Tyler tried to wade through his shock to form a semi-intelligent response, but yeeeeeah, not fucking happening.“Okay, but you have, you know, actual brothers.”As tight as Tyler and Ryan were, he would never step on Jack or Miguel’s toes.
“I do,” Ryan said, nodding.“Three of them, if you count Grace’s husband, Patrick.”Grace was Ryan’s older sister, rounding out the five Dempsey children.“But I don’t want to choose between them, and they’ll all be in the wedding party, along with Hawk and Faurier and Maxwell.”
Well, that last part tracked.Tyler couldn’t imagine Addison getting married without her detective partner, Shawn Maxwell, standing somewhere at her side, even though the thought of the huge, inked up guy in a formal suit was a little wild.
“Anyway,” Ryan said, “through thick and thin, when actual life and death shit hits the fan, you’ve always got my back.You’re the best person I know.Of course, I want you to be my best man, Tyler.But I’ve given this a lot of thought, and it’s literally going to be the most important moment of my life.It would mean everything to have you right there next to me.”
Tyler’s heart slammed against his rib cage.Hehatedweddings.As in, they ranked right up there with being attacked by hornets or contracting an acute case of jock itch.But being Ryan’s best man was a whole different level of fuck-me.If Tyler said yes, he would be on the hook for much more than just attending the wedding and hiding out in the back of the room, like he’d planned.He would have to organize a bachelor party.He’d have to smile for pictures.Christ, he’d probably have to make a toast in celebration of the sort of happily ever after he didn’t believe in.The thought of all those capital-F Feelings sat in his stomach like wet cement.
“Are you sure you don’t want someone with more experience?”Tyler asked.“Like you said, it’s going to be the most important moment of your life.”
Ryan laughed.“Pretty sure no one has more experience being my best friend than you, jackass.Of course, I’m sure.”Sobering, he said, “Look, I know weddings aren’t your thing, and I get why.After what happened with your parents…well, I’d understand if you need to pass.”
“No.”The word fired past Tyler’s lips.He might have damn good reasons for hating weddings, but Ryan was right.Theywerebest friends.Tyler wasn’t going to leave him high and dry the way his deadbeat father had left his mom.Ryan had been there for Tyler, no matter the ask, since goddamn high school.Tyler needed to start acting like it, even if that meant sucking up his aversion to nuptials.
“I don’t want to pass.I’ve got your back,” he said, slapping on a smile and reaching out to shake Ryan’s hand.“Just as long as you’re okay having a jackass for a best man.Dickhead.”
“Thanks, man.”Ryan grinned and clapped him on the back.“I knew I could count on you.”
“Always, brother,” Tyler said, and that, he meant.
Ryan’s hand returned to the back of his neck, the tell sending Tyler right back to full alert.“Right.Uh, thereisa little bit of a catch.”
“A catch,” Tyler repeated.This couldn’t bode well.
“Yeah.”Ryan stretched the word over two beats.“So, you know how we’ve been planning a November wedding?Well, there was a bit of a mix-up with the reception venue.They accidentally double-booked the date.”
Even Tyler, who avoided weddings with the power and intensity of ten thousand screaming-hot suns, knew that was bad.“Oh, shit.”
Ryan nodded.“Exactly.They asked us if we’d consider rescheduling—at a significant discount, of course.The wedding’s not going to be huge, and we were able to juggle the important stuff, like the church and Addison’s dress, so we figured, why not?The sooner the better.”
Wait… “How soon?”
“Four weeks.”
Tyler resisted the urge to choke on his tongue.Cool.Cool.You need to keep your fucking cool.“Wow.That’s, ah, really soon.”
“I know, but it’s all coming together pretty well, and honestly”—he broke off with a sheepish grin—“we don’t want to wait.I swear I won’t hang a bunch of work on you, though.We’ve already taken care of changing the date for everything.Therewillbe some stuff to do, but the best man duties shouldn’t be too much of a pain in the ass.”
Best man duties.Christ, he was out of his depth.“I’ve never been a best man before.You’re probably going to have to give me a list of things you want me to take care of.”
Okay, so maybe he’d have to hang onto Addison’s ring until the ceremony and, yeah, making that toast was probably inevitable.But Tyler had never made a habit of losing his shit when things got critical.He wasn’t about to start now.He could figure this out.
“Ah, I can do you one better than that,” Ryan said, his expression brightening.“You’re going to have your very own partner in crime.”
The words had no sooner left Ryan’s mouth than a very familiar white MINI Cooper pulled into the parking area in front of the fire house, and avery,very familiar redhead got out of the driver’s seat.
Oh, no.No, no, no, no…
“Hey, sis,” Ryan called out, waving to his sister as she started heading their way, then turning toward Tyler.“Chloe’s our maid of honor.Addison and I had planned on a joint bachelor and bachelorette party since we have one common group of friends.It’s booked for two weeks from now.We still need to get some of the details hammered out, but you and Chloe can work together to make it easier.Divide and conquer.”
“Great,” Tyler somehow managed to say as Chloe walked up, her long legs encased in a pair of impeccably broken-in jeans and her flowy pink tank top swishing perfectly around her curves as she moved.Her red-gold hair was up in a twist on top of her head, a few pieces spiraling out to frame her face.Her mouth—please just kill him now—was dialed in to a smile that stopped just shy of her big, blue eyes as soon as she saw Tyler, and oh, hell, he was absolutely hosed.
He needed to keep his distance from Chloe if he had a snowball’s chance in hell of ever forgetting their kiss.And now, not only did they need to plan a party together, but he had to literally walk down the aisle with her.
“Hey, Ry,” Chloe said from a few paces away, flashing her genuine smile for a beat before cooling it right back off as she looked at him.“Hello, Tyler.”She didn’t meet Tyler’s eyes, but she also didn’t give him the finger or run screaming, so at least there was that.
“You have great timing,” Ryan said, pulling her into a hug as she reached the entrance to the engine bay, a.k.a.the spot where Tyler was currently praying for a fault in the earth to swallow him alive.“I was just filling Tyler in on the plans for the bachelor and bachelorette party.”
