A Merry Vested Wedding - Melanie Moreland Page 0,13

spoke in unison.

“All of you.” He jerked his head toward Bentley and Maddox. “I got my boys.”

“Hey,” Richard interjected. “I’ll get in on that.”

Ronan chuckled. “The three of us will take on all of you—except Pops. He’s ours.”

Everyone laughed as Jordan rolled his shoulders. “You heard them, gents. I’m the ace in the hole.”

“That you are, Pops,” hooted Reed.

The rest of the meal was filled with taunts and general ribbing. The breakfast disappeared as if none of them had seen food in months, leaving Bentley shaking his head. “I ordered double what I thought we needed.” But he didn’t look surprised.

After breakfast, we divided into teams and hit the court in the basement. There was a lot of trash-talking, unnecessary roughhousing, and taunts. Aiden took on his triplets, his eldest son, Liam, adding himself to his dad’s team, and they held their own, although they had to admit defeat. The triplets were like a well-oiled machine, knowing one another’s moves before they happened. You could never win if they weren’t on your team. Still, it was fun to watch.

My dad got my attention. “We need to get you ready. Our tuxes are at your place. Everyone will get ready at their own homes and meet back here. The cars will drive us over.”

“Jen with the girls?”

He smirked. “His favorite place to be. I think he arrived with the flowers and was making sure everything was perfect. We’ll have to pass his inspection before he lets us in the building.”

I laughed. The quirky male wedding coordinator was part of every celebration we ever had, as well as many family functions. He was outrageous, droll, and his eccentricity had only become more so as he aged. He walked with a cane now and only worked on select, personal weddings. He had been a huge help for ours.

I glanced at my watch, knowing in three hours I would be meeting Addi at the altar. I could hardly wait.

“Let’s do this.”

I came out of my room, pulling on my bow tie. “Dad, I need help.”

He laughed, standing up and approaching me. His once silver hair was now pure white, and his laugh lines were deep around his eyes and mouth. But his back was straight, his shoulders broad, and he was strong. We had a close relationship. My mother said I was him made over except for my eyes, which were like hers. I did bear a strong resemblance to him, although I liked to tease him and say I was better-looking.

He was a great father, always there for Shelby and me. He was endlessly patient, never raised his voice, and was fiercely protective. He had been thrilled when I developed my love of numbers, encouraging me and helping me every step of the way. He’d been so proud when I graduated early and continued on to become a certified accountant like him. Shelby was the exact opposite—a dreamer and artistic to the core. She painted and drew, her fingers constantly covered in paint and ink. Her room was too until Dad had Van build her a little studio in the BAM building, where she happily spent most of her time after she left school. She worked at a local gallery, surrounded by art, and dedicated the rest of her time to creating.

He straightened the ends of the fabric with a shake of his head. “You have never got the hang of this.”

“Didn’t need to,” I quipped. “I had you.”

His hands stilled, and he met my eyes. His light blue shimmered, and he blinked. “You always will, Brayden.”

I was shocked at the emotion on his face and in his voice. My dad gave us lots of hugs and always told us how much he loved us, how proud he was, but other than rare occasions, he kept his emotions hidden. I knew he shared them openly with my mother, but it was uncommon to see a crack in his façade.

I laid a hand on his shoulder. “I know, Dad. You have always been there for me.”

He nodded, looking over my shoulder. “I never had that growing up, and I wanted to make sure you knew how important you were—you are—to me.”

I knew about his childhood. When I was old enough, he had told me. He was worried he wasn’t a good enough dad, but I hadn’t lied when I told him I couldn’t have a better one. Maddox Riley was everything I wanted to be for my own kids. Strong, loving, and generous. I