Page 263 of Wait for Him

Jackson

“Before I get started with my official best man speech, the results of today’s bet are in, and I’m proud to announce that I won.”

James stands proudly on the stage in front of the crowd, not a single nerve on display as he adjusts the microphone. The room immediately breaks into laughter, which tells me far too many people know exactly what bet he’s talking about.

Rose chuckles beside me, her head resting against my chest as we sit together at the head table. I narrow my eyes at Bennet across the room when I see him pull money from his pocket and hand it to Joe.

How the fuck did I miss an entire betting operation centered around me?

“For those of you who didn’t know, we had a bet on how long it would take Jackson to break down into tears. My bet was as soon as the doors opened and before Ma even took a step.” James grins at me. “And I was right.”

The room erupts again. Rose tilts her face up toward mine with a smile that is entirely too pleased with this information.

“You knew about this?” I whisper.

“Of course I knew.”

“And you didn’t bet?”

“I wasn’t allowed.”

“Why?”

“Conflict of interest.” She kisses my jaw. “For the record, I would’ve bet on before the doors opened. Now shush.”

I shake my head and turn my attention back to the stage, already filing away the fact that nobody in this family respects my dignity.

“Now, I should probably introduce myself,” James says, resting one hand casually against the microphone stand. “Unofficially, my name is James Samson Monroe.”

I frown.

Beside me, Rose lifts her head from my chest.

“But what Ma doesn’t know is that, as of last week, officially, my name is James Samson Bennett-Monroe.”

Rose goes completely still. Her hand flies to her mouth, and I feel the breath leave her before I hear the broken little sound that comes with it.

James came to me and Michael before he did it. He didn’t need our permission, but he wanted us to know, and more importantly, he made both of us swear we wouldn’t tell Rose. Keeping that secret from her has been one of the harder things I’ve done lately, especially after the paperwork became official last week and James walked around the house acting like absolutely nothing had happened.

Now I get why he wanted to tell her this way.

Rose’s eyes never leave him.

I pull her closer against me and kiss her temple as tears start slipping down her cheeks. She doesn’t bother wiping them away, and at this point I think we’ve both accepted that crying is just how we’re spending our wedding day.

James smiles at her from the stage, and for the first time since he took the microphone, a little bit of nerves breaks through.

Rose shakes her head slowly, still covering her mouth, and mouths, I love you.

His smile gets wider.

“Love you too, Ma.”

There’s a collective sound from somewhere in the room, and James immediately lifts a hand.

“Okay, nobody start. I have an entire speech to get through, and this family has already exceeded its recommended daily allowance of emotional breakdowns.”

That gets the laugh he was looking for, including one from Rose, although hers comes through tears.