Wedding in T minus one day . . .
Grady sat on Lincoln and Serena’s couch, a glass of Scotch in his hand, staring at his wedding tux hanging from the back of the dining room chair, swathed in plastic. It had been delivered an hour ago by the tailor’s assistant. Grady should have learned his name, but he’d been too preoccupied with the fact that he didn’t have any cash left to tip the poor bastard. He had little money, no place to live, and no Max.
What the hell was he going to do with his life?
He did have a bachelor’s degree in literature—not exactly a high-demand skill set—one failed attempt at working for the family business, and a stint on a reality show. His most valuable possession was his family name, but that was something he wanted to stay as far away from as possible. It didn’t leave him with many options.
The door to the condo opened up and Lincoln came in. “So I grabbed a pizza from Sammie’s down the street, and a six-pack. I figured we can eat on the couch and watch the Canucks game.”
Grady relaxed back against the cushions. “Sounds good. Where’s Serena staying?”
“At Tracey’s. All the bridesmaids are there, and I heard something about a case of champagne.”
“I thought it was the groom who was supposed to get drunk the night before his wedding?”
“You’ve met my future wife, right?” Lincoln dropped the pizza on the coffee table and took a beer. “Oh, good. Your tux came.” He sat on the couch and looked at Grady. “What’s wrong?”
“What makes you think anything is wrong?”
“Well, it’s the day before my wedding, you’re my best man, and you look like this is the last place in the world you want to be.”
“Shit.” Grady finished his Scotch and slid the glass across the table. “Apparently, I’m not good at this either.”
“No. Just stop right there with this whiny, pity-party routine.” Lincoln turned, arms crossed, and gave him a look that was an echo of their father. “We’re going to deal with this shit tonight, because I don’t want anything screwing up my wedding day.”
“What shit?”
“You’re staying here because you had it out with Father. Serena wanted me to be all patient and let you come to me about what happened, but I’m not having your pissing match with Father spill over onto tomorrow. Serena doesn’t deserve that.”
“I know. I didn’t want to do anything to ruin your day.” Grady sat there blinking. “But you know what he’s like. He doesn’t even want to talk about mother. It just pisses me off.”
“I know what you’re like too. So stuck in the past that you can’t see what’s right in front of you.”
The swell of anger hit him so fast and hard, Grady was on his feet before he realized. “Mother killed herself because of him. She’s not here, getting ready to see her oldest son get married, because he pushed her to the brink and she couldn’t take it anymore.”
Lincoln was shaking his head before Grady had even finished the sentence. “Sit down.”
“Link, I—”
“Grady, please.” There was something in his voice that sapped the life from Grady’s anger. With a sigh, he took his seat again. Lincoln’s gaze drifted over to where Grady’s tux hung. “You were young when she was alive. Father hid a lot of things from you. He knew how much you worshiped Mother, and believe it or not, the last thing he wanted to do was to take that away from you.”
His mental picture of his mother had faded over the years. He kept a photo of her in his wallet, though he rarely looked at it. The print was worn, and somehow the smiling face of the woman posed with him as a kid didn’t seem to reflect the woman he’d known. “I knew she wasn’t happy.”
“She’d been seeing a psychiatrist for years. I remember her moods, they’d be up and down a lot. You never seemed to mind, or maybe you never really noticed. I don’t know.”
Memories were a strange animal. They morphed and changed to suit the story you were telling yourself. He remembered loving it when his mother asked him to do things for her. She’d be in bed and he’d treated it like a game. “I would bring her tissues when she cried. She always told me Father had upset her.”
Lincoln shook his head. “Maybe sometimes. I don’t think she really knew what was happening sometimes. She loved Father, and he loved her. But when she got like that, it was hard on both of them.”
“Mental illness requires patience. She could have gotten help.”
“Jesus, that’s what I’m trying to tell you. Father got her help. He’d arranged for her to stay at a private hospital before she’d died. The doctors there were going to help regulate her meds and she’d have been in a safe environment. She also drank, and the alcohol was causing problems. That’s why Father had Justin give you a hard time about your drinking.”
He felt as though someone had slapped him. “Father never told me.”
“Would you have listened if he had?” Lincoln reached out and gave Grady’s shoulder a squeeze. “You’re a lot like Mother. He’d never admit it to you, but I know he’s scared he’ll lose you the same way. He tried everything he could think of to help her, but when he told her about the facility, she refused to go. The next day they realized that one of the limos was gone. They found the car near Pacific Spirit Park. She was dead in the back. She’d taken all of her pills.”
God, he felt sick. “Why didn’t you tell me this before? I could have . . .”
“You were fifteen, had just figured out you were gay, and your mother had died. You blamed Father, and he didn’t know how to handle that while grieving. What would you have done with that information? You were angry enough.” Lincoln leaned back. “And I didn’t help matters.”
“You didn’t do anything. Shit, you weren’t even here.”
“Exactly. Ever wonder why I went to England for university when there are perfectly acceptable ones here in Canada? It wasn’t for the prestige. It was the farthest away I could get. I ran away and left you and Father to deal with your grief on your own. That was probably the most selfish thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
Grady stared at his brother. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Just . . . give Father a chance. He wasn’t right in what he’s done to you over the years. He sure as hell shouldn’t have tried to force you to get engaged to someone you didn’t love. But the two of you got into this push-pull cycle that started the day Mother died. One of you will have to break it.”
Hearing the truth was never an easy thing, especially when it resulted in the need for Grady to change. But somewhere along the way his life had gone off track, and he was the one who needed to take charge, to stop blaming others for the problems he created. “I’ll talk to him.”
“I have a better idea. Maybe for once you should listen to him. Listen not just to his words, but what he’s not saying. I don’t think the two of you will ever be best friends, but there’s no reason why you can’t at least get along.”
“I’ve tried that. He’s the one who doesn’t listen to me.”
Lincoln sighed. “I know. But the two of you have been at odds for years. It’s going to take more than one attempt on your part to make things better. He’s going to push back, and probably still be an asshole on more than one occasion. But you can’t give up. If you give him another chance, maybe he’ll clue in and give you one as well.”
“Yeah. Maybe.” Grady had never been more painfully aware of the crossroads his life had brought him to than he was at this moment. He picked up his empty glass and held it up. “To my brother. A man who is patient, smart, and will make an amazing husband.”
“You want me to fill you up?”
“No. I think it’s time I start to grow up and take actual responsibility for my life.”
Lincoln smiled. “Poor Max has lost a customer.”
The spark of joy building inside him snuffed out. “I doubt Max will ever think of me again.”
“God, you are so fucking thick at times. That man was in love with you.”
“He left.”
“From what I saw on that video, you didn’t give him much of a reason to stay.”
Grady groaned. “I’ve pretty much ruined his privacy. It won’t take long for people to figure out who he is. What makes you think he’ll want anything else to do with me?”
“Well, you’ll have to make things up to him.”
“How do you propose I do that?”
“You’re a smart guy. After the wedding is over, buy a ticket and go to Toronto. Groveling is free and the best way to get back into someone’s good graces.”
“You sound like an expert in that.”
Lincoln smiled as he took a sip of his beer. “You have no idea.”
Life had a funny way of turning things around on a person. Grady knew that despite everything he wanted to make right between his father and Max, the only thing he really should be doing was giving his brother one last night of fun before the marriage shackles were put firmly in place.
“As your best man, I feel it’s my duty to ensure your last evening as a free man is as much fun as possible.”
“Honestly, I’d like nothing more than to hang out with you and watch the game. I have some Coke in the fridge if you want it.”
“That sounds good.” Tonight, he’d enjoy being Lincoln’s little brother. Tomorrow, he’d watch him get married to the woman who was his best friend.
After that, he’d figure out what he’d do to make things right.