“You too, man.” Hugh felt the draw of family like he never had before. He wanted to be embraced by their warmth. He wanted to sit down and enjoy time with them and bring Brianna and Layla into their inner circle.
Jade Johnson, Rex’s fiancée, joined them. She kissed Hugh’s cheek. “I love Brianna and Layla. You’re a lucky man.” Jade’s jet-black hair lay straight and thick down her back, almost to her waist. Rex slung his arm over her shoulder. Rex and Jade’s relationship had ended a forty-year feud between their two families.
Hugh watched Rex place a kiss on the back of Jade’s neck and thought, Love really can conquer all. “Thanks, Jade. I feel pretty lucky,” Hugh said. “Let’s go into the living room before Josh and Riley have Brianna and Layla wearing New York City wardrobes.”
Josh and Riley were both clothing designers, and they lived in Manhattan near Savannah and Jack. Josh was the most reserved of the Braden men and every bit as handsome with his closely shorn black hair and perfectly sculpted physique. Josh embraced Hugh and patted him on the back.
“When are you coming back to New York?” Josh asked.
“I don’t know, but I’ll be a married man when I do.” Patience was never one of Hugh’s virtues, and his love for Brianna instilled a need to be closer to her. He glanced at Brianna and Layla. Tonight. Hugh couldn’t wait to become Brianna’s husband and Layla’s father.
Riley brushed her brown hair from her shoulder. She looked pretty in her skinny jeans and sweater. Riley had grown up in Weston, and Hugh had been happy when she and Josh had gotten together. They complemented each other well. Hugh opened his arms, and Riley stepped in.
“You look gorgeous as always,” Hugh said.
Hugh looked around the room and realized that he and each of his siblings had ended up with partners who seemed perfect for them.
The glass doors opened and Jack Remington, Savannah’s fiancé, and Hugh’s father, Hal, came into the room. Two formidable men wearing Levi’s and boots. Both had shoulders as wide as freight trains, and though Hal’s hair had gone a little more gray, he was still shockingly handsome with his dark, soulful eyes and pleasant smile.
“There’s my boy,” Hal said. He opened his arms as he crossed the hardwood floor. Hugh fell against him and held on tight.
“I’ve missed you, Dad.”
Hal put his hands on Hugh’s shoulders and stared into his eyes. “Yup. I see it now. You see that, Jack?”
Hugh shot a glance at Jack. “What?”
“Love, son. You’ve got it bad.” Hal crouched down and touched Layla’s nose.
She put her hands behind her back and twisted from side to side. “Hi.”
“Hi there.” Hal’s voice was so deep it seemed out of place following Layla’s. He stood and opened his arms, waiting for Brianna to step in. When she didn’t, he shifted his eyes to Hugh.
“You might as well step in there and hug him, Brianna, or he’ll wait all night,” Hugh said.
“Sorry,” she said with a smile. “Hi, Mr. Braden. I’m Brianna.”
“Don’t be sorry. You’ll be a Braden soon, and Bradens hug.” Hal pulled her into a quick embrace, then put an arm around her shoulder.
“I’ve been waiting to meet you.” He reached for Layla’s hand. Together they went to the couch and sat down. “So, tell me all about Layla and yourself.”
Watching his father envelop Brianna and Layla with the love he’d always bathed Hugh and his siblings in filled his heart with certainty. The next few hours couldn’t pass quickly enough.
Chapter Forty-Four
HUGH’S LEG BOUNCED nervously beneath the table. Brianna’s mother, Kat, and Mack’s family had already arrived, and he was ready to run down the aisle and marry Brianna. Out of respect for Savannah and Jack, he made no move to rush things along. Instead, he made small talk with Jack’s family, the Remingtons.
“Thanks for playing with Layla today,” Hugh said to Sage Remington, one of Jack’s younger brothers.
“She’s a great kid.” Sage’s eyes were as contemplative as Brianna’s and midnight blue like Jack’s. A tattoo snaked out from under his shirtsleeve. At twenty-eight, he was already a world-renowned artist with work in galleries throughout the world.
“Savannah tells me that you like the outdoors as much as Jack does. Do you spend much time in the mountains?” Hugh asked.
“Not as much as I’d like, but I’m hoping to make a few changes and carve out a little more downtime.”
“Downtime is overrated.” Dex, Jack’s youngest brother, sat on his other side next to his twin sister, Siena. All of the Remingtons had dark hair, but while Dex’s eyes were midnight blue, like Jack’s and Sage’s, Siena, a model, had electric-blue eyes like her mother.
“I don’t know. I like downtime these days.” Hugh squeezed Brianna’s hand.
“Dex doesn’t know what downtime is. His life is all about PC game addiction,” Sage teased.
“It’s his business,” Sienna explained to Hugh.
“He made millions in his downtime,” Kurt Remington added. “But, there’s no harm in loving what you do.”
“Says my brother the writer, who makes up stories for a living,” Dex said.
“Listen here, son,” Hal began. “As long as you love what you do, then it’s a fine living indeed.”
After dinner, Treat stood to make a toast. “Jack, welcome to the family. We’re proud to have you as a brother.” He raised his glass. “To Savannah and Jack and a lifetime of love and happiness.” Everyone raised their glasses, and Treat remained standing. He reached for Max’s hand, and Max rose to her feet. “We have our own announcement to share.” He put his arm around Max and kissed the side of her forehead. “We’re going to have a baby.”
There was a collective gasp.
“A baby?” Savannah squealed. She ran around the table and hugged Max, then Treat. “You’re gonna have a baby! I’m gonna be Aunt Savannah. Oh, Max!” She threw her arms around Max again. “What a night. A new baby and a new sister-in-law.” She winked at Brianna.
Everyone congratulated Treat and Max, and Hugh thought about how fast life was moving for all of them. He could barely believe that before nightfall he’d be married and he’d be Layla’s father. Layla had asked Brianna if she could call Hugh Dad, and when Brianna told her she could, Hugh had been unable to hold back his tears.
Max threw her napkin on the table. “Okay, enough baby talk. Come on, girls. We have to help Bree and Layla get ready for their big night.” Lacy, Savannah, Riley, and Jade took Brianna by the arms and headed toward the house. Jean, Kat, and Layla followed on their heels.
Savannah stopped halfway to the door and hollered, “Siena, come on! We’re waiting on you. Joanie! We need another mother’s opinion.”
Siena and Joanie hurried toward the house.
“You’ve done it now,” Josh said. “You’ll get her back and she’ll look like a whole different woman.”
“A hen party,” Kurt said with a laugh.
Josh leaned across the table. “Hugh, do you need help dressing?”
Hugh rose to his feet. “Shit. Not from you doofuses.”
AN HOUR LATER, as the sun set behind the mountains and the wedding march played softly in the background, Hugh stood beneath a white canopy lined with white light, wearing Dane’s dark suit—which fit him quite well—with a nervous ache in his gut.
Layla walked down the makeshift aisle beside Kat, looking beautiful in the princess gown Hugh’d had delivered for her from a local shop. She and Kat tossed rose petals from a basket. Hugh felt tears pressing at his eyes as he took in the love on his family’s faces. His world had changed on a dime. One awful blind date. One look from Brianna’s gorgeous, smart brown eyes and a first date he’d never forget.
The doors to the house opened, and Brianna walked across the lawn, her arm wrapped around Mack’s. Hugh cleared his throat to loosen the lump that had lodged there. Brianna moved gracefully toward him, wearing a simple white wedding gown that cascaded over her curves and looked as if it were custom-made for her. The sweetheart neckline and short train were exactly what he’d pictured her in. Her hair hung loose and pretty, framing her face. Thanks to the owner of the local flower shop, Brianna carried a small white bouquet of roses, and as she joined Hugh under the canopy, his eyes filled with tears. He wished his mother could be there, but he felt, as his father always had, that she was with them in spirit, and as he looked at Layla sitting between her grandmother and Kat, he knew she’d have been proud of the man he’d become.
Hugh mouthed, I love you, to Brianna and made no effort to wipe the tear that tumbled down his cheek.
Brianna’s lower lip trembled when she tried to speak.
He wiped her tear with the pad of his thumb and mouthed, “Sidecar.”
Brianna smiled.
They reached for each other’s hands as they turned to face Treat. Hugh couldn’t think of anyone he’d rather have officiate their wedding than the brother who had been there every step of his life, supporting, teaching, and caring for him.