Page 87 of Falling for the Billionaire Best Man

She stared at the floor before she finally looked at me. “I may have had a bit of a dramatic exit from the club,” she admitted.

“What does that mean?”

“I wasn’t enjoying myself.” She looked away again. “Okay, I was a little irritated by the way Samantha was talking about mounting you. And we had that fight. I was just in a really shitty mood. I didn’t want to bring the vibe down. I didn’t want to ruin her weekend so I left early.”

“Dorie, why do you guard Eliza’s feelings so hard? She’s your sister, not your mother. Your twin sister at that. Aren’t you guys supposed to have some twin telepathy? Couldn’t she understand why you were having a bad time?”

She looked up at me, her expression softening. “It’s complicated.”

“Tell me. Uncomplicate it.”

“Our parents were poor when we were growing up. They often had to choose between us—who got new clothes, who got to join sports, things like that. Eliza doesn’t act like it, but she’s sensitive. Like really sensitive. She always has been. She wears her heart on her sleeve. She feels everything. And I love her, so I want to protect her.”

I nodded, understanding a little better now. “That’s really sweet,” I said. “But you know you can’t protect her forever, right? At some point, you’ve got to start thinking about yourself. Life isn’t easy. She’s going to get her feelings hurt at some point.”

She blinked at me, like the concept was foreign to her. “I don’t know how to do that,” she admitted. “Cullen is going to be the one to protect her now, but until then, it’s me. I’m her sister and her maid of honor. It’s my job to make this wedding as stress-free as possible for her. Which is why I need to get dressed.”

“For now, just try not to stress so much about Eliza, okay? She’ll be fine. She’s going to get married. That’s the end game, right? A little stress never hurt anyone.”

She pulled away from me and got to her feet. “I really don’t want to be any later than I already am.”

She looked like a statue of a Greek goddess, all curvy and beautiful. The robe was hanging off one shoulder, revealing skin I had my lips on last night. I couldn’t help but admire her as she moved. “Dorie.”

“Yeah?”

“Come to my room tonight,” I said. “When you’re done making sure Eliza isn’t stressed, I’ll make sure you’re not stressed.”

She smiled. “I think that could be arranged.”

My phone buzzed on the nightstand where I had put it on the charger last night. Cullen’s name was on the screen. “Yeah?” I answered.

“Where the hell are you, man?” he asked. “We’re all waiting for you. When are you planning on joining us for the yacht excursion today?”

Shit. I had my own commitments.

“I’m coming,” I said.

“The bachelor party’s tonight, in case you forgot,” Cullen said dryly.

I groaned, running a hand over my face. “I didn’t forget,” I said, though honestly, I had been a little distracted. “I’ll be there soon. Just give me a minute to wake up.”

“You’d better hurry,” Cullen said. “We’re not waiting forever.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I muttered, ending the call and tossing it back onto the nightstand.

“See, I’m not the only one in trouble,” Dorie said with a laugh. “Get up, lazy bones. We’ve got a bride and groom waiting on us.”

I grinned and threw off the sheet. “Fine, but I’m going to see you tonight, right?”

“Assuming you’re not too drunk.”

“Don’t go eating all those suckers,” I joked. “Save yourself.”

Her face turned three shades of red. She tossed my shirt at me. “You’re terrible!”

“And you’re amazing.”