He stumbled away from me, putting on a wolfish grin. “I’m just sayin’, whenever you’re ready, we can play Me & Mrs. Jones.”

“Wow, Tomás,” Scott said. “What happened to ‘don’t talk to or about Ms. MacFarland that way’?”

Tommy turned his attention to Scott, and a frown darkened his brow. “Those instructions were specifically for you, Scott. And they still apply.”

Scott sneered. “You really think you’re better than me now, don’t you? Got a little money, nicer clothes, a little attention from the ladies—”

“Fellas!” Jared said, wedging himself between the two of them. “Let’s get this thing started. Hey, Rev!” He called over his shoulder. “Let’s run everyone through this a time or two before it’s time for dinner, huh?”

Pastor Evans shook his head at being called Rev but fell in step behind the wedding party to make his way to the side yard.

It was customary for the father of the groom to escort his wife to her seat before the ceremony. Tommy filled in for him, which wasn’t uncustomary. The task filled him with delight that he didn’t even bother to try to conceal.

When Brandi’s father walked her down the aisle, that strange unnamable feeling I had earlier made my throat tight with emotion again. What was that? It wasn’t sadness because I was truly happy for my son, but…it was something akin to that. Grief, maybe?

I cleared my throat and wiped away an errant tear. The motion drew Tommy’s attention.

“You okay?” he mouthed.

I nodded and wiped away another tear, which didn’t do much to convince him that I was. Disregarding my dismissal, he came over, handed me a real goddamn handkerchief, and sat next to me.

“Where do you even buy handkerchiefs anymore?” I asked with a wet laugh as I dabbed at the corners of my eyes.

“The same place you buy any sort of men’s accessories. They aren’t all that rare.”

“And you just happen to have one on you right now?”

He shrugged, then took my hand in his. “I figured it would be handy for a situation such as this. I’m at your service, remember?”

I chuckled wetly. “Yeah, I remember.”

His thumb stroked the center of my palm gently, and while the touch was still innocent, I felt it in not-so-innocent places.

“Tomás?” Pastor Evans called. “This is the part where you present the rings. It’s a very important part of the ceremony. I’ve had best men miss their cue in the past—”

“I hear you, Rev,” Tommy grumbled, giving my hand a squeeze, then went to stand next to Jared to hand over the rings.

“Man,” James said, plopping gracelessly into the seat next to me. “What did you do to that boy to get him so sprung on you?”