Page 92 of Beautiful Disaster

“Good. He better.”

I chuckle again, and he wipes away my tears.

“But…”

“But what?”

“Rumors are going around about us. Mason was supposed to talk to the community about it, but I told him not to, so I could deal with it when we get back.”

“You mean the rumors that he’s groomed you, which also means he’s assaulted you.”

“So you’ve heard then?”

Aleks nods thoughtfully. “Yes, we’ve heard the bullshit noise. Julien and I support you both.”

“This could hurt Sugar-Sweet Ranch and Mason’s restaurants.”

“Then we’ll deal with it together. You’re not alone, Jinx. You’re part of our family. We protect family as we always have.”

“I’m so sorry about this, too.”

“It’s not your fault. It’s not Mason’s. Some people just have it in their heads that something nefarious is going on and jump to conclusions without basing them in fact. It strangely comes from a good place. When we were kids, having someone like that to help protect us could’ve also saved us. Try not to be too harsh with the man.”

Aleks drops his hands, and I sigh, feeling the weight of everything pressing down on me. “It doesn’t matter. This asshole is creating damage that we might not be able to fix.”

“We will deal with it. Understood?”

“No, I will deal with it. I’ll fix this. I have to because I fucking refuse to be the cause of someone else suffering. Never again.”

“Jinx…”

“That’s my name, isn’t it? A jinx. I ruin everything.”

Aleks’ eyes look sad as he fingers my hair, shaking his head and sighing. “God, fucking stop it. Just stop it. You don’t ruin anything. Don’t change the name Tito gave you into something worse. I won’t listen to it anymore. We all love you.”

I rush at Aleks and pull him into a fierce hug. “Please know that I love you, too, as a friend and brother, even if I’m being a fucking asshole.”

“I know you do. We all know.”

“Your wedding’s gonna be amazing. You and Julien are gonna have the best lives together,” I say, pulling away and wiping my nose on my sleeve.

“Thank you, brother. I’m so happy you’re here for us.”

I don’t really feel any better. The guilt is still there, but Aleks knows now. Hopefully, in time, the guilt will release its chokehold, and I can breathe again.

Chapter 26

Jinx

I swear, fate decided that Aleks and Julien were going to have a perfect day for their wedding. Because of the warm, sunny day in the forecast, the staff at the castle moved everything outdoors. It wasn’t much of a hardship since there are only six of us.

Still, it’s gorgeous. There are fragrant flowers that I can’t even begin to name, all in cream and white. They’re wearing identical Italian linen suits in pale beige over white button-ups without ties, perfectly matching the flowers.

As a best man, I really don’t have any responsibilities other than holding their rings and offering them during the ceremony. I’m sure my position is more in name than anything else. I feel kinda useless, but it makes them happy.

Technically, they’re already married through a justice of the peace in the US, since Italy doesn’t recognize same-sex marriages, so this ceremony is for show, to celebrate their love in a beautiful country.

Mason holds my hand as we sit and listen to the officiant give his speech about love. Once he’s wrapped it up, Aleks and Julien recite their vows.