Page 118 of Let Me Love You (Excess All Areas 5)

“Jase said you were looking for me,” Ben said, letting himself into Alex’s room, where Jase had said he’d gone to change from the outfit he’d been wearing for most of the day so far. “And, Jesus Christ. Why does that look so damned good on you?”

Alex wore a zebra print suit. The jacket was fastened, sleeves pushed up, and he wore nothing beneath it beyond an unlimited number of silver and diamanté chains around his neck, along with Nan’s pearls. Black nail polish and silver rings adorned his fingers. And on his feet were black, low-heeled cowboy boots.

“If you can’t be over the top on a day like today, when can you be?”

“I mean, it’s the mother of birthday parties, so yeah.” Ben caught sight of his own more demure crushed blue velvet suit with a secret bright pink lining. “When the invite suggested a dress code, I wasn’t so sure. But it’s nice to see everyone so dressed up.” Only the band and partners, Nan, and his mum were sleeping at the castle, tonight. Everyone else invited to Alex’s birthday party was scattered around the grounds, under marquees, or in the castle’s social areas.

“Nan looks freaking epic. Did you hear how she ended up with that outfit?”

Ben shook his head.

“She posted about needing a dress for the party. Willow had told her to do a post about it, like, show her shopping and have her followers choose. But the trip was a bust, and Nan was despondent. So, this drag queen called Ophelia Bang Bang made it for her.”

Ben walked to the window and looked around the grounds until he spotted Nan’s emerald green dress. “It makes sense, now you’ve said it.” The dress was a blur of sequins and peacock feathers, worn with a sturdy yet comfortable pair of ordinary black shoes.

“Yeah. Spectacularly over the top. She’ll need to be.”

“Why?” Ben said, fixing his hair in the mirror over his brother’s shoulder.

“Because I’m getting married in an hour and she’s singing Zoe down the aisle.”

Ben stopped what he was doing and dropped his hand and his jaw. “You’re doing what?”

Alex grinned. “That’s why I needed you. You’ll be my best man, right?”

“For real?”

“Yup. Technically, got married at the registry office, yesterday. But this is the one that matters to us. Our family. Our friends.”

Ben reached for his brother and tugged him into his arms. “Jesus, mate. Of course I’ll be your best man. Is that where Zoe disappeared to?”

Alex nodded. “She’s telling Cerys just as I’m telling you, now.”

“Holy shit. Mum is going to freak out. I thought you guys were going to take it slow-ish. Get married, at some point.”

Alex straightened the flap of the pocket on his jacket. “It was the strangest thing. We were standing in the wrecked shell of the kitchen under renovation, cooking on that gas camping stove, and laughing about how funny it was. We could have moved into a hotel, rented a house, stayed at yours, but she was all in, with me, and our life and reno. And Zoe flopped onto her back in the sawdust, eating ice cream from the container, and I just realised I couldn’t wait. I asked her if she’d marry me straight away. I made an engagement ring out of tin foil and got down on one knee. She said she would love to if we could do it low-key.”

Ben choked on his beer. “Dude. We’re in a fourteenth-century castle set up like a day festival. This is not low key. And you said she’d organised it.”

Alex grinned. “So, we wrote a list. One that kept growing. It started with a party. Somewhere outside. Nature, yet cool. Needed to include music. Out in that garden, we have half of the Halle Orchestra, and most of the members of five bands, given we invited Stryker and some of our other opening acts. Boncaldo, Zoe’s former lecturer, is the only other person in on what is going on. He arranged for a huge delivery of instruments this morning.”

“Is that why you asked the band to come up here the day before yesterday so we could write together? Just so you could get the kit up here?”

“Nah. That was just because we hired this place for a week so we could get everything ready for what happens in the next hour. Some of which, Zoe knows about. Some of which, she doesn’t.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring. “She doesn’t know I got her this. It’s a square radiant-cut diamond and those are black diamonds around it and the band.” Alex slid it on his little finger. “You think she’ll like it?”

Ben squeezed Alex’s shoulder. “She’ll love it.” And seeing it completely changed his own plans in an instant.

Alex let out a breath. “Good.” He tucked it back in his pocket, then grabbed a box from the drawer. “Wedding rings, because you’re going to need them.”

Ben opened the box. Inside was a simple band for Zoe, and a larger band for Alex edged in black diamonds to match Zoe’s ring. “I’m so fucking happy for you. All I ever wanted was for someone to see you the way that I do. To love you exactly as you are because you’re really special.”

Alex shrugged, as if baffled by the compliment. “You’ve been the best fucking brother a guy like me could have asked for.”

Ben felt tears sting the corner of his eyes. “A guy like you?”

“Yeah. One who needed space to figure out who he was while feeling loved every step of the way.”

Ben wrapped his arm around Alex and kissed his forehead. “The privilege was all mine.”

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