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She’d saved him from himself. Had he spoken to her at any length, he’d have confessed to missing her every single day.
It was best that Bree was there in California and he was in Vegas celebrating his best friend’s impending nuptials.
Wes had expended a tremendous amount of effort the past two days trying to be a proper best man. Immersing himself in the celebratory spirit. But he’d spent most of the weekend attempting to mask the cavernous hole Bree’s absence left in his heart.
Wes knocked on the door of Liam’s hotel suite. His friend answered the door in the midst of a video chat with his fiancée’s daughters, the two little girls he adored as if they were his own.
“Say hello to Uncle Wes.” Liam turned the phone toward him.
Sofia and Gabriella waved at him. “Hi, Uncle Wes!”
His mouth curled in an involuntary smile. His first genuine smile of the day. Since he’d been living in Pleasure Cove he’d gotten to know the girls and he now understood why Liam adored them.
He chatted with Sofie and Ella briefly before Liam finished his conversation and promised the girls he’d see them soon.
“Go ahead and say it, mate. They’ve got me wrapped around their little fingers.” Liam grinned.
“That’s like saying the earth is round. It’s already an established fact.” Wes sat on the huge sectional sofa, avoiding the cushion that reeked of beer. Liam’s brother, Hunter, had spilled some on it the night before. “Besides, I’m happy for you. You know that.”
“I do.” Liam poured each of them two fingers of Scotch, then handed him one. He sat in a nearby chair. “I also know you thought I’d gone off my trolley for giving up my confirmed bachelorhood to become an instant dad.”
“Also an established fact.” Wes chuckled softly, taking a sip of the premium Scotch—Liam’s preferred drink. “But I’m man enough to admit when I’m wrong.”
“I should expect an apology, should I?” Liam raised an eyebrow incredulously. “Well, for goodness sake, man, get on with it.”
“I honestly believed you’d be sacrificing your way of life and your independence when you took on Maya and her daughters. I was wrong. You weren’t giving up your life, you were gaining a fuller, richer life. One that’s made you happier than I’ve ever known you to be.”
“That’s saying a lot since we’ve known each other since we were thirteen.” Liam grinned. “I used to hear chaps say that some woman or other was the best thing that ever happened to them, and I’d think to myself they must have lived sad and dreary lives before marriage. But now I understand, because Maya and the girls are truly the best thing to ever happen to me.”
“No cold feet, then? Not even a little?”
“Not even the tiniest little bit.” A broad smile lit Liam’s eyes. “We already have such a wonderful life together. I look forward to making it official.”
“I envy you, my friend.”
“I’d much prefer you find your own.” Liam tilted his head as he assessed him. “Tell me this foul mood you’ve been in for the past few weeks has nothing to do with Bree returning to California.”
“Why would it?” Not a lie, simply a question.
“You tell me.” Liam wore a supremely smug expression.
“I know it’s your stag party weekend, but that doesn’t mean you get a pass on being a nosy, obnoxious bastard.” Wes finished his Scotch and set the glass on the table.
“No? Why should it be different from any other day?”
“Don’t tempt me to launch a lamp or something at that big head of yours.” Wes picked up a pillow and flung it at his friend and he tossed it back.
The lock clicked and Hunter stepped into the room along with Liam’s two brothers-in-law to-be, Nate Johnston and Dash Williams.
“Don’t remember seeing a pillow fight on the agenda for the weekend.” Hunter put two cases of bitter on the bar and plopped down on the sofa. “Are you two going to braid each other’s hair next?”
Wes and Liam picked up pillows and tossed them at Hunter simultaneously.
“Guess that makes us the only two grown-ups in the room,” Nate said to Dash, as he put a case of imported beer on the bar and sat on a bar stool.
