Page 48 of Mic Drop

My body sags. The next thing I know, I’m opening my arms and pulling him in for a hug. “I couldn’t think of anyone else I want to stand up for me.” Except Dad. The florist suggested we place a white rose on his empty chair for the ceremony to honor him. Yet, Luke makes a great substitute. Dare I consider him afriend? After my recent conversation with Curtiss, the last man to hold the title, I might be willing to try again.

Our bodies move from side to side. The fact we’re standing on the main stairs comes rushing back to me when we nearly lose our balance.

“Shit!” I reach for the handrail, which saves both of our sorry asses. Or they would be sorry if we had fallen.

Once we regain our equilibrium, a pink-cheeked Luke says, “Let’s not tell anyone about this, all right?”

“Your secret’s safe with me.” We chuckle and go up the rest of the steps, where we part ways to get dressed.

In the master suite, I take a quick shower and put on my Armani suit. All of the guys have them from a recent awards ceremony, so we decided they would be our best option.Sansfootwear and tie, of course. I pull out the flip-flops Kara dropped off last night, explaining to me that all of the wedding party has to wear them.

My next stop is my dresser, where I pull our wedding rings from a drawer. Luke helped me pick these out at the same store where I got Jenna’s engagement ring in New Orleans. Leaving all of my other rings and bracelets on the top of the dresser, I pat the only other piece of jewelry I’ll wear today—my necklace with the UC pendant Jenna gave to us years ago.

In silence, I slip on my new gray Tungsten ring, which matches Jenna’s eyes. It’s big and chunky and will be seen from the nosebleed seats at every stadium. Perfect. I want everyone to know I’m taken by the most precious woman on earth.

“Almost ready, B?”

I return my wedding band into its box nestled next to hers, and snap it shut. “I think so. Hold these for safekeeping, all right?” I pass him the jewelry box.

He examines the box for a second before putting it into his pocket. “Damn. I can’t believe you’re the first one to fall. Well, after Coop.”

We both shake our heads remembering what happened. I refuse to let his youthful experience sour mine. Luke continues, “Never thought I’d see the day when any of us would take the plunge again.”

“When you know, you know.” My smile dims. But for Jenna’s mother’s illness, would we be here today? Maybe. Maybe not. I have no doubt that we would’ve ended up here sooner rather than later, though.

“I brought your boutonniere, but you better ask someone else to put it on for you.” He points to his lapel. “The florist did it for me.”

I take the flower. “Is TLR here?”

“Already playing demure music downstairs for the ceremony.”

I snort. The Light Rail is many things, but demure is not one of them. While I’ve crossed paths with the guys throughout the years—even playing with them once—King was instrumental in getting his brother’s band to play for us. While UC wants to play a song or two at the reception, I didn’t want to make us responsible for the whole thing. And no fucking way was a DJ going to dictate our party!

I’m about to leave when a thought hits me so hard, I almost stumble. I haven’t heard from Jenna all day. “Is Jenna here?”

Deadpan, Luke looks at me. “Is she supposed to be?”

Panic surges through my bloodstream.

My manager laughs. “You should see your face, B.” He smacks me on the back. “Of course she’s here.”

I give him a dirty look. “Dude. Maybe I should rethink the whole best man concept.”

“Too late.” He smacks my back again. “Let’s go.”

We enter the hallway and the guys surround me. “If I even harbored an idea of getting married, you’ve set the bar so fuckinghigh, there’s no way I could reach it,” Río announces. “Seriously. TLR?”

I shrug as if getting this band was no big deal. “My real estate agent is King Hunte. You know, the lead singer’s brother.” I bump Río’s fist.

Glancing from him to Coop to Tris, my gaze finally lands on 007 who, despite his conflicted feelings toward Jenna, appears happy for me. I suck in all the air.

“You guys each have supported my relationship with Jenna in your own ways. It means the world to me to know you will be at our side for today and going forward. Thank you.” Not exactly a declaration of lasting friendship, but this is more than I’ve ever shared with my bandmates.

They seem to recognize this as each one of their fists fling high into the air. Instead of my starting our check in though, Luke steps up. I raise my fist.

Luke clears his throat. “Strapped, locked, and loaded, are you ready to celebrate this wedding?” We all let out large whoops and barrel toward the stairs.

The next hour flies by. Luke and I stand next to the judge. Our guests fill up the chairs. Courtney helps Faith into her seat of honor in the first row. The white rose for my dad is on a chair next to hers. Kara flip-flops down the aisle, beaming at me. Then Tris stands at the end of the aisle, my gorgeous bride in white on his arm.

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