Dinner was served and it was actually pretty good. They got our favorite Italian place to cater. We watched as David and Millie danced their first dance and laughed as Millie shoved cake in David’s face. Millie’s sister, Sara, the maid of honor, got up and barely made it through her speech as she blubbered through almost every word.

Then it was my turn.

I leaned over to Red and whispered, “Wish me luck.” I picked up my glass of champagne and headed toward the stage.

Sara handed me the mic and I turned to face the crowd with a smile. “Good evening. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Drew Collins. I am the best man and the younger, if not better looking, brother of the groom.” I winked in David’s direction and he flipped me the bird.

“Keep it classy, Dave,” I said before moving on with my speech. “After David asked me to be his best man, I started to do some research on epic best man speeches, but I didn’t find much. Just a lot of advertisements for speech writing kits that, for the low, low price of $14.95, plus shipping and handling, you can write the ultimate speech for your friend or loved one.” The crowd chuckled and I went on. “All of them gave the same cookie cutter advice. Start with a story about the groom. Then say something nice about the bride, which, with Millie, could take all night.” That got me a laugh and Millie blushed. “Then offer some words of wisdom, to which I have none. See, these kits are a sham. They’re basically just ripping off poor schmucks like me who have no idea what to say when they get up here. Lucky for me, I have mom.” I turned to face her and she beamed back at me from our table. “A wise woman who, throughout the years, has told my brother and me one thing over and over. When you fall in love, never stop fighting to be the man that she deserves. So, my parting piece of wisdom for you, bro, is to always remember that you, my friend, don’t deserve her.” I raised my glass in the air. “To David and Millie.”

“To David and Millie,” the crowd repeated. Everyone clapped as I made my way back to the table to give my brother and my new sister a hug.

I took my seat beside Red. She looked at me, still clapping. “Nice speech.”

“Well, I had help.” I smiled. “Thank you, by the way.”

“I was more moral support than help,” she said.

“Well, thank you anyway.”

After that, the party kicked into high gear as everyone hit the dance floor. I looked at Mom, who was watching the couples as they moved across the floor, a smile stretching across her face from ear to ear.

“What do you say, Mom? Want to give it a go?” I nodded my head toward the dance floor. She smiled up at me and nodded.

I held out my hand, helped her to her feet, and led her onto the dance floor. Mom was radiating happiness. With everything she’d been through lately it was so good to see her smile. I looked toward our table as Papa Jack offered his hand to Red.

Soon they joined us on the dance floor. Red’s laugh filled my ears as my dad whirled her around the dance floor.

“You did good, kid,” Mom said, bringing my focus back to her.

“With what?” She glanced over at Red and Papa Jack as I followed her gaze. “No. Mom, you have the wrong idea,” I protested. “Red and I are just friends.”

“I see how you look at her,” she said. “You can’t fool your mother.”

I sighed. “Am I that obvious?”

“Only to me.” She smiled and rested a cold hand on my cheek. I smiled and spun her around before bringing her back against me. I looked down as her face got serious.

“You okay? Do you need to sit down?”

She shook her head. “No, I’m fine.” She gave me a small smile. “You need to tell her.”

“I can’t. She needs me to be her friend.”

“Just promise me that one day, you will. She may need a friend right now, but trust me, you belong together. Soon enough, you will both run out of excuses.”

I looked at Red and met her beautiful green eyes. She smiled at me and I felt my lips turning up in response. “I promise,” I said without taking my eyes off Red.

As the song came to an end, I felt a tap on my shoulder. Papa Jack smiled at me. “Trade ya.”

He took Mom’s hand and led her away. I looked at Red and offered her my hand. She stepped toward me as I wrapped my arms around her.

The opening bars to “La Vie en Rose” began to play. Red sighed and I pulled her closer against me.

“I love this song.” I smiled, remembering the first time we heard it together, when we sat in Madison Square Park and discussed our plans for the future. She felt so good in my arms, her skin warm against my fingertips. I was hopeful that her prediction would come true, that we would be together after graduation, even if it meant that I was still just her friend.

“Thank you for coming with me,” I said, pulling away slightly to look at her.

She smiled. “Thank you for inviting me.”

I pulled her in close and she rested her head on my shoulder. This is where she belonged, with me, in my arms. I would keep my promise to Mom. One day, maybe I won’t have to let go.

***

After saying goodbye to the bride and groom, we headed back to the house. We were all exhausted and went straight to bed.

I took a quick shower and headed back into the bedroom. I walked into the room with a towel wrapped around my waist. Alex was sitting on the bed, digging through her bag. She looked up at me when I came in, her eyes raking across my body. I chuckled, enjoying her appraisal, maybe a little too much.

“I’m just gonna go brush my teeth,” she said, getting to her feet and hurrying out the door.

I pulled a t-shirt from my bag and tugged it over my head.

“Emma!” I heard my dad yell. I raced down the hall to their room, almost colliding with Red as she came out of the bathroom.

I opened the door and Papa Jack was there, holding my mother’s unconscious body in his arms. I froze. I heard Red gasp behind me and Papa Jack’s head snapped up. His eyes were full of panic. “Call nine one one!” he yelled.

Red took off down the hall to call for an ambulance. I could hear her talking to the operator, but all I could do was stare at Mom.

Chapter 22

Alex (Now)

As I walked into The Den for trivia, I didn’t know what to expect from Drew. Were we still keeping things between us? I decided to let him take the lead even though I wanted to shout it from the rooftops.

I was the first one there, so I said hello to Papa Jack and headed for our table. Bridget met me there with a beer and quickly took off to put in my food order. I dropped my bag and shrugged out of my jacket.

I was just about to take my seat when a meaty paw landed on my shoulder. I jumped and turned to see that Papa Jack had come up behind me. “Jesus!” I breathed, pressing a hand to my chest.

“Nope, just me.” I rolled my eyes at him. So funny.

“What’s up, Pop?”

“I was gonna ask you the same thing,” he said, crossing his beefy arms across his broad chest.

“I’m good.” I was confused. What was he getting at?

“You’re like one of my own, Alex, and I have to tell ya, you have been a bit of a mess the past few weeks.”

He was right. I’ve been a total mess. I’ve been running around like a freaked out Chihuahua.

I sank down into my chair. “I know,” I said.

“If this is about my bonehead son, you need to tell me. I will straighten him out for ya.” He stood up straighter and I looked up at him, my eyes wide in panic. He put his hand on my shoulder again. “I saw that kiss he planted on you. If ya ask me, it’s about damn time he came to his senses.” He shot me a wink.

“That was just one of Sean’s games. Drew and I aren’t together.” I was scrambling, trying to throw him off the trail. As far as I knew, Drew still didn’t want people to know.