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“Las Vegas?” Aiden asked curiously, glancing at Dylan. “What for?”
“I have a meeting with the marketing manager at a small boutique hotel and casino off the strip who’s interested in creating an app for their guests to enhance their gambling experience. They want to hammer out the last of the details of our contract so I can get started on the project.” It was another lucrative deal to add to Stone Media’s list of clients. “Since Eric and I are the only single guys left, we’ll go and live it up for those of you who are now wearing a ball and chain.”
Aiden glanced at the beautiful woman holding their baby, then back to Dylan with a smile. “I wouldn’t trade what I have with Daisy for anything, even if it does mean wearing a so-called ball and chain. You two have no idea what you’re missing out on.”
Dylan grinned back at his blissfully happy brother, who not so long ago would have balked at the idea of being tied down. “Who are you, and what have you done with my brother Aiden?” he teased.
“Hey, everyone,” Serena’s familiar voice rang out, slightly breathless and husky, drawing Dylan’s attention to the direction of the feminine sound as she and her date joined their family circle, which she’d always been a part of. “We took a wrong turn and I’m glad we figured it out because I’d be crushed if I missed the ceremony.”
Dylan barely held back a smirk. Clearly, her date was the directionally challenged one and had made the wrong turn, and a small, stupid part of him took pleasure in that flaw. Especially considering the man who had his hand resting very intimately on the base of Serena’s spine was tall, good-looking, and well put together with no outward imperfections to be found.
As for Serena, well, she looked stunningly beautiful in a pale pink dress that was classy yet subtly sexy in the way the off-the-shoulder design exposed her smooth, creamy skin and hinted at the soft upper swells of her breasts. She’d worn her hair in an upswept style with a few wavy strands framing her face, and Dylan was struck with the annoying thought that later tonight her date just might be the lucky bastard who got to pull out the pins holding all that soft, glorious hair in place.
“We have about ten more minutes before we have to be seated,” Dylan’s mother, Gra
ce, said amicably, her gaze lighting up with interest as she gave Serena’s date a curious once-over. “Who is this handsome man you’re with?”
“This is Ashton Carlyle,” Serena said, then went on to introduce him to each person by name, which the guy acknowledged with a friendly handshake.
Dylan was the last one to greet him, and had to admit that he had a strong, firm grip that commanded respect. Begrudgingly, Dylan gave the other man his approval as Serena’s date. For now.
“Let me have that sweet girl,” Serena said, taking Isabella from Daisy and holding her on one hip as she cooed nonsensical things to the baby that made Isabella’s eyes widen in glee.
The little girl loved Serena and lit up whenever she saw her. And every time Dylan watched his best friend with Isabella, he felt a weird pang in his chest he did his best to ignore because he didn’t want to acknowledge what it all might mean. Having babies was what Serena longed for, it was what she deserved after her own tumultuous family life, but kids were not on Dylan’s radar, which was not an issue for him since he’d have plenty of nieces and nephews to spoil.
Her date, clearly uninterested in the baby, turned toward the group of guys, his gaze landing on Dylan. “Serena tells me that you’re childhood friends and you grew up next to one another.”
Dylan refrained, just barely, from correcting the other man about the status of their relationship, that they’d been best friends all their lives, and still were, but knew that would just be petty when he seemed like a decent guy. “Yep. She’s a fantastic girl, so make sure you treat her right, or you’ll have to answer to me,” he said, joking. Sort of.
Ashton laughed lightly. “Duly noted, though I have to point out that those sexy curves of hers say she’s more of a woman than a girl, so treating her right will be no problem at all,” he replied, kidding right back. Sort of.
Dylan frowned at the inappropriate innuendo in his words, then told himself to lighten up and to stop trying to find fault with the guy.
“The music for the ceremony is starting, so we should take our seats,” Grace suggested, and they all headed toward the wooden chairs set up on the lawn in front of a big, white gazebo decorated in white and pink flowers, where the seating for the nuptials was open and casual.
Dylan found himself seated beside Eric in the row behind his mother and Charles, Daisy and Aiden, with Serena and her date positioned directly in front of his chair. They were seated for only a few minutes before his brother, Leo, took his place up on the gazebo in front of the minister, then faced the guests as he waited for his bride to appear. The couple had opted for a small, intimate ceremony, with just close friends and family in attendance. They’d also decided to forego the fanfare of having bridesmaids and best men, which was why he, Aiden, and Eric were sitting out in the audience, which was fine with him.
Instead of having wedding-day jitters, Leo beamed like he was the luckiest man on the planet, and as soon as Dylan got a glimpse of Peyton, stunningly beautiful in a simple but elegant white wedding gown as she walked down the aisle with her father escorting her, it became obvious how much Leo adored the woman who’d made him believe in love again after being jilted a few years before.
The ceremony itself was short and sweet, and throughout the service, Dylan didn’t miss the way Serena dabbed at her eyes with a tissue, or her soft sniffles as the couple exchanged their vows, or how her date took her hand and gave it a gentle, affectionate squeeze as if to let her know he was aware of her emotions and feelings.
Ugh. Okay, fine, maybe he was a nice guy after all.
After Leo and Peyton were pronounced husband and wife, and after walking back down the aisle together while everyone clapped and cheered, the couple was whisked away for photos while all the guests migrated to the other end of the yard, where appetizers and an open bar awaited them, before a sit-down dinner was served.
Dylan ended up at a table with his family, which included Serena and her date, though thankfully Ashton guided the two of them to the seats across from Dylan and beside Aiden, because Dylan wasn’t in the mood to make small talk with the other man. But that didn’t stop him from eavesdropping on their conversation as his brother and Serena’s date exchanged work-related stories, with Aiden as an ad executive and Ashton as a pharmaceutical rep, while Serena conversed with Grace, who was seated next to her.
During the course of the meal, it didn’t escape Dylan’s notice that Ashton went through two gin and tonics, when he’d already consumed two others during the appetizer round. But the guy held his liquor well because his speech never wavered and he seemed in complete control of his faculties. It was impressive . . . and worrisome because Serena had ridden to the wedding with him and he was also her ride home at the end of the night.
For the rest of the evening, Dylan sat on the sidelines and continued to surreptitiously watch the other man, who always seemed to have a drink in his hand, except for the times that he was out on the dance floor with Serena, when his hands were on her, instead, as he whispered things that made her laugh and smile and blush in his attempt to charm the panties off of her later.
Dylan’s stomach burned with . . . acid. Yeah, that’s what it had to be. A case of heartburn that had nothing to do with the certain green-eyed monster lurking inside him.
While Serena was distracted watching along with everyone else as Peyton and Leo cut their cake, her date made another quick trip to the open bar and downed his drink before joining her again, keeping her oblivious to just how much alcohol he was consuming. Then they were back out on the dance floor enjoying the lively, energetic music along with the other couples, including Daisy and Aiden, while his mother and Charles watched Isabella, and even Eric, who’d persuaded a guest from the bride’s side of the family to join in on the fun.
Three or four songs later, Ashton and Serena took a break. As they held hands, the other man spun her around until she was laughing breathlessly, face flushed pink, then they reached the table where Dylan had been sitting and observing from afar.
“I could use a drink,” Ashton said, not a hint of a slur in his speech, or any other indication that he’d imbibed too much. “Either of you want something from the bar?”
