Simon played with the empty glass in front of him, trying to decide if a third scotch was a bad idea or not.

He'd crashed hard after Mary all but ghosted him. The sight of happy couples everywhere bristled against his lone wolf status. Paired two by two, swaying to the music of the live band his brother had hired.

The party was practically split into two camps. The smaller group was a collection of Finn's friends, military personnel decked out in their crisp uniforms, metals gleaming on their jackets instead of boutonnieres. The soldiers had made it quite clear they were not a fan of their comrades' older brother.  Overshadowing them were Mary's kind of people – rich and famous tuxedo and taffeta fashionistas. There had been actual paparazzi on the way here yesterday, trying to catch a snap of a Harrington. Emily was close with the whole family, particularly Sam and Ali Harrington.

The worst part was Finn seemed perfectly at home with this high-profile couple. The ease of their relationship was obvious. Sam and Finn laughed and joked together the way Simon wanted to with his younger sibling.  When they were growing up the brothers would have made fun of people like the Harrington's. These richy riches were what was wrong with this country. Now Finn was turning into one of them.

Not feeling wanted, it was a toss-up between getting drunk enough to forget what happened in the library with Mary or retiring to his room to wallow in the memory.

He'd just about made up his mind when a gentle hand tapped his shoulder. "Can I get a dance with my brother?"

Simon regarded the beautiful bride. Although a member of the posh club, Emily had never treated him any differently. She was kind and generous. And despite the fact he had hurt her, she still wanted to be near him. How could he ever deny Emily any request?

Taking his calloused hand in her delicate one, Emily led him on to the dance floor. The lead singer crooned about giving his heart it completely as the music swelled. 

"in-law," Simon corrected.

The woman in white tilted her head at him, grey eyes sparkling in the soft light.

"Brother-in-law," he clarified.

"No, Simon. You're family now."

He shook his head. He didn't deserve her kindness.

"Emily, I'm so sorry. For my part...," No - if he was going to apologize again, he was going to own up to his mistakes. "For what I did. I thought ...I was wrong."

Emily squeezed his shoulder. "We'll have none of that. It's my wedding day Simon. A new beginning. Let's ...not focus on the past. The here and now, the family we're creating - that's what we need to concentrate on. Together."

A lump in his throat prevented him from speaking. Blinking quickly at the excess liquid forming in his eyes, Simon nodded in agreement. He'd spend a lifetime making up for how he hurt this woman. And his brother.

"Good," she smiled. "Because I need your help."

"Anything," he managed to croak.

"Finn needs to be surrounded by people who love him."

Simon searched the room for his brother, finding him in conversation with their older sister. As children, they had all been so close. How had they so easily grown apart over the years? He turned back to the woman in his arms. "He has you, Emily. It's all he's ever wanted."

"And you know I love him more than life. But I'm not enough."

Simon begged to differ. His brother had been a walking ghost for the last eight years. When he did get to see him in between his overseas missions for the military, Finn was sullen and distant. Since reuniting with Emily, it was like his brother woke up, came back to life.

"Finn... well he's having trouble adjusting to his new circumstances." Simon must have made a face because Emily defended her statement. "Oh, he's happy with his choice to leave the military. Generally. But he had a kinship there that's... missing now."

Simon had experienced this first-hand when Finn chose Campbell, one of his army buddies as best man. Then he'd asked Lance, Emily's younger sister Beth's husband to stand beside him. He had a suspicion it was between Max, another army fellow and himself for the final spot. Max was on active duty and could be called away at any moment. That made Simon the stable choice. Maybe it should have been Max, for all the attention Finn paid to him these last few weeks.

"I... I don't know if I'm the right person..." Finn could barely look at him sometimes. When his brother had first learned of his betrayal, his hello had been in the form of a punch to the face. Simon knew he'd been found out and figured a black eye and some bruises were getting off light. But then the permafrost between them settled in and Simon realized he preferred the physical hits.

"Simon, you are the exact right person." Emily caught his eye and held it. "He loves his big brother. Needs you in his life. He might not be able to admit that right now but trust me, he wants to."

Emily's words hit him hard. The world got misty again. His brother, who never seemed to need anyone, wanted him around.

"What can I do?"

"Say you'll come to the house for dinner."

Emily was inviting him into their home. That lump in his throat returned and he nodded in agreement.

"We're back from our honeymoon on the 14th. Come for dinner the following Monday? Monday's are good right?"

This woman thought of everything. The slowest night of the week at the restaurant was Monday. It was his usual night off so getting away would be easy.

"I'm there."

"And you'll make it a habit? Every Monday. At least."

"I promise."

The smile on Emily's face infected him and he grinned back at her.

"I want to dance with my wife."

Simon jumped at Finn's declaration, not realizing he was there. He dropped Emily's hand and looking at the floor, backed away from her.

"Don't forget your promise, Simon," she sang.

He looked at her, then quickly at Finn who was watching him. "I won't."

On impulse, Simon pulled a hundred-dollar bill out of his pocket and held it up. "I'm putting this in the kiss jar for both of you."

The couple had set up kiss jars on every table. Attendees were asked to donate to encourage any couple to kiss, all proceeds going to a local homeless shelter. Five dollars for a quick kiss, twenty for smooch and fifty for a movie scene worthy embrace. Everyone had been generous this evening, pointing most of their declarations at the newlyweds, enjoying their expressions of love.

"How about it, hubby?"

As Finn looked down at his bride, a smile tugged at his lips. Dipping her backward, he devoured Emily in a dramatic and passionate kiss that would have made a Harlequin romance cover designer swoon. People on the dance floor stopped to look at the couple, clapping and cheering.

When Finn finally came up for air, Simon's chest felt tight. The groom beamed as Emily buried her face in her husband's tuxedo jacket.

After tucking the money into the glass bowl on the head table, Simon headed towards the bar, needing that scotch now. Their sister cut him off. "He looks like a kid again."

He hadn't thought of it, but Delora was right. Finn was notorious as a child for his impish grin, always happy, always curious. That was before their parents died, derailing all their lives. None of them smiled much after that. Delora was pushed into the mother role, of both Finn and he and then soon after with her own newborn. Simon escaped as soon as he could, leaving a struggling Delora and a lost Finn behind. He justified it by saying it was another mouth she didn't have to feed but he knew he was running.

"It's good to see," Simon offered. "I'm glad... he'll be around more often."

Delora strung her arm through his, her dark hair brushing against his shoulder. "Now we just have to get this notorious bachelor" she tapped his chest, "to find a good woman to settle down with."

Memories of Mary in the library tenderly tracing his face filtered through his mind. He sought Emily's sister out, spying her on the dance floor in the arms of another man.

"Don't hold your breath."