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Jake fisted his hands. “Why not? We’ve been together for years. What difference does it make if I see her for a minute before we start the ceremony?”
“Tradition,” everyone in the room except for Jake exclaimed.
Luke laughed when Jake crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. “Fine. It’s a stupid tradition, don’t you think? It’s 2017, not 1817.”
“Maybe so,” Hannah said, “but it is what it is. I’ve got to finish up with a few last-minute arrangements. I’ll come back when we’re ready for you to take your places.”
Luke backed away from the door entrance, giving Hannah enough room to walk out.
“Hannah, wait,” Rocco called out.
Hannah turned to Rocco, blushing. Luke chuckled to himself. Whatever this thing was between the Italian Marine and the little event planner, it would be fun to watch play out.
“Do you have any mints in that magic bag of your for the guys?”
Hannah stared at Rocco for a beat, not saying anything, and then rummaged through her bag. She retrieved a small clear plastic container and shook out a couple tiny white mints into Jake’s, Heath’s, and Luke’s hands.
Rocco walked up to Hannah with a smirk on his face. He held out his hand out, palm up. “Don’t I get some too?”
Hannah looked at Rocco with wide eyes and nodded. Luke saw her hand shake slightly as she shook three mints into Rocco’s palm.
Rocco popped them in his mouth. “Mmmm.”
Hannah gasped, blushing even harder and turned to leave. “I’ll be back soon to get you all,” she said and dashed out the door.
“Damn, Roc. Get a room, why don’t you?” Luke laughed and winked at his uncle.
“What are you talking about?” Rocco crunched his mints with gusto.
Darren rolled his eyes. “Come on, Rocco, you’re obviously interested in the woman. From what I saw, Hannah appears interested in you as well.”
Rocco shook his head. “No sir, not interested.”
Darren grunted. “You should be. Hannah’s an amazing young woman. She’s bright, educated, a hard worker, and as lovely as can be. I happen to know she’s not seeing anyone seriously at the moment. There were sparks between you, don’t deny it.”
“No, sir, there most definitely were not. I was just giving her a hard time is all. She’s a bit bossy.” Rocco pulled out a bottle of water from the beer cooler and chugged half of it down in two gulps. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Heath’s not seeing anyone, maybe he should ask her out.”
Jake took the bottle from Rocco and chugged down the rest. He shook his head. “No, Heath is interested in Leah.”
Darren clapped Heath on the shoulder, smiling. “That’s wonderful. The girl adores you. Always has. Good for you.”
“No, not back to this. I’m not interested in Leah like that. I told you. And even if I were, and I’m not, I wouldn’t do that to you.” Heath looked to Luke for support. He just smiled back at him and shook his head.
“And I told you that I wouldn’t stand in your way if you wanted to pursue Leah. I know somewhere along the way your feelings for her changed. You stopped thinking of her as an annoying little sister and started thinking about her as a woman.”
Heath frowned and looked down at his shoes, seeming embarrassed. “Jake, Leah and I together isn’t a good idea and I won’t do anything that could ruin our friendship.”
Darren stood in front of Heath and placed his hands on his shoulders. “Look at me, Heath. That girl has loved you all her life. Before she knew or understood what love was.”
Heath blew out a breath and raised his head. “I don’t think I’d be good for her. She can do a lot better than me. And what if things didn’t work out? I don’t want to ruin a lifelong friendship.”
It hurt Luke to know Heath thought so little of himself. As far as he was concerned, any woman would be lucky to have him. He was a good man.
“Bullshit,” Rocco said. “You’re more than good enough for Leah.”
“She deserves someone whole,” Heath whispered.
Jake motioned to Darren, and he stepped aside. Jake looked Heath in the eyes. “None of us are perfect, Heath. A good woman will love us flaws and all. Mine does. She trusted me enough to wait until I felt confident I could provide for us. I knew there were people who tried to convince her to leave me. Tried to convince her I was just stringing her along. But she loves me and stuck with me.”
