Page 167 of Begin Again, Part 2

"But..."

"He's tired," he explained. "I am as well."

"Of course, sir. It's good to see you back. We were all so worried." They nodded and moved along, taking their crestfallen faces with them.

"Do you always have to be an asshole?" Matthew asked from behind him.

"Someone has to be," Liam smirked. "We all can't be saints like you."

"Give him to me," Matthew said, snatching Aiden from him, and they began walking through the crowds, occasionally stopping to chat with the board members and their families.

"So, where's Julian?" Liam asked when they finally made it to their spot under a huge gazebo that looked so flimsily put together he wouldn't be surprised if it collapsed from the slightest breeze.

"He ran off somewhere after he set this up."

"Now, how did I know this was his shoddy work?" Liam chuckled and grabbed a beer.

Matthew quickly took it from him and gave him a water bottle instead. "Eden's orders."

"We're not even married yet, and she's already bossing me around," Liam grumbled, crashing in the camping chair.

His cousin sat beside him and popped his beer can, and Liam stared at it longingly.

"Have you guys set the date yet?"

"Three Saturdays from today."

Matthew almost choked on his beer, coughing and spluttering liquid everywhere, much to Aiden's annoyance.

"No, Matt!" Aiden yelled at him and left his lap, only to jump on Liam's.

"Dude, that's like tomorrow soon," his cousin groaned after his coughing fit had passed.

"What's tomorrow soon?" A glassy-eyed Julian appeared beside him. Liam knew his flushed look wasn't just from the uncharacteristically warm weather for mid-June or the six beers he'd drunk already.

His cousin looked properly fucked, and Liam hoped it wasn't their new ambassador. "Tell me it's not Lydia Edwards!"

"What?"

"The smell you're reeking of!" Liam groaned.

"What do you take me for?" Julian was affronted. "I don't bang my wards, and I certainly don't eat where I shit."

"Great!"

"I'm offended by your suspicions!" Julian carried on. "You assigned me to be her handler, and I did a good job handling her. Did you even hear her maiden speech? The crowd loved her."

"She's not the president or parliamentary member."

"So?"

It was Matthew's turn to sigh dramatically. "So she doesn't make maiden speeches."

"I knew that," Julian insisted. But Liam and Matthew knew he didn't. They always teased him about having the lowest IQ of the three.

"Anyway, that's not even the point," he grabbed a chair, unfolded it, and sat down, glaring at them. "As I was saying, my protégé did a fantastic job. The board members love her. The women want to be her, and the guys want to bang her, thanks to my tutelage."

"Thank you, Sensei," Liam mocked him. "On a serious note, the wedding is in three weeks. Our moms are eyeballs deep in preparations, and I need you two to be my groomsmen. Are you in?"

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