A Merry Vested Wedding - Melanie Moreland Page 0,12

mind they were still my uncles, I had begun using their first names once I started working at BAM. When Addi and I got engaged, we had talked to Bentley about the whole Mom and Dad thing, and we agreed to stick to names. Since our parents spent so much time together, it would have become confusing. Bentley knew what he meant to me. So did Aiden. They were as close to me as I was to my own dad, and I was grateful to have three such strong men as role models. We walked over to the Hub, the morning air crisp and cold. It was a massive building we all used for various things. It had a full gym, a basketball court, a games area, as well as three bowling lanes in the large, high-ceilinged basement. Upstairs was a wide-open space with an attached fully outfitted kitchen that we used for our gatherings. A glassed-in swimming pool for the winter that overlooked the lake and a huge movie room were on the main floor. It had been well-planned and thought-out. There was a little library at the back next to the pool, filled with books and comfortable chairs. My mom often sat there reading, with Emmy or Cami for company.

We hadn’t even poured coffee yet when Richard VanRyan, Van, Halton, and Reid showed up. A few moments later, Jordan, or Pops as we called him, strolled in, dragging the Callaghan boys, Theo, Thomas, and Reed.

My tribe was all here. We had way more adopted “cousins” than we could fit into a wedding party, but they would all be in attendance and all had a job. We needed ushers, drivers for guests, various errands run for the wedding party—and the group all happily volunteered, and we considered them as much a part of our day as the ones standing beside us at the altar.

We hadn’t wanted stag or doe parties, so the younger members of the group hosted a party for us here last night. We laughed, drank, ate, and danced, no parents or grandparents allowed. We sent them all out to dinner at their favorite place in Toronto, and they hosted some of the out-of-town guests. They enjoyed themselves, we cut loose, and everyone was happy. Hardly traditional, but Addi and I were anything but.

A wedding days before Christmas, pictures outside, a two-night honeymoon in our own home, followed by a full-blown BAM Christmas? Most women would have refused, but the entire thing was my Addi’s idea.

Which was why she was perfect for me.

A hand on my shoulder broke my thoughts. My dad’s warm blue gaze met mine. “Quit daydreaming, son. You’ll be at the altar soon enough. We’ve got breakfast, some basketball, and a bunch of work to do.”

I grinned. “I’m looking forward to the altar the most.”

He chuckled. “I know. I felt the same way the day I married your mother.”

“We all felt that way,” Bentley said, adding a couple of scones to his plate. Everything else had been catered, but the scones came from Emmy. He wouldn’t eat any others.

Bentley clapped my arm as he went by. “Knowing my Addi, she’s as anxious as you. Emmy said she was enjoying her girl time, so you need to enjoy us.”

I snorted. “They sit around, have their nails done, drink, and discuss us.” I grinned widely. “They conspire together on how to keep us in line. All we do is work and let you old-timers beat us at basketball on occasion.”

“Hey, who you calling old?” Aiden protested, flexing his muscles. “I can beat you—all of you—with one hand tied behind my back.”

I smirked. Aiden was still huge. Tall, his posture ramrod straight. He worked out daily and could tire me out most of the time. His hair was completely gray now, with silver woven into the strands, and his scruff matched. But he was strong and agile, and he made sure we all were as well.

Like a single unit, Ronan, Paul, and Jeremy all stopped shoveling food into their mouths and looked up. Aiden’s triplets weren’t identical, but they were similar, all taking after Aiden in their size and looks. Dark-haired with green eyes, they were large and liked to work out and do most things together.

“You’re on, old man,” Ronan teased, always the spokesman for the group. The boys all high-fived one another, tilting their chins toward their father in a threatening way that made me laugh. Aiden narrowed his eyes.

“You’re going down, son.”

“Which one?” They