"I would like to start,

" Liam continued with a wicked grin.

"By reminiscing about our colorful childhood and the many, many times Christian held me upside down without our mother's knowledge because he was bigger than me and there was nothing I could do about it.

"

More than half of the people in the room looked at Christian questioningly. Angelo narrowed his eyes, seemingly determined to see the worst in him and that he wasn't worthy of Avery.

Christian let out an exasperated noise.

"Liam, more than half the time you ASKED me to do it.

"

Kyle and Andrew both burst out laughing.

"That sounds about right. Don't act like you're a victim, Liam, it doesn't suit you. You were the one giving Chris a hard time, not the other way around.

"

"You guys! Do you have any idea how hard it is to come with embarrassing stories about such a bland goody-two-shoes?

" Liam protested.

"I wouldn't put it quite that harshly but I can't really come up with anything embarrassing either,

" Trevor admitted.

"Christian was always so cool and composed in school. Can you think of anything, Eric?

"

"All I've got is the time he sat there blank-faced shoveling in the chips and dip when the Ravens scored a touchdown during one of our Super Bowl parties like he didn't know or care what had happened but that isn't exactly embarrassing,

" Eric said apologetically.

"I forgot about that! He could seriously eat. We used to say he should be on those eating competitions because he never seemed to get so much as a stomachache.

"

"He's still like that,

" Jorge said with a laugh.

"You should have seen him on Thanksgiving. Angelo and Güera were lying on the floor in agony and he ate more than both of them and acted like he barely had a snack.

"

If this was their idea of embarrassing him it wasn't so bad. He wasn't self-conscious about how much he ate. In law school he flew around empty fields a lot in the middle of the night where no one but the cows could see him since he missed being able to do that as Mercury back home.

These days he was much more reasonable with his eating habits. Thanksgiving had been a special occasion and he had flown it off once Avery was asleep.

"Güera?

" Kyle asked in confusion.

"Who's that?

"

"Oh, it's Avery. We've all called her that for as long as I can remember. It's habit. Means 'white girl' because she's so white,

" Jorge explained.

"Ah, that makes more sense. She is pretty pale. Is she actually albino?

"

"Yeah. You should see her in the sun. Turns the color of a bell pepper no matter how much sunscreen she puts on. If she's out and about in daylight she usually brings a parasol. It was the weirdest thing the first time I saw it.

"

Angelo snorted.

"You should have seen her when she was younger. Her dad had her wear long sleeves and pants in the middle of summer and this ridiculous umbrella hat.

"

"No way! Do you have pictures?

" Jorge asked eagerly.

"Somewhere.

"

Eric was confused.

"Why so much stuff just to go in the sun?

"

"Avery has a higher risk for skin cancer,

" Christian explained.

"Her dad was just being careful.

"

"Didn't you say you were going to Costa Rica for your honeymoon?

"

"She wanted to go somewhere warm. As long as she takes her usual precautions she should be fine. She's never been to any beaches outside of New York City so she wanted to give it a shot.

"

"She does enjoy swimming for someone who is supposed to limit her sun exposure,

" Angelo said with a shrug.

Christian and Avery hadn't had the chance to go swimming together before since he was recovering from getting stabbed during the hottest part of the year and wasn't supposed to swim but he knew she had gone with Vanessa a few times. She told him how she always got a lot of stares at the pool or beach because she had to wear a full-body swimsuit to get the most coverage from the sun.

"Guess that means you won't be able to see her in a bikini then,

" Andrew said with a laugh.

Christian and Angelo were on the same page for once. They told him to shut up at the exact same time. He thought he detected the slightest hint of approval in the other man's eyes but he might have imagined it because he was back to normal a moment later.

Liam smacked Andrew upside the back of the head before clearing his throat.

"Anyway, I guess embarrassing Christian is a bust since he's too much of a straight arrow so let's play Cards Against Humanity. I have an expansion pack for it that I've been dying to try out and I'm prepared to destroy all of you.

"

And destroy all of them he did. Either he was very lucky or his sense of humor actually appealed to people for once. Christian's cards only got picked when Angelo and Jorge were up, funnily enough. He wondered if it was because his sense of humor was so similar to Avery's.

They played various games for a few hours after that until Liam kicked everyone out demanding they get some sleep so Avery didn't kill him, or worse, not let him have any of her baked goods on an indefinite basis.

Christian was finally able to take off the stupid crown as he left the apartment and tossed it in the nearest trash can. His brother had gotten pictures to lord over him later and there was no need to hold onto it a moment longer. He lived to give people a hard time.

Liam had put together a pretty decent bachelor party though. Christian had been shooed out too quickly to have the chance to thank him properly. He would have to do it in the morning.

Everyone split off to their respective hotels or apartments with a lot of back slapping and congratulations going around until he somehow found himself alone with Angelo since they were heading toward the same part of town. He wondered if he should say something but wasn't sure if he should.

He ended up taking the easy, diplomatic route.

"Thanks for coming.

"

"It wasn't so bad. And I hadn't been to an escape room since college so that was fun,

" Angelo said with a shrug.

"You were really good at it.

"

"Figuring things out is what I do.

"

Ugh, this was so awkward. Kill him! Christian didn't want to deal with a heavy silence either though so he was stuck trying to keep a conversation going until he reached his station.

"Thank you,

" Angelo said suddenly.

"For defending Güera back there.

"

"...that's my job.

"

Christian didn't know where he was going with this. He didn't want anybody thinking anything perverted about Avery so it had been natural to say something about the bikini comment.

Angelo spoke gruffly.

"I'm used to it being mine. Ever since I could walk and she crawled after me I heard 'watch out for Avery' constantly. So that's what I did. That's what I've always done. I don't have anything against you personally.

"

Was this an apology of sorts? He hadn't been expecting that.

"Avery said you think I'll ditch her because of differing political beliefs,

" Christian said, trying to keep his tone neutral.

Rather than responding to his statement directly, Angelo asked a question.

"Have you ever had someone you wanted to protect? Someone you would do absolutely anything for? Because she's it for me.

"I never had siblings but I had this little white ball of enthusiasm trailing after me who took in everything with a sense of wide-eyed wonder and was constantly getting herself hurt trying to keep up. She bruised too easily and bled too long and had to be protected more than everyone else out in the sun but that didn't stop her.

"So I learned how to take care of that fragile, stubborn little girl as best I could. It's what I've always done. I can't let anything happen to her even if it's as simple as having her stupid, sentimental heart broken because she jumps into things without thinking of the consequences. That's all I'm doing. It really has nothing to do with you. I'm just looking out for my girl.

"

Christian didn't know how to reply to that. What he was saying definitely tied in with Avery's overprotective explanation and how he had always been that way.

It felt personal though. Like Angelo didn't think he loved Avery enough or was the kind of person who would abandon his wife. That wasn't who he was at all! There wasn't anything in the world that could make him leave her behind.

"It sure feels like it has to do with me. I'm not going to leave her, Angelo. Ever,

" he said firmly.

"That's what you say now. I really don't want to argue with you because you make Güera happy but know this. If you hurt her I won't let you off. Keep making her happy and you and me will be good.

"

Christian sighed.

"Someday I'm going to prove you wrong. And when that happens I want a proper apology instead of whatever this was.

"

"Honestly? I'd be shocked. But if that did happen you'd get all the apologies you want. See you tomorrow,

" Angelo said, noticing what Christian hadn't. They were pulling up at his stop.

He tried not to be insulted by that. At least one of his fiancée's best friends liked him. He would prove Angelo wrong someday. He was absolutely determined to get that smug jerk to admit he had been paranoid.