Page 61 of Best Man
An hour flew by in the blink of an eye, during which time hundreds, maybe even thousands, of photographs were taken. The group headed back to the barn to rejoin the rest of the wedding, where the guests were enjoying refreshments and drinks. They staged outside the barn and waited for the emcee to introduce them.
“Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to introduce the members of our wedding party,”the wedding emcee growled. He was the Dallas Devils arena announcer, so his bass-heavy, throaty delivery was top-notch.“So please put your hands together and give a warm welcome to the friends and family of Jax and Piper Cameron.”
One by one, the couples walked out to meet the crowd. Sasha and Paulina were second-to-last, behind the bride and groom, of course.
“Please welcome the groom’s best man, and Devils superstar, Aleksander ‘NIKO’ Nikolaev! And the bride’s maid of honor, Paulina Eaglestorm!”
“Wanna do a funny dance?!” Paulina asked in a moment of spontaneity—it seemed only right.
“Yes, yes!” Sasha said, nodding emphatically.
“Okay, great! What should we do?”
He shrugged. “Follow my lead.”
Paulina took Sasha’s arm. They walked out to applause from the audience, which apparently inspired Sasha to strut and sway his shoulders like a cocky rooster. Paulina wasn’t sure how the heck she was supposed to followthatlead, so she did an Irish jig. The crowd loved it, and Sasha spun around, moonwalking the rest of the way off the stage.
Paulina didn’t want to let go of his arm when they took their seats at the dinner table. Two seats sat between them—Piper and Jax’s.
“And now, please put your hands together for the bride and groom … Mister and Missus BIG RIG, Jax and Piper Cameron!”
20
Niko
After a delicious dinner, the service staff swapped out everyone’s wine glasses for champagne flutes, and the toasts were soon to begin. Jax was thoughtful enough to have the service staff provide a bottle of sparkling cider specifically for Niko, so he wouldn’t feel left out.
“Thanks, man,” Niko said, clapping his best friend on the back. “Good lookin’.”
Jax winked. “I gotcha, bud. Always.”
“Pst.” Paulina, who sat at Piper’s side, leaned behind Piper and Jax’s back to get Niko’s attention. She extended her empty glass to him. “Hit me with some of that cider, will ya?”
“You wantthis?” Niko asked with a laugh. “Why?”
“Because! Solidarity, remember?”
“But it’s a wedding!” he told her. “You should have fun. You don’t have to drink this for me.”
“I can have fun without alcohol, Sasha.”
Why did she have to say things like that? It only made the fondness in his heart worse.
“Fine,” he said, grinning. He tipped the bottle and filled her glass with cider. “There you are.”
“Thank you, sir,” she said.
The girls’ dad grabbed the mic and gave the first toast. He might have been a man of few words, as he warned everyone before he started, but he gave a touching speech about how much joy it gave him to watch Piper grow over the years into the woman she was today, and how happy he was that she found true love with a great man to call her husband—“great because, let’s face it, he comes from a farming background,” Mr. Eaglestorm joked.
Before Niko knew it, the mic was in his hands, and all eyes were on him. He stood and cleared his throat.
“When I first met Jax,” he began, “he play for Colorado, and I play for Dallas. We enemies.”
He paused, realizing his grammar mistakes, even though the crowd chuckled regardless.
“Wewereenemies, I mean to say. Sorry for bad English. Little nervous right now.”
Shouts of encouragement came from all over.
