Page 115 of Falling for the Billionaire Best Man

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KAISEN

Igrabbed another glass of scotch from the bar and slipped out of the reception, the cool air hitting me like a slap in the face. The music and laughter faded behind me as I made my way down to the beach. The sound of the ocean did little to drown out the revelry behind me. I needed space. I needed to breathe.

I hated feeling like this. I couldn’t even describe what this was. I felt twisted. Like my insides had been rearranged and put back in the wrong place. I had woken up every day for the last thirty-four years and had known I was Kaisen Seely. The last couple days, I didn’t feel like that guy. I didn’t know who I was.

I took a sip of the scotch, the burn in my throat doing little to dull the ache in my chest. I’d seen Dorie dancing with that guy—Matt, I thought his name was—and she’d looked happy. Genuinely happy. And as much as I wanted to be the one making her smile like that, I knew I didn’t deserve it. Not after what I’d done. I’d been around Matt a few times before. He was a good dude. The kind of man that would make her happy.

I sat down in the sand. I didn’t care that I was wearing a tuxedo. The wedding was over, and the alcohol was flowing. No one was going to give a shit if I had sand on my ass. I stared out at the ocean, my mind racing. I’d really messed things up with her. I’d pushed her away, convinced myself it was the right thing to do, but now… now I wasn’t so sure. I didn’t know where to even begin to fix this, or if it was even possible.

I was lost in thought when Cullen sat down beside me.

“Hey,” he said, his voice quiet. “You okay?”

I shrugged, taking another sip of the scotch. “Yeah. Just needed some air.”

Cullen nodded, his eyes scanning the horizon. “Thanks for everything, man. Seriously. This wedding wouldn’t have happened without you.”

I forced a smile, though it felt hollow. “You’re welcome. I’m just glad it all came together.”

“Eliza’s thrilled,” he said. “I think the wedding more than came together. She thinks it’s perfect.”

“It was a nice ceremony,” I said. “And Eliza looked beautiful. You’re a lucky man.”

He laughed. It was the sound of a man that didn’t have a care in the world. A man that was staring down his happily ever after with the perfect woman for him.

Cullen chuckled again, shaking his head. “You know what the best part of the whole day was?” he asked, leaning back on his hands in the sand. “When the flower girl stopped halfway down the aisle, looked right at me, and started picking her nose like it was her full-time job.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, I saw that. She was really committed to it. Like she was mining for gold.”

“I told Eliza, and she was mortified,” Cullen said, grinning. “Her mother tried to signal Lulu’s mom to do something, but by the time anyone noticed, Lulu had already wiped it on her dress and kept going like nothing happened. Kid didn’t miss a beat.”

“Kids don’t care about weddings or decorum or any of that,” I said. “They just do what they want. It’s kind of refreshing. A little humor.”

We both fell into comfortable silence once again.

“What are you doing out here?” I asked. “Shouldn’t you be dancing with your wife?”

“I did. And I will. She’s my wife. We’re going to have the rest of our lives to hang out. I can take ten minutes to hang out with my best friend.”

“I think your new bride might beg to differ.”

“Did you see that cake?” he asked.

“Of course, I did.”

“That thing… shit, I don’t even know what to say about it. Did you actually help make it?”

I smiled at the memory of me helping. “I was on hand to fuck things up as much as possible for her. My contribution was sifting. Do you know what sifting is?”

He shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“Dorie said it makes a big difference in the cake texture.”

“Huh, had no idea. Did you taste it?”

“I did, you?”