him at the bar. “Think you’ll be next down the aisle?”
His brother shrugged, but he had a sheepish look in his brown eyes. Michael stared at him. “That seems like a yes.”
Colin laughed and set down his drink. “Maybe,” he said evasively.
“C’mon,” Michael teased. “I got myself shot. The least you could do is get married.”
Colin frowned. “Wait. What does you getting shot have to do with me getting married?”
It was Michael’s turn to laugh. “Nothing whatsoever. I just like milking this for all it’s worth,” he said, tapping his chest where the bullet had gotten acquainted with his body one fine day a month ago.
“Bastard,” Colin muttered with a smile, as they scanned the crowd once more. Over in the corner, John snagged what looked like tuna sashimi on a fancy potato chip from a waiter’s tray. He pretended to feed it to Mindy and then stuffed it in his own mouth as she laughed. Nearby, Ryan and Sophie chatted with a group of his hockey buddies from the league he played in. Sophie looked stunning, and Michael had no clue what kind of dress it was or anything like that, but she seemed like a 50s movie star, all Marilyn Monroe and radiant, while Ryan looked like the happiest guy on earth.
Nearby, Annalise snapped a photo of them. She’d taken the official wedding photos, and was also shooting candids throughout the day, from Sophie getting ready, to her arriving at the hotel, to the reception.
Michael nudged Colin with his elbow. “Seriously, though. Are you thinking about asking Elle? Or are you happy with how things are?”
“I’m happy with how things are, but I wouldn’t mind marrying her, either.”
“Is that so?”
Colin’s eyes widened when he realized Elle had just appeared by his side. Michael cracked up. He hadn’t seen her coming, either.
Colin pulled her into an embrace. “I meant it in a good way.”
She swatted his chest. “You better have meant it in a good way.”
“Fine,” Colin said. “Wanna marry me?”
Elle laughed, tossing her head back, her long hair spilling down her back. “Nice way to ask a girl.”
“Well, would you say yes if I asked you?”
She narrowed her eyes. “You’ll have to ask and find out.”
Colin pressed a kiss to Elle’s neck, then turned to Michael. “Thanks for getting me in trouble,” he said.
“That hardly looks like trouble to me.”
“Want me to go ask Annalise if she’ll marry you?”
Michael gestured in the direction of the woman who’d saved his life, in more ways than one. “Be my guest.”
He had no worries in that area. Maybe they’d get married. Maybe they wouldn’t. But he didn’t need a ring or a piece of paper to know she was his forever. He had the confidence in his heart, and the faith that he’d always find a way to take care of her, and give her everything she’d want and anything she’d need. “But hey, maybe our little bro will be next.”
Michael cast his gaze to Marcus, who cleaned up well. The kid wore a gray suit and a tie and had brought along a date—a dancer named Cassidy, who worked for Shannon’s Shay Productions. Marcus was heading back to Florida to go to school there, so this date might be a one-time thing, but judging from the way he looked at her, held her hand, and listened when she talked, maybe it would be more.
After all, sometimes long-distance relationships had a way of working out. When Cassidy pointed to the ladies’ room and excused herself, Marcus scanned the tables until his eyes locked with Michael’s, then he headed in his direction.
Michael clapped him on the back. “Hey there. Seems like you’re having a good time.”
“I am. First wedding I’ve ever been to.”
Michael nodded toward Colin and Elle. “Probably won’t be your last.”
Colin rolled his eyes, and Elle slugged Michael on the shoulder.
“On that note, we’re going to grab some of those stuffed mushrooms I see passing by,” Colin said, pointing to a waiter with a fresh round of appetizers.
As they left, Michael dropped a hand on Marcus’s shoulder. “You doing okay?” he asked, his tone one of concern.
“As much as I can be okay,” Marcus said softly. “You know what it’s like.”
“That I do, man. That I do,” he said, squeezing his brother’s shoulder. Marcus’s father, Luke, was headed for trial soon, and it seemed all but a given that the man would be locked up. Marcus would then have both his biological parents in prison. He had a stepmom and