Page 71 of Falling for the Billionaire Best Man

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KAISEN

Sunday night, after spending half the day with Dorie, I called her. The phone rang and rang, but she didn’t answer. I sent her a text, hoping to get a response.

Hey, just checking in. Had a great time today.

I waited an hour and still didn’t get a response. Still, nothing. I told myself she was probably busy, that she’d get back to me later. I didn’t want to hound her. She had all the wedding stuff to deal with.

Besides, my hands were full with Liam and Marcus. I wasn’t sure how I landed on babysitting duty but it kept me surprisingly busy.

By Monday, I was starting to get antsy when I didn’t hear from her. Not even a return text or a like on the messages I sent. I called again, left a voicemail, sent another text.

Still nothing.

Tuesday came and went the same way.

By Wednesday, I was officially worried, though I tried not to show it. I had Cullen and the guys to deal with, after all. Golf, wedding prep, and all the other nonsense that came with being the best man. But my mind kept drifting back to Dorie. What had I done wrong?

I thought about going to the bakery, but something told me she wouldn’t appreciate that. If she wasn’t returning my calls, I doubted she wanted me dropping in on her. It was pretty clear she didn’t want anything to do with me.

I knew she wasn’t in the hospital or anything. If there had been an emergency, Cullen would have told me but I’d heard nothing about her. And I was too much of a chicken shit or maybe too proud to ask him directly if he knew what was going on.

Now it was Thursday morning, and I was on my way to the airport with Marcus and Liam. This was supposed to be a fun weekend. But I couldn’t stop staring at my phone.

The sleek black car pulled to a stop just outside the private hangar, parking alongside the jet waiting on the tarmac. Marcus and Liam were already piling out of the car, laughing about something I hadn’t been paying attention to. My phone was still clutched in my hand, the screen dark and unresponsive. I’d sent Dorie one last text before we left to let her know I’d see her this weekend.

I assumed that was still the plan.

“Hey, Kaisen, you coming or what?” Marcus called over his shoulder, already halfway up the steps to the jet. He was grinning, clearly in high spirits for the trip. Liam was right behind him, pausing to take a selfie before climbing the stairs.

“Yeah,” I muttered, shoving my phone into my pocket and following them. The interior of the jet was all plush leather seats and gleaming wood accents. I had chosen every detail when I bought it a few years back.

I slid into a seat by the window, my mind still stuck on Dorie. What had gone wrong? Things had been good. More than good. She’d seemed happy when I left her on Sunday. Or at least I thought she had.

The first stop was New York. We had a final tux fitting today before the wedding, and then it was off to Atlantic City for the bachelor/bachelorette weekend. But I couldn’t focus on any of that. All I could think about was Dorie.

I typed out another text, my fingers hovering over the screen. What did I do wrong? I hit send, but I already knew I wasn’t going to get a response. I’d been ghosted before—hell, I’d ghosted plenty of people myself—but this felt different.

This hurts.

And I hated that it hurt.

Cullen plopped down in the seat opposite me. “This is really awesome,” he said. “Thanks for letting us tag along on your fancy plane.”

“Of course,” I said with a smile I only half felt. “All part of my best man duties. We travel in style.”

“More like you don’t want to fly commercial,” he joked.

“No one wants to fly commercial. Anyone with a choice would pick this.”

He gave me another look. “What’s your deal, man?” he asked. “You look like you took Old Yeller behind the barn. Are you sick?”

“I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?”

I shook my head and leaned back in my seat with a sigh. “It’s nothing. Just work stuff.”