Ben looked at himself in the mirror one last time before hitting the bathroom light and stepping out into the hotel room. He held out his arms to the side. “How do I look?”

Biting her lip, Ryan’s eyes appraised him seductively. “I like it more than I thought.”

“Like what? The clean-shaven look or the beard?” he asked, running a hand over his smooth face. He’d had some sort of facial hair for so long it felt weird not to have any at all. Like he’d gone to the grocery store and realized he’d forgotten to put on pants.

“The clean-shaven look. You were sexy with a beard, so I wasn’t sure how you’d look without one. Turns out you look hot all the time.”

“I thought you saw pictures online that day you looked me up.”

“I did. But Google images don’t quite do you justice.” She smiled and tilted her head, placing her hands behind her on the bed and leaning back a bit. “How much time do you have before you have to meet the guys in the other room to get ready?”

“Not enough.” Though looking at Ryan in the tight white T-shirt she’d worn to bed made him check his watch once more. He let out a noise that sounded like a groan and a sigh had some sort of aggravated love child. “Yeah, not enough.”

She got up from the bed and walked toward him, the hem of her shirt hitting just above her panties. “Well, in that case, I guess I’ll have to make this memorable.” Then she grabbed his cheeks and kissed the hell out of him.

It caused a stir in his pants that made him consider being a few minutes late, but he thought better of it. “Later,” he said against her lips. Reluctantly he removed his hands from her ass and turned to grab his tux from the closet. “I’ll see you at the wedding,” he said.

And as he left, he thought how he couldn’t wait to do exactly that. He’d only seen her in the dress she’d gotten for the wedding one other time, and he was excited for the repeat appearance. He was thankful for the distraction that visions of Ryan provided as he made his way down the hall to the room David had booked for all the groomsmen to get ready in.

Ben was glad for it because otherwise, as the best man, he would’ve felt obligated to let the guys get ready in his own room. But that would have meant that Ryan would have had to leave, and she really had nowhere to go. He already felt bad enough that she’d be on her own for most of the day, but she’d told him repeatedly that it was no big deal. She’d been on her own most of her life, she’d reminded him. The fact that it was the truth didn’t make him feel any better.

Ben could already hear the muffled voices of the groomsmen as he approached the door. Opening it up, he saw that everyone, including David, was there—and had clearly found the beer Ben requested to be stocked in the fridge. Most of the guys were sitting around in various chairs and on the edge of the bed, beer in hand.

They barely acknowledged his entrance, though he didn’t expect them to. The bachelor party had done pretty much the opposite of its purpose. It had created an awkwardness between David and his friends—and Ben and David’s friends—that would be difficult to move past. Since the photographer would be there any minute to take pictures of the guys tying their bow ties and buttoning their shirts and other dumb shit, no one was in more than sweatpants and an undershirt.

David gave him a nod from where he was standing by the window, looking out onto the water. After hanging up his tux, Ben walked over to him, giving him a friendly pat on the back. It was something he did, rather than thought about, and David’s small smile told him that the gesture comforted him. “How ya feelin’?” Ben asked, noting the exhaustion around David’s eyes. He was sure his brother had been up most of the night.

“The truth?” David raised an eyebrow like he wasn’t sure if the question had only been a polite greeting.

“I asked, didn’t I?”

David let out a deep sigh through his nose and pulled open the door to the balcony. “Like I need some fresh air.”

Ben followed him outside, shutting the door behind him. He stood next to David, both of them leaning against the railing as they looked out over the water. After a few quiet minutes, his brother turned to him. “Am I crazy?”

“What?”

“Just answer the question.”

“You’re asking a guy who basically takes a beating for a living. I don’t think I’m qualified to assess what’s sane and what isn’t.”

David exhaled, setting his beer on the ledge but keeping his fingers on it. “Playing a professional sport for a living doesn’t make you crazy.”

“It does if you have our parents.” The guys laughed, but then quickly sobered. “For real, though. Why would I think you’re crazy for getting married?”

David shrugged before taking a sip of his beer. “I don’t know. Part of me thinks if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Like marriage will ruin our relationship or something.”

“Nah,” Ben said. “Marriage doesn’t ruin a relationship. Kids do.” Ben couldn’t help but add a bit of lightness to their conversation. It was like he didn’t know how to interact with David this way, so adding some humor made Ben feel a little more at ease. But he knew he wasn’t the one who needed to feel relaxed. His brother was asking for his opinion, asking for his advice on what was the most important day of his life. And Ben would make sure he didn’t fuck it up. “You love her, right?”

David pulled his head back and narrowed his eyes like the question was stupid. “Of course I love her.”

Ben gave his brother a half smile, one where only one side of his mouth put in any effort. “Then you’re not crazy for marrying her. You’d be crazy if you didn’t.”

The men were silent for a few seconds, both seeming to let the weight of the moment settle between them. It was as if the ocean breeze carried off any remaining tension.

“You think you’ll marry Ryan?” David asked.

Ben hadn’t been expecting the question, but he couldn’t say it wasn’t something he’d thought about. As much as they cared for one another and enjoyed spending time together, Ben knew their relationship had an expiration date. They couldn’t spend days fabricating elements of Ryan’s life to appease Ben’s parents only to one day tell them that everything they thought they knew about Ryan was a lie. So Ben answered the only way he could. “I doubt it.”

“Why not?”

“It’s . . . complicated,” Ben said.

David nodded thoughtfully, like he understood. Ben was about to usher his brother back into the room to begin getting ready when David asked a question that made Ben freeze in place. “You love her?”

How the hell did he respond to that? “I thought this day was supposed to be about you,” Ben joked.

David laughed. “Wedding days are never about the groom,” he said. “Maybe one day you’ll find that out firsthand.”

“Probably not,” Ben said. “Then I’d have to stop going to all those strip clubs and letting half-naked women grind on me. What would I do with all my free time?”

David rolled his eyes as he turned toward the door to the room.

“Come on,” Ben said. “Let’s go get you married.”

* * *

When she was young, Ryan used to dream of getting married in a place exactly like this one: ridiculously high ceilings, grand white pillars framing the archways, elegantly tall windows that looked out onto a seemingly endless expanse of grass. It was probably the greenest grass Ryan had ever seen, not to mention the thickest. She imagined that she could lie down on it without the blades even bending underneath her.

Not that she actually would. At least not in the gown Ben had bought her. She hadn’t wanted to see the price tag when she’d tried it on, preferring not to focus on the fact that it probably cost more than she’d paid in rent for the past year. But apparently Ben thought it was worth it because during the few minutes he’d gotten to talk to her in between the ceremony and the reception, he told her how beautiful she looked at least four or five times.

She caught a glimpse of him next to David at their table. It was a shame that the bridal party was seated at a long table at the front of the room because that meant she didn’t get to sit next to him—something neither of them had realized until they’d arrived at the reception. But watching him up there with his brother, each with a smile on his face as they laughed with one another, made the fact that she was sitting in a sea of strangers a little more tolerable. Especially since she did have Jace, Aly, Gabe, and . . . whatever Gabe’s date’s name was. And if Ben could try to have a good time, so could she.

“So how do all of you know David and Natasha?” she asked the couple sitting beside her.

The woman, who reminded her of a younger Bette Midler, spoke first. “I’m Carol. I’m Natasha’s advisor for her doctoral program.”

“Oh wow!” Ryan hadn’t even realized that she’d never asked what Natasha did. “What program is she in?”

“Medical physics. John is actually one of her professors,” she added, pointing to the man seated next to her.

Ryan introduced herself to them and tried not to act as impressed as she was by Natasha’s career path. Though she’d heard of medical physicists, Ryan didn’t think any actually existed in real life. As far as she was concerned, they were akin to unicorns or Big Foot.

“What about you? How do you know Natasha and David?” John asked.

“Oh, I actually don’t . . . know them well, at least. I met them a few days ago. David’s brother is my boyfriend.”

“The hockey player,” the woman said. It wasn’t a question, which made Ryan think that clearly Natasha had talked about Ben.

Ryan nodded, not that the comment warranted a confirmation, and leaned back so the server could take her salad plate away and set down her entree. She made small talk with the others at the table until there was an announcement that it was time for the toasts.

Ben got up, buttoning his jacket as he walked on to the dance floor and faced the newly married couple. He removed a paper from his inside jacket pocket and unfolded it. He stared down at it for a moment without speaking and then raised his head to look at Natasha and David.

“I had a speech planned,” Ben began. “But I don’t really feel like it’s fitting anymore.” He folded up the paper neatly and returned it to its place in his pocket. “It was too generic. And there were some jokes in there that I didn’t even understand. But I guess that’s what I get for searching the internet for best man speeches.”

Natasha smiled and shook her head good naturedly.

Ben took a deep breath and when he released it, he seemed to relax. His rigid shoulders fell a bit as he slid one hand into his pocket. “I think I’m just going to try to speak from the heart even though I’ve never been great at expressing myself through words. I know there are millions of them . . . or maybe even billions to choose from, but I can never seem to find the right ones.” The audience let out a chuckle that sounded as nervous as Ryan was sure Ben was. She assumed that his composed exterior wasn’t representative of the way he felt inside.

“David’s always been the better communicator. He was captain of the debate club in high school, wrote for his college newspaper while he was at Hudnell. Come to think of it, he was also the bigger nerd.” David and Natasha both laughed out loud, as did much of the room. “Anyway,” he continued. “I remember when we were little and David would do something to make me mad, I would hit him. Actually, I did that when I wasn’t so little too.”

Ben paused and took a breath, and Ryan looked over at David, who was watching Ben intently.

“Our mom was always telling me to use my words, and I remember thinking how crazy that was because my fist was so much stronger than my vocabulary.”

That comment earned another laugh from everyone. Ryan looked to Beverly, whose eyes seemed to glisten as she watched the interaction between her sons.

He cleared his throat before continuing. “I never thought I’d be standing up here as best man giving a speech at my older brother’s wedding. David and I have had our share of differences over the past decade or so. Some of you already know that, but I’m sure that most the people sitting in this room have no idea what I’m talking about.” Ben looked at his mother, and Ryan could see the warning in her eyes. Ben was going to endure Beverly’s wrath if he put any more of their family’s business out there, especially during David’s wedding.

“If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you’re not missing much. The story itself isn’t all that exciting,” he said. “It’s what happened after that that’s worth telling. Because if you want to know what a good love story is, take a look at the couple who got married here today.” He gestured to Natasha and David. “Anyone who knows them can tell how in love they are. And I couldn’t be happier for them. So please join me in raising your glass.” He nearly jogged over to where he’d been sitting and grabbed his champagne flute to hold it in the air. “David and Natasha, I wish you many years filled with love and a lifetime of happiness together. You both deserve it.”

The guests all took a sip from their glass and applauded. As Ben sat, Ryan could tell he was relieved that the spotlight was off him. Renee gave her speech next, and once dinner was served, the night passed fairly quickly. Ben was more fun on the dance floor than he was off it. Somehow he seemed lighter than he had since they’d gotten to Connecticut. It made her wonder what happened between the brothers. “So you and David . . . ?” she asked, pulling her head off Ben’s shoulder so she could look up at him as they danced slowly.

“We’re good, I think.” Ben nodded, like he was assuring himself as much as he was her. “Or it’s the start of ‘good’ at least.”

Not knowing what else to say, she said the only thing she could think of. “I’m happy for you.”

And as she rested her head back against Ben’s chest, he whispered, “Me too.”