“They told me you’d tip,” the driver said when I rushed past.
I couldn’t help but laugh as I backtracked and pulled a fifty from my wallet.
Brady was yelling through the door when I caught up.
Pulling out my phone, I typed,You know, that wasn’t actually an invitation to steal our food. I was implying that you could feed your bridesmaids yourself. Maybe order your own pizza.
Joan: Oh. See, now, I didn’t take it that way at all. Sounded like you were offering.
I grinned.
Well, I’d wanted a distraction. I wasn’t thinking about standing up in front of all the Judds’ friends and family and making a fool of myself now.
Negotiations over the pizza were led by Joan and me. Brady and Mac were pretty worthless in that department. They mostly yelled insults through the door before Mac had stomped out to shout in Brady’s face. They’d ended up making out in the hallway while I retrieved three of the five pizzas I’d ordered.
Joan rolled her eyes at her brother and walked with me back toward the groom’s suite.
Her hair, makeup, and nails were done, but she wasn’t yet in her dress. Just like the rest of the women, she wore a silky robe that said “Maid of Honor” on the back. But with her long legs, it looked short as hell. I worked very hard to keep my eyes from drifting down over all the inches on display, and was proud of myself when I partially succeeded.
“You don’t need to be nervous, Ian.”
I glanced up in surprise. “I’m not nervous. I’m fine,” I lied. “Just like memorizing a script. A walk in the park.”
Joan gave me a look that clearly said,Cut the shit. Then she came right out and said, “Cut the shit.”
“How’d you know I was nervous?” I wondered, coming to a stop and leaning against the wall opposite the door to the suite.
Joan matched my casual pose, but her gaze—intense and unwavering—focused on mine.
“Because. I know you.” She said it so easily, so matter-of-factly, but there was nothing simple about it.
I didn’t know what to do with that sort of faith, that sort of steadfast confidence.
I know you.
I wasn’t sure if anyone else in this world could say the same. Somehow, this woman I’d met only a couple of months ago knew me better than anyone else.
I had employees and a team. I had people I paid to be in my life. My assistant, my agent, my manager, my trainer, Sophia, and Darren. Butthere weren’t friends—people I trusted with who I really was, deep down. Dorian Masters had plenty of colleagues. People he grabbed drinks with, caught up with, or saw in passing. But none of that was the same.
I realized I was staring down at the lid of the pizza box when Joan wrapped a hand around my forearm and squeezed. “If Candace didn’t want you officiating, you wouldn’t be. My sister is a people pleaser, Ian, but I am not. If she’d truly been unhappy, she would have asked me to let you down easy.”
That startled a laugh out of me. “Like her enforcer?”
Joan shrugged, but I could see amusement in her eyes. “That’s how she ended up with the flowers for her bouquet that sheactuallywanted. Not the ones Margaret wanted to sell her. It was also how she got the cake frosting she preferred, even though it’s a bitch to make. My sister isn’t great at being honest if she thinks it’s going to ruffle feathers, but I don’t have a problem telling people the truth. I may not be the warmest sister. I don’t sit around and gossip or do spa days like she probably wants. But I do make sure my family is happy, and that includes Candace getting the wedding of her dreams. If she couldn’t work up the nerve to demand it for herself, I’d gladly do it for her.”
I nodded, remembering my thoughts from earlier. Joan the fixer. Joan the trusted leader. It seemed that maybe I knew her the same way she knew me.
Smiling, I teased, “You would have broken my heart and kicked me out of the wedding if Candace had asked you to?"
“Without a second thought,” she admitted, with zero remorse. “But shedoeswant you here. Wants you to be a part of her and Mercer’s big day. And I’m glad for it. Because I know you’ll do a good job.”
“How do you know?” I asked, my voice hushed.
Maybe Joan heard the quiet desperation in my tone because her face gentled, her sharp gaze going soft as she really looked at me. “Because you care. It’s not just reading words off a page for them, and you know that.” She paused. “Plus, you’re the most charming motherfucker I’ve ever met, and I’ll deny ever saying that.”
My laughter was loud in the narrow hallway. “Thanks, Joanie.”
She nodded once, still smiling. “Now go eat the pizza that you wrestled away from those maniacs. We’ve worked hard on your stamina, but I don’t want you passing out at the altar from low blood sugar.”
