Page 113 of Forever Player

Sure enough, when we enter the hall, Kaleb and Maddie are sharing their first dance as husband and wife.

We walk up to our table and Mom is there with Will, the babysitter, Maylee, Henry, and Sally, his date.

“Hi, you two,” Mom says looking conspiratorial. That’s all I need is for Mom to know I just had my way with Willow. “Just in time for appetizers.”

“Great, I’m starved,” Willow says. She takes the seat beside Maylee’s stroller, and I sit beside her.

The evening wears on and we dance and eat. Kaleb wanted both me and Henry to give the best man’s speech together, but Henry passed saying I am the one who is probably more suited for the job.

When I’m called to give my speech, I stand and kiss Willow’s cheek. I make my way up to the head table, which is a heart-shaped table for only Maddie, Kaleb, and Asher.

The wedding planner attaches a mic to the lapel of my suit and tells me to have at it.

“I should start off by saying that I punched Kaleb out when I found out he was with my sister,” I start, and the guests break into laughter. “It’s not every day you accidentally find out your best friend is dating your sister behind your back,” I go on and the guests continue to laugh. “But I realized something that day. I saw how much love Kaleb had for Maddie, and I knew I couldn’t stand in the way of something so great. I mean, the fucker was in love with my sister since we were kids.” Now I am laughing along with the guests. “Honestly though, Kaleb has always been like a brother to me, and we are happy he is officially part of the family now. He is literally the only person who could put up with Maddie,” I say. I look over at Willow, who is covering her face with embarrassment. She warned me to keep the F-bombs and jokes to a minimum, but who are we kidding? I still have a few years before I have to worry about Maylee cussing. “Kaleb has also been an amazing dad to my nephew, Asher. We really couldn’t have wished for a better guy for my baby sister because, Maddie, you deserve the best of everything. You are the best sister and you deserve the best guy. I wish you both a life full of love and happiness. To Kaleb and Maddie,” I toast, lifting my flute of champagne.

The guests all say “to Kaleb and Maddie” too.

“Oh, one more thing. My sister is opening a fine French restaurant. Make sure to visit Madison’s this upcoming fall. That’s it. For real this time.” I go up to Maddie and kiss her cheek.

“Thanks, you jerk. I love you,” she says.

I shake Kaleb’s hand and head back to our table. I extend a hand to Willow. “May I have this dance?”

She agrees, obviously, and we head out to the dance floor.

We slow dance to “Endless Love” by Diana Ross and Lionel Ritchie.

I hold her hand close to my heart. “You’re my endless love, baby.”

She caresses my neck with her other hand. “You’re my endless love too.”

EPILOGUE

One yearlater

I was feeling off and decided I better do a pregnancy test. I didn’t say anything to Brett and he isn’t awake yet. I pee on the stick and leave it on the counter when I hear Maylee mumbling on the baby monitor. I go to her right away since we just moved her to her big girl bed. I don’t want her getting up and walking around the apartment on her own, even if everything is childproof.

I trudge across the hall to her room while Brett remains sleeping in bed.

“Hi, baby girl,” I say as I enter her room.

“Mama.” She smiles.

I give her a kiss. “Come, let’s go to Mommy and Daddy’s room,” I say, picking her up because she is still sleepy. I am anxious to see what the pregnancy test says. Brett and I weren’t planning another baby. We only got married last month and everything has been so great, but right after the wedding I came down with strep throat and took a round of antibiotics. It may have made my birth control pill less effective. The only reason I even thought I may be pregnant is because my period didn’t come.

I enter our bedroom with Maylee on my hip to see Brett is no longer in bed. I take a few steps deeper into the room so I get a view of the bathroom, and I see Brett is staring at the pregnancy test. When he turns to me, he says, “Fuck, yes! You’re pregnant.”

“What?” I ask in shock. “I just took the test as a precaution.”

He breaks out into a dance. We’ve spoken about having more kids but none of that was on our radar right now. We were just enjoying life as newlyweds.

“Fuck yes, yes, yes, baby, I am going to be here every step of the way. Whatever you need,” he goes on as he begins to floss.

“You’re insane.” I laugh.

“I’m a happy man,” he says and then he stops flossing and kisses me on the lips and Maylee on the cheek.

“Fuck yes,” Maylee says, and Brett’s blue eyes go wide.

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