Buy One, Get Two and Three... - 69. Chapter 69

Daniel

“Where’s Toby? Shouldn’t he be here by now?”

Silas waved a vague hand, sloshing drink over the side of his glass. “He’s buying some more wine. Said he had something to tell us.”

Daniel snickered at his brother. Silas had had most of the last bottle to himself and was well on his way to being tipsy. If he was honest Daniel was feeling a bit on the dizzy side.

What had started out as a wedding planning evening had turned into a walk down memory lane and a challenge to see who could embarrass the others the most.

Daniel had a thought. “Hey, you remember the time dad took us swimming? The pool had run out of blue water wings and Toby got given that pink pair. He looked so cute bobbing along in those.”

They both chuckled as the sound of the front door opening was followed by a cold rush of air.

“Wine delivery,” came Toby's cheerful voice. “What’s so funny, guys?”

“Pink water wings,” was all Silas got out before he started chuckling again.

Toby scowled. “If you two are going to gang up on me I may keep this wine to myself. Along with the news, I was going to tell you.”

That made Daniel and Silas sit up and start to take notice, even if a few stray chuckles did still escape.

“Well, you see.” Toby looked at the ceiling and it took a while for Daniel to realize his usually overconfident brother was nervous.

“Come on, Bro, spit it out.” Daniel clapped Toby on the back for good measure then ducked out the way of hand heading his way, ending up on his ass on the floor.

“I’ve-asked-Tara-to-marry-me-and-she-said-yes,” Toby spoke so fast the words rolled into each other and silence met his statement before he and Silas worked out what he’d actually said.

“Married?” Silas squealed. “When? Have you set a date? Where did you propose? Was it romantic? Please say you made it nice for her.”

Silas let out a yell as Toby grabbed him and clapped a hand over his mouth.

“Last Thursday, no, at her favorite restaurant, yes, and yes. Now, if you’ve quite finished with the interrogation can we get to the celebrating?”

Daniel watched from his seat on the floor and grinned.

“Do you remember the story dad always told us about when he proposed to mom?”

Toby nodded. “He proposed to her on a cruise. It was the second anniversary of the day they met. He bought her flowers and had the waiter put the ring in some champagne. Then he paid the band to play her favorite song and sweet talked the kitchen into writing his question in icing on the edge of her dessert plate. He always was the most romantic of us all. I may have used a few of his ideas.

“I took her to les hauteurs and did the ring in the glass. I had a violinist play a love song and got down on one knee.” Toby poured a fresh glass of wine and took a sip. He looked up with a bewildered expression. “She cried.” He shook his head. “I will never get women. She said yes and that she was the happiest she’d ever been. But, then she cried. Why would you cry if you’re happy?”

Daniel snickered and topped up his own glass before passing the bottle to Silas.

Time flew by and the wine disappeared. The ideas for the wedding got wilder and wilder as Silas got more and more hyper. Some of the suggestions were improbable but hilarious; a rainbow-colored horse pulling a carriage, getting all the guests to throw rainbow skittles instead of rice or confetti, getting all the female guests to dye their hair pink and the men blue. The list went on and got progressively slurred as they all slowly succumbed to the alcohol in their systems.

The last thing Daniel remembered was Silas saying, “I have a perfect idea.”

By the time Oliver and Carlos came home, all three brothers were fast asleep on a pile of cushions on the floor, wound so tight around each other it was hard to see where one finished and the others started.