Series: The Laws of Opposite Attract Series by Vi Keeland
Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 98878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
Alex lifted our joined hands. “Oh good. Then maybe you can loosen your grip? You’re cutting off my circulation.”
I smiled, thinking she was busting my chops, but when I looked down, her fingers were turning white. “Oh shit. Sorry.”
Holden leaned over, a giant grin on his face. Of course, he had to overhear and couldn’t give me a pass. “He’s scared shitless because he knows his speech is going to suck compared to the one I gave at Colby’s wedding. That’s why I was picked as best man first—everyone knows I put on a good show.”
I shook my head. “Dude, first off, you were the best man at Colby’s wedding because we picked out of a hat and you happened to pick the scrap of paper that said Best Man instead of Douche Bag. And your toast consisted of a five-minute explanation of the words yin and yang, which you had to look up before writing that dumb speech.”
Colby leaned across the table. “If we’re talking about best-man speeches, mine was a hell of a lot better than Holden’s.”
I chuckled. “If I remember correctly, all you did was remind everyone that the groom was a dumbass and the bride should’ve married someone more intelligent.”
Colby smirked at Holden. “The truth can be ugly, my friend.”
The DJ cut the music, interrupting our debate. When he lifted the mic and pointed toward our table, I thought I might throw up the beef Wellington I’d eaten a little while ago.
“Ladies and gentlemen, please give a warm welcome to our best man, Mr. Brayden Foster, who is going to come up and say a few words about our lovely bride and groom.”
Alex kissed my cheek. “Good luck.”
I stood and walked to the middle of the dance floor to a round of applause. Damn, there isn’t even a podium to hide behind. It was just me and the mic, swinging in the wind.
I cleared my throat. “Hello, everyone. For those of you I haven’t met, I’m Brayden Foster, Owen’s best friend.”
“I object!” Holden shouted from our table.
I chuckled and pointed. “You’ll have to excuse our friend Holden. He’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer, so whenever he’s wearing a suit and someone speaks into a microphone, he assumes he’s in court—arrested for a barroom brawl or indecent exposure again.” I waved my hand and spoke slowly in the direction of our table. “This is a wedding, Catalano. We’ll explain the difference later.”
Everyone laughed. That helped me relax a little.
“But seriously, folks, I’m thrilled to be up here tonight to celebrate Owen and Devyn’s marriage. I’d also like to point out that Owen actually picked me for this special honor of being his best man, and my name was not merely selected out of a grab bag.” I looked over at Owen and Devyn, both of whom were smiling bright.
Since I hadn’t taken my speech from my pocket yet, I figured it was okay to go off-speech. I slipped the mic out of the holder, leaned my elbow in its place on top of the stand, and pointed to the bride and groom. “Do you guys see that smile? That’s all Devyn’s doing. Before my buddy met his beautiful bride, he was a grumpy workaholic. He worked eighty hours a week, and I couldn’t have told you for sure if he had teeth anymore. But now he never stops smiling. It almost makes me think something’s wrong with him. You didn’t hit your head recently, did you, buddy?”
Owen laughed and shook his head.
“Alright, good. Well, I guess I can’t blame him for smiling all the time, because the dude seriously married up.” I bowed at the bride before continuing. “Devyn, you look absolutely beautiful tonight. Welcome to the family.”
She mouthed thank you.
“In case you all weren’t aware, Devyn is a casting agent. She’s found actors for several parts that have gone on to be nominated for Academy Awards. Yet somehow her little brother’s video of Colby trying to save a blow-up doll has gotten more views than any of her actors’ movies.”
The room broke out in boos and hisses.
I shook my head. “Oh, come on now, I’m an equal opportunity toaster-roaster.”
Colby wagged his finger in warning, but he was still smiling. It was all in good fun.
“All jokes aside, Devyn is amazing. Not only is she beautiful and smart, but she also runs her own business, is raising a baby, and pitches in to take care of her brother and sister. She’s as caring and compassionate as anyone I’ve ever met. So she really deserved an equally wonderful husband. Thank God Owen got her to say yes before she found one.”
Owen flipped me the bird, still laughing. It wouldn’t be one of the guys’ weddings without someone giving the finger. That made me feel like I’d done my job, and it was time for my planned speech. So I reached into my suit jacket and took out an index card with my notes and a small bag of fortune cookies. Holding the bag up, I shook the plastic so it crinkled into the microphone.