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“It means he has his shit together. Ashton is in his early thirties, has a stable, great-paying job, and he just bought his own place, which already makes him a better catch than Darren.” She grinned.
Serena still wasn’t convinced. If the guy was such a catch, then why was he still single? Ugh. See, this was what she’d been reduced to . . . being cynical about men. But she knew her judgment of Ashton wasn’t fair, because the same could be said for her. She’d like to think that she had a lot of favorable qualities to offer a man, but she was still unmarried, as well, with a long list of terminated relationships to her credit. So, really, who was she to be a critic?
The recess bell rang, indicating that break time was nearly over. Within a few minutes, her kids would be lined up outside the classroom and hopefully ready to focus on math for the next forty minutes.
“Quit overthinking things, Serena,” Chelsea said, trying to diffuse her hesitation. “It’s not an actual date and there’s no pressure. You’re just meeting Ashton at a casual barbeque, and if the two of you hit it off, great. If not, no big deal.”
And maybe, if she was really lucky, she’d have a date to take with her to Leo and Peyton’s upcoming wedding. “Fine. Okay,” she finally relented as she headed for the back door to let in her class. “I’ll go to your barbeque this weekend and meet Ashton.”
And hoped she didn’t end up regretting her decision.
3
“Two down, one to go,” Aiden, Dylan’s oldest sibling, said with a too jovial slap on Dylan’s back. “Your turn is next, little brother.”
Dylan refrained, just barely, from rolling his eyes at Aiden, who was deliriously, happily married and now believed both of his brothers needed to be experiencing the same marital bliss, as well. Before his wife, Daisy, had come along, Aiden had been just as guarded and skeptical about committing himself to one woman, so it was almost amusing that he was now championing the union of marriage.
The same could be said for Dylan’s other brother, Leo, who’d once been stood up at the altar and had experienced his share of heartbreak, yet had managed to somehow give love another try with Peyton. Today the two of them were getting hitched in Peyton’s parents’ backyard in a small outdoor ceremony and reception, so of course, love was in the air, and Aiden apparently thought it was important to remind Dylan that he, too, could find the love of his life.
“I’m one hundred percent happy living life as a bachelor,” he told his older brother, because it was true for the most part. “I’ve got a great job that I love, I come and go as I please, and since you’ve produced a grandchild for mom to dote on, I’m off the hook for that, too.”
At the mention of Aiden’s kid, Dylan followed his brother’s gaze as he glanced at his wife, Daisy, who was standing a few feet away with their mother, Grace, and her boyfriend, Charles, as the trio entertained the admittedly adorable baby in Daisy’s arms with tickles and exaggerated baby talk conversation. At six months old, little Isabella Stone was all big blue eyes and chubby cheeks, with a gregarious personality that even Dylan found irresistible.
Aiden pushed back the sides of his suit jacket and slid his hands into his slacks pockets, a ridiculously sappy smile on his face. “Daisy is the best thing to ever happen to me, and that little girl has completely stolen my heart in ways I didn’t even think possible.”
Yeah, his brother was completely and totally whipped by the two ladies in his life. “I agree, she is kinda cute. Isabella, I mean,” he clarified, deliberately alluding to a private joke between them, the one that reminded Aiden that Dylan had almost asked Daisy out on a date before he’d known that his brother had already knocked her up. Yeah . . . talk about awkward.
“Ha, ha,” Aiden said in a droll tone. “Very funny.”
Dylan pulled his cell phone from his pocket to check the time, then glanced around the backyard. In fifteen minutes, they all needed to take their seats for the ceremony, and Serena had yet to arrive with her date . . . Asher or Ashby or Ashley or some other pretentious name like that. It was Serena’s second official outing with the guy she’d been introduced to by her friend, Chelsea, and when he’d texted Serena a few nights ago to ask how things were going with her latest beau, her reply had been really good with a big smiley face. She’d also used other mundane words, like great guy and really nice, which sounded boring as hell. The guy sounded like a certified yawner to him.
“Looking for someone?” Aiden asked.
Dylan shifted his gaze back to his brother. “No,” he lied. “Why?”
Aiden smirked knowingly. “Because you keep looking at the time on your phone, then glancing toward the gate leading to the backyard for the ceremony. If you’re so concerned about Serena making it to the wedding on time, you should have brought her as your date. As a friend, of course,” he amended, though Dylan didn’t miss the mocking inflection in his voice.
Dylan kept his expression impassive, refusing to play into his brother’s suggestion. Everyone was aware of how Serena felt about him, and they all thought he was dense for not seeing it himself, but that’s where they were wrong. His friendship with her was a hard line he refused to cross, because he was definitely not the whole package she was searching for, and losing her was something he would never risk.
“The only thing I’m worried about is making sure there’s a cold beer on tap waiting for me after this ceremony is over,” he replied, just as Eric Miller, Leo’s good friend and business partner, joined them.
“Did someone say cold beer?” Eric said jovially, a big grin on his face. “Point the way.”
“After the wedding,” Aiden said, sounding like the stern older brother he was.
Eric laughed and shook his head. “Jesus, being a husband and a father has made you a total stick-in-the-mud.”
“No I’m not,” Aiden replied, clearly annoyed by the unflattering characterization.
“Yeah, you kind of are,” Dylan agreed, trying not to laugh at the offended look on his brother’s face. “I mean, who plans a night of playing pool at a pub for a guy’s bachelor party? Not a stripper in sight. That’s the definition of a stick-in-the-mud if you ask me.”
Aiden frowned at Dylan. “It’s what Leo wanted.”
“That’s what he said he wanted,” Eric cut in. “But come on, you could have livened things up with a little . . . entertainment.”
“And that’s the difference between men who are in committed relationships with great women and boys who still want to play around,” Aiden said. “We don’t feel the need to gawk at strange women stripping off their clothes when we’re perfectly happy and content with what we have at home.”
Eric slapped Aiden good-naturedly on the back. “Don’t worry about it, old man. Dylan and I are heading to Vegas next weekend and we’ll more than make up for the lack of entertainment at Leo’s bachelor party while we’re there.”
