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Todd’s brother, Lucas, could pass as Todd’s twin but the brothers had completely different personalities. Todd had a dry sense of humor, but also, he was a straight shooter, calling the shots like he saw them. Lucas was a flirt who talked constantly about sport stats.
Lucas waved to her, his roving gaze lingering
Ava waved back, hoping to keep her distance. She liked him even less right now because he would stand up as best man for Todd, while she held the position as…what had Brock called her? Groomsgal? The only female in the wedding party, she gathered, with a dozen other guys, men she’d briefly met last night.
“Brock is calling us over.” Todd strode in his fiancé’s direction. “We’ll talk later.”
Ava joined the wedding party, following instructions like a good soldier, standing where told to while the wedding planner ran the show. Wesley as Brock’s groomsmen turned out to be her counterpart. It felt surreal walking down the open-air aisle with him. Wesley took advantage of standing too close to her whenever directed to pair up, but she didn’t mind because he smelled amazing after a shower, fresh and citrusy. Not even the pungent ocean air could mask it. After the rehearsal, the wedding planner directed them toward the house.
“Time for dinner.” Todd ushered her along, forcing her to separate from Wesley. “Never a dull moment.”
Ava wanted to dig in her heels, not ready to drown in another social event. She’d hardly spoken to Todd since arriving at Bluff House, and it’d been weeks before that. When would she get a chance to chat with him? Nothing could be discussed with the wedding party clustered around them.
The dining table, set for a royal family, sparkled with silver serving ware and candlelight. Ava snagged a seat next to Todd, across from Rosa and her husband Cliff. She leaned toward her best friend, and commented, “This whole weekend is so extravagant. We never got this treatment in the army.”
Todd chuckled. “You don’t have to worry about that anymore.” He referred to her civilian life. “How’s everything going?”
“It’s still an adjustment.”
“So is marriage. We’re both moving on.”
Contemplating his words, she snickered at the contrast: her fumbling through motherhood and civilian life while he got married to a multi-millionaire.
Wesley, seated next to Brock’s vivacious Latina neighbor Rosa, seemed to be mucking it up, his smile ear to ear. Ava noticed the niggling of something in her chest. If she had experience in the love department, she’d think the something might be jealousy.Weird.Wesley turned out to be great once she’d gotten to know him, but friendship marked their relationship. After tomorrow, he’d be a distant acquaintance.
Still, her gaze shifted from Wesley to Rosa, until Wesley caught her eye.
“I haven’t seen you so interested in a man since that time in—”
Ava swung her head at Todd so fast he moved back from her ear with haste, and he took the whack to his shoulder with a big, smug grin.
“Shush. And you agreed that guy looked like Jason.” Between them, they referred to her hunky movie star crush by first name. “And you’re wrong about…” she glanced across the finely set table toward Wesley, “about whatever you’re thinking.”
“I heard you went for a run earlier. And you weren’t alone.”
“So?”
“And I also heard you took off with a guest last night.”
“Yeah, well, there is more to that story. But we need to talk in private.”
It took a lot to shock Todd. And as crazy as getting this tattoo turned out to be, the one redeeming thing about it was that it would shock the shit out of him. She’d relish the moment with glee. So, she definitely couldn’t tell him here and now at the table. Oh hell no. But she desperately wanted to confide in her best friend. “Let’s talk later.”
Todd’s attention was fortunately stolen by his groom, who dressed in a pastel-pink suit accented with a hot-pink bowtie; otherwise, he might have dragged her from the room, demanding to know what secrets she hid.
“Ava,” called a husky, accented voice from across the table.
Rosa wore a tight bronze mini-dress, the color as rich and warm as her brown eyes and thick, dark hair. The woman placed her jeweled-clad hand on Wesley’s shoulder. “This guy!” She chuckled. “I’ve heard all about his video game empire. He told me you’re a fan.”
Ava’s eyes widened, wondering why he’d say so. Sure, she knew the game, played it before with Jack—but a fan?
“Yeah.” She shrugged. “What can I say?” Ava had to keep her eyes from narrowing in Wesley’s direction at his play to draw her into his conversation. “It’s great.”
It surprised her that she’d kept the sarcasm from her voice considering that was a mechanism she used when cornered. But she supposed since the elemental dragon game was kind of ingenious, a gleam of truth must have shined through.
Wesley tapped his chest with two fingers, saying, “I have my brand logo, an ouroboros, which is a dragon in a circle, tattooed over my heart.”
Ava squirmed at the mention of his tattoo, not wanting anyone to know she had the same one. Then, to Ava’s horror, Wesley had the gall to wink at her. Cold fear ran down her spine.Would he bring up her new ink?
