Page 264 of Wait for Him

James looks back down at his notes. “It’s an honor and a privilege to be the best man today, but I can tell you it’s a role I truly don’t deserve.”

I tilt my head at him.

Yeah. That sounds like bullshit already.

“Technically, there were more qualified candidates. But I’m a nepo baby, so Jackson asked me. Now, here we are.”

The room explodes. I drop my head back and laugh while Rose folds into me, her shoulders shaking. “Jesus Christ.”

“When he did, I told him he should probably think about it because being the best man sounded like a lot of responsibility, and I had no idea what I was supposed to do. Then he told me there wasn’t anybody else he wanted standing next to him.”

Rose’s fingers find mine on the table and thread through them. James glances down at our hands for a second before looking back at us.

“And that’s kind of how Jackson has always been with me. He never made me feel like I was just part of the deal because he loved my mom. He made me feel like he chose me too.”

Well, here we fucking go.

I already cried through the ceremony. I would really like to keep whatever dignity I have left through dinner.

James pauses and glances at his notes. “But enough about Jackson. As we all know, we shouldn’t overfeed his ego.”

Rose laughs a little too fucking hard at that, and I look down at her while the rest of the room joins in.

“Really?”

She wipes beneath her eyes. “Shush. Best man is speaking.”

Traitor.

James waits for the laughter to settle before continuing. “The night I found out Rose was my biological mom, I made myself a promise that I was going to be a good son to her.”

The change in Rose is immediate. Her smile disappears and her fingers tighten around mine.

“Not because she asked me to. She didn’t. Ma has never expected anything from me because of what happened or because she gave birth to me. If anything, she’s spent a lot of time making sure I know I don’t owe her anything.”

Rose’s breath shudders beside me.

“I just wanted her to be proud of me. I wanted her to know that the choice she made gave me an amazing life.”

Fuck.

Rose folds closer into my side, and when I feel her trying to pull in a breath that doesn’t quite make it, I kiss her temple and give her a small squeeze.

“Breathe, baby.”

She nods and holds my hand tighter.

James turns away from us and looks toward Samson and Lauren.

“Mom and Dad, you gave me everything. You gave me love, a home, a family, every opportunity I could’ve asked for and a childhood I wouldn’t trade for anything. You never made me question for one second whether I was your son, and nothing that happened after I found out where I came from changed that. I will always be your son, and I will always love you.”

Lauren is already crying, tucked into Samson’s side while he holds her against him. Even from here I can see him swallowing hard, and I’m beginning to think James deliberately designed this speech to take out every adult in the room one by one.

Little bastard.

James looks back at Rose.

“But there was always this question. Even when I wasn’t thinking about it, it was there. Who was she? Did I look like her? Did she ever think about me? Did she love me? Why did she give me away?”