorable he is?

The oldest boy in the room, if we’re not counting the giant blonde, is wearing the bow tie Brooks had on earlier. Another little boy is wearing the velvet vest, leaving Brooks in just his dress shirt and trousers. The dress shirt is now unbuttoned at the top and the shirt sleeves are rolled up to show off his impressive forearms and smattering of manly arm hair.

He looks even yummier than the wedding cake.

All the children line up once more on the far side of the room, paper airplanes in hand. Brooks counts to ten and they release them again. A little girl, who I’d guess is barely three, bursts into tears when she sees her airplane crash-landed at her feet, the front end crumpled and caved in.

“Hey now.” Brooks kneels in front of her, tugging gently on one of her pigtails. “I bet we can fix it.”

She wipes her tears on the sleeve of her fancy dress and smiles. Brooks stands and she grabs onto his hand before dragging him back toward the table that is covered in paper—remnants of their craft time.

I can’t stop watching him interact with the kids. It’s absolutely precious. And it reminds me of watching him with his nieces. Suddenly, the thought of Brooks as a dad pops into my head. He’d be a really great dad.

The door creaks when my foot accidentally bumps it and Brooks turns and sees me watching them.

He smiles. “Well, look who finally found the fun room.”

The children laugh at his comment, except for the little girl still gripping Brooks’s hand. She looks downright possessive as she scowls at me. It’s really hard to take her seriously though with her little pigtails and fluffy, pink dress.

“I think I’ve been replaced,” I tell him, my eyes shifting to the little girl.

He chuckles and looks down at her. “Alice, this is my date, Molly.”

Her bottom lip sticks out in a pout before she says, “Hi.”

“Nice to meet you, Alice. Do you mind if I steal this big guy for a dance?”

She scrunches her nose up. “Can you fix my airplane first?”