“Squeeze it,” Aaliyah said, nodding in her direction.
Addie did as she was told, and within seconds, tears began flowing from her eyes as the sound of William’s heartbeats began to be heard from the teddy bear.
“Is it…?” Addie asked, her voice cracking.
“Yes. I figured you all deserved to have him with you in some way, shape, or form,” Aaliyah explained.
Dammit, who was cutting the onions?
By the end of the visit, everyone was in tears, but they were tears of love, of gratitude, of peace. After the family left, I stood in the office, pleased with how everything went during the conversation with the family.
Aaliyah walked over to me and fell into my arms. “His name was Grant,” she beamed.
“Because of course it was,” I laughed. I glanced down at my watch and stood up straight. “Oh shit, we gotta get going. It’s already noon, and we can’t be late. It is, after all, our wedding day.”
We didn’t start our day like most couples on their wedding day, and we were all right with that, because we weren’t like most couples. We were our own story, our own adventure, our own happily ever after.
We headed from my office to the place where all of the magic began—Oscar’s Bar. A few years ago, I was a superhero and she was a lady dressed in red. She was looking for an escape, and I was looking for her without even knowing it.
Oscar’s was decked out with decorations, thanks to my mother and my small town village that all came up to New York to celebrate Aaliyah and me. The moment we walked inside, Jax and Damian grabbed me to take me to the men’s room to get ready, and Mom and Kennedy pulled Aaliyah over to the ladies’ room.
“You’re late,” Jax said, handing me my outfit that was hanging on one of the bathroom stalls. “You shouldn’t have been late today.”
“It’s not like the show could go on without me,” I said, unbuckling my pants and sliding out of them to toss on my wedding outfit. “But before we get things going, how about a joke?”
Jax and Damian groaned in unison.
Look at me, getting two grumpy best friends. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“A superhero walks into a bar, and marries a woman dressed in red. And they lived happily ever after,” I said.
Jax narrowed his eyes. “Are you being extremely corny right now?”
“I’m being extremely corny right now. I love her, Jax.”
“Shit. I’d hope so, seeing how I paid an arm and a leg to fly up here for this wedding. Do you know how expensive direct flights are? This shit is wild.”
I laughed. “Yes, well, I would say I’d pay you back for the flight, but I’m not going to.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me.” He arched an eyebrow. “Are you really wearing that?”
“He’s really wearing that,” Damian said dryly, looking at me as I slipped into my outfit.
My Captain America costume.
Still fit like a glove.
A very, very tight glove, but a glove nonetheless.
“What? I think it looks good? And what else would I wear to a wedding on Halloween night?”
“I can see the complete outline of your balls,” he said, unamused.
“Wouldn’t be the first time you’ve seen them, am I right?” I joked, nudging him in the arm.
Jax shot a look at Damian. “I’ve never seen this dude’s balls before.”
“I know. Connor’s just weird as fuck.”
“But for some reason, you two still love me.” I smirked.
“We feel sorry for you and your mental illness. We’d be bad people if we abandoned you,” Jax said, patting me on the back.
I took a deep breath, feeling the nerves of the whole situation hitting me. I was really about to do this. I was about to marry my best friend.
“Any words of advice for a nervous groom?” I asked Jax. “I mean, you’ve been with Kennedy for years now. What wise words do you have for me and my marriage?”
“You’re wrong,” he said without thought. “Whatever the situation, even if you’re right—you’re wrong.”
Before I could reply, Kennedy popped her head into the bathroom. “Jax, I need the diapers, and they weren’t where you said they’d be.”
“Did you check behind the bar like I mentioned?” he asked.
She sighed. “You didn’t say behind the bar.”
“I did say…” Jax paused. He looked at me, and then he turned to his wife and gave a big, fake smile. “You’re right. I didn’t say that. I’m wrong.”
She nodded. “Of course, I’m right. I’m always right. Now come help me. Trevor’s diaper exploded all over the place.”
Jax smirked at me and shrugged. “See, kid? You’re wrong. Just remember that, and you’ll be fine. I’ll be back.”
He walked out of the bathroom, leaving me with Damian, who seemed even quieter than his norm. He was holding a piece of paper in his hands as his brows stayed lowered.
“What’s going on, buddy? You okay?” I asked, walking over to him.
He grimaced, folded the piece of paper, and slid it back into the his pocket. “It’s nothing.”
“You can’t lie to your brother on his wedding day,” I warned.
“I’m not trying to bring down the mood.”
“The mood can be brought down for a moment, then we’ll turn it back up. What’s going on?”
He sighed and handed me the letter. “It’s from my father. Well, it was sent on his behalf. He’s been in California all this time. He’s known where I’ve been my whole life. I guess he recently croaked. But, before he died, he wrote me that note. The funeral is next week.”
“Holy shit.” I read the letter, stunned. His father’s name was Kevin Michaels, and he’d invited Damian to California to find the answers that Damian had been searching for his whole life, the missing pieces to his story.
“Are you going out there?” I asked.
“I feel like I need to, but I don’t know how long I’d be out there. I don’t know how long it will take me to get
