AllFreeNovel
Share Us
In a manoeuvre I can only imagine the mother of twin boys must find useful, Alicia curls one of her hands around my right bicep and the other around Jack’s left one and propels us toward the aisle, only dropping her grip once she’s sure we’re walking in the right direction. “Go. Wait at the front.”
Not wanting to risk any more of Alicia’s wrath, I hurry towards the front of the aisle with Jack hot on my heels. Our appearance at the front seems to work like some sort of cue and the guests who’d been milling around talking all hurry to drop into the seats that have been set up on either side of the aisle. It’s not a huge crowd—probably not as big as it would have been if the wedding had been in Melbourne—but there are still about sixty or so people eager to see Xav and Trent tie the knot.
Everyone stands as the grooms make their way down the aisle to the tune of “Missing Piece” by Vance Joy. A wide grin spreads across my face as I watch my best mate approach, hand in hand with the guy he’s about to marry. Xav looks so fucking happy right now, I’m pretty sure it’s contagious.
I spare a brief glance at Jack across the aisle, and the smile slips from my face. He’s not even looking at Trent and Xav. His gaze is fixed out on the water, his jaw set hard. I give a frustrated shake of my head and tear my eyes away. I amnotgoing to let Jack Macey ruin today.
Fortunately, Trent and Xav seem to only have eyes for each other, so they don’t notice Jack being a little bitch. And when I glance his way again, his attention is all for the happy couple, a warm smile in place.
AS SOON AS the ceremony is over, drinks start flowing and servers start moving around with a variety of appetisers that all taste like heaven. It doesn’t take long for the elegant wedding to transform into a heaving party, complete with a live band, drunken singalongs, and aStrictly Ballroomroutine by Xav’s parents that I’d prefer to block from my mind.
“Isn’t that the other best man?” my sister Vanessa asks me, her brows drawn together in curiosity as she gazes across the party.
“Huh? Where?”
“Ove there.” She gives a vague gesture. “Chucking his guts up on the sand.”
I peer through the throng of guests to where she’s pointing and spot a lone figure hunched over in the sand. It is indeed Jack, tossing up everything he’s eaten and drunk tonight.
“You should go help him,” she urges.
I recoil at the suggestion. “What? No. I can’t stand that guy. And the feeling’s mutual.”
“He’s Trent’s best friend,” Vanessa points out.
“He’s also the guy who left Xav at the altar.”
She rolls her eyes. “If Xav can get over that, I think
you can.”
Knowing she’s not going to drop this until I agree to help, I let out a groan of frustration and set my beer down. “You’re so fucking annoying.”
“Love you too, big brother,” she calls after me as I stomp off toward Jack, who’s still crumpled on the sand at the edge of the party. When I get to him, I reach out and give his shoulder a firm shake. “Hey. Think it’s time you called it a night.”
Either my presence startled him, or my touch of his shoulder was harder than intended, because the next thing I know, I’m staring at a guy who’s just collapsed into a pile of his own vomit.
“Ah, bloody hell,” I groan, cursing the way my little sister has me wrapped around her finger. “You’re thirty- seven, Macey. Don’t you have any fucking control?”
“Don’t judge me,” he mutters, falling onto his back and staring up at me with what I’m pretty sure is supposed to be a glare but doesn’t have much real feeling behind it. “If you had to watch the love of your life get married to someone else, you’d want to get wasted too.”
I feel a curl of indignation spreading through my chest. Is he seriously going to sit there and play the victim right now? Thelove of his life? That’s the biggest load of bull I’ve ever heard. “Is that why you left him at the altar? Because youlovedhim too much?”
Jack blinks at me in confusion, as if I’m the one who’s being ridiculous. “What?”
“Xavier,” I growl, my protective instincts shifting up to first gear. I’m not going to let this arsehole come along with his sob story and mess with my best mate’s head. Not when Xav’s so happy with Trent now. “You had your chance with him and you fucked it up, so—”
“Don’t want Xavier,” Jack says in a quiet voice, his head shaking. “Thought he could help. But it didn’t work. Nothing ever works.”
And the penny finally drops...Jack’s in love with Trent? That... makes so much more sense if we’re being honest. Something hits me in the gut that feels a whole lot like... sympathy. But that can’t be right. This is Jack Macey we’re talking about. I can’t fucking stand this guy. What the hell should I care if he’s suffering?
I don’t. I really, really don’t. Except that...ah, fuck. He looks so bloody pathetic. Like a wounded puppy with those big, dark eyes shining, and tears clinging to his ridiculously long eyelashes.
“Come on,” I grumble, managing to haul him to his feet. I prod him forward, but he starts to stumble, prompting me to reach out and tug him roughly against me so I can help him along. “I swear to god, Macey, if you chunder on me, I’ll kill you.”
“So mean,” he mumbles. “Trent’s never mean like you are. He’s always nice. He always takes care of me...”
“Yeah, okay, how about we shut it with the I Heart Trent stuff for the moment?”
