Two Truths & a Lime (The Love Game #3) - Elizabeth Hayley Page 0,100
you’ve done for Brody and Sophia has been… I don’t even know the right words to describe it. All I can say is I’m thankful to you for it.”
I let my eyes rove over the gathering, not stopping until I saw Sophia. When I found her, my breath caught. She was as captivating as she always was, laughing with someone as she spoke animatedly with her hands.
“They’ve given me just as much.”
“I know. That’s one of the things I’m most thankful for.”
At my confused look, he continued. “My kids have a lot of things going for them, but neither of them have ever truly been givers. They’re not takers either, though Brody hasn’t ever hesitated to take from us,” he said with a wry laugh. “But they’ve always been…self-motivated. Sophia works hard for her future, Brody works hard to enjoy every moment of his life, but they never thought much about what they could do for anyone else. But they both think that way about you.”
I laughed, but it was uncomfortable. “You make me feel a little like a charity case.”
He looked startled. “That’s not at all what I meant. You make them better people. And that’s not a comment I make lightly.”
Not knowing what else to say, I simply replied, “Thank you. That means a lot to me.”
He nodded and looked like he was going to say more, but we were interrupted by his mother.
“Patrick, I still don’t understand. Brody’s not married?”
“No, Mom. Remember? We talked about this on the phone,” Mr. Mason patiently explained.
As he talked to her, I let my mind process everything he’d said to me as I watched Sophia. She was on the dance floor, doing some kind of line dance with a boy who looked to be about twelve. They were both laughing hysterically.
And as I watched her, I felt all my feelings that had been brewing inside me since the wedding calm until only one seemed to remain: love. Goddamn did I love her. And I had absolutely no doubt that I always would.
“Oh. I’m just so disappointed. I love watching young people in love,” Sophia’s grandmother said, her words anchoring me back to the moment.
“I know, Mom. And I apologi—”
I turned toward Mr. Mason quickly. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but did you mean what you said that day on the deck?”
Mr. Mason seemed puzzled, so I continued. “When you told me to trust my gut. That sometimes I’d have to take a risk and just hope things worked out?”
“Oh, yes. Yes, I meant it.”
I smiled widely. “Great. Excuse me for a minute.” I stood to leave but stopped and turned toward Sophia’s grandmother first. “If you give me five minutes, I may be able to improve your night.”
And with that, I hurried off, but not before I heard her say, “He’s an odd boy.”
She wasn’t wrong.
Without letting myself stop and think, I bounded up onto the stage. When the lead singer saw me, I motioned toward the mic stand, and she nodded. She finished her song but then stepped back and gestured for me to go ahead.
Taking a deep breath, I muttered, “Here goes nothing,” and moved in front of the microphone.
“Good evening, everyone,” I said. My voice reverberated around the tent, causing everyone to still and turn their attention to me. At least I think they did. I was only aware of them peripherally. My focus was on Sophia.
She looked at me curiously, a small, slightly worried smile on her face as she watched me. I smiled back, loving the way she drifted closer to the stage, almost as if her body instinctively moved toward me.
“I was supposed to be Brody’s best man and came fully prepared to give a speech. And while I know a best man speech is no longer necessary, I do have something I want to say.”
I’d always thought it was bullshit when people said everyone around them faded away except for a single person. But that’s exactly what happened. I logically knew Sophia’s entire family was watching me, likely thinking I was a crazy person, but I didn’t see them at all. I only had eyes for my girl.
“Sophia, everything good I have in my life, I have because of you. It felt like I was just wandering through life, waiting for good things to come to me. And then one day, they did, in the form of an irate girl demanding to know where her brother was.”