Page 160 of Seeds of Trust
Troy's still emotional, wiping his eyes. He stands, clearing his throat multiple times before he can speak. “You know what? Four years ago, we were just four random guys thrown into this house.”
“God, that first day,” Freddie groans. “Troy tried to bench press his suitcase in the hallway. I was so close to transferring.”
“You weren’t! Besides, I was establishing dominance,” Troy defends.
“You dropped it on your foot,” Alfie adds dryly, but he's smiling.
Troy raises his mug higher, voice thick with emotion. “To the University of Mountain Springs—a place nestled in the mountains that forced four unlikely lads together on the first day. An unlikely brotherhood that somehow worked.”
“And soon to be actual brothers,” Alfie adds quietly, looking at Troy with genuine affection. “When I marry Tara.”
That breaks Troy completely. He sets down his mug to pull Alfie into another crushing hug. “You're already my brother, you scary genius. This just makes it official.”
“To Alfie and Tara,” Troy continues when he pulls back, raising his mug again. “For proving that even the most emotionally constipated among us can figure out love.”
“Hey—" Alfie protests.
“And for giving us something to celebrate beyond just leaving,” Alex adds, raising her own mug. “To the future Spencers!”
“To the best group of brothers I could have asked for,” Ethan adds, standing too. “And to the women who somehow saw through our bullshit and loved us anyway.”
“To four of the best years of my life,” Alfie says, finally standing with Tara. “And to whatever comes next. Together. Or apart. A piece of us willalwaysbe here, at UMS."
