“I can’t believe I’m actually getting married tomorrow.” Later today, his sisters Katie and Julia would arrive, followed tomorrow morning by his brothers Jeff and Josh and his other sister Cindy. Only his brother John wouldn’t make the wedding because he’d been unable to get out of work.

Though they kept in close touch, especially lately, Owen hadn’t seen his siblings in a couple of years and was looking forward to their arrival.

“You ready?” Evan asked.

“To get married? Hell yeah, but only because I get to marry Laura. If it was anyone else, I wouldn’t be so ready.”

“If it was anyone else, you wouldn’t be getting married.”

“Well, duh. How about you? Ready to get married?”

“Absolutely. I hate that we decided to wait until January. That was a huge mistake in hindsight. I want to be married now.”

“I hate that we’re probably going to miss it since Laura will be too pregnant to fly by then.”

“I know,” Evan said with a groan. “I can’t imagine getting married without you there with me.”

“She wants me to go without her, but I don’t think I can do that. You’ll understand, won’t you?”

“Of course I will, but I’ll miss you. I wanted you to be my best man. You know that, right?”

“You have three brothers, Ev.”

“So do you, and you still picked me to be yours.”

“That’s because…” Owen blamed the liquor for the surge of emotion, but in truth, he’d been an emotional mess for weeks now, ever since that day in the courtroom when he’d been officially set free from the past. “You didn’t know it then, Ev, but the time we spent together in the summers, our friendship… It meant so much to me. It still does, but back then… There was no one else I would’ve asked.”

“Aw jeez, man. You’re gonna make me bawl like a girl.”

The comment made them both laugh, which eased the knot of emotion that had settled in Owen’s chest. He’d wanted to tell Evan that for some time now, and it felt good to have it out there. It was important to him that Evan know how important their friendship had been to him during an extremely difficult time in Owen’s life.

“Laura wants us to play tonight at the rehearsal,” Owen said. “You game for that?”

“Dude, I am always game for playing with you. Always.”

They parted company at the pharmacy where Evan lived with Grace.

Owen shook his hand and gave him a bro hug. “Thanks for a truly memorable night.”

“Entirely my pleasure.”

“I’m still a little drunk and sloppy here, so you’ll excuse me for what I’m about to say.”

“No, I will not leave Grace for you. I told you that the last time you asked me.”