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That’s got to be it. No way is Riley Cooper’s best man, DR. Those aren’t even his initials. Not in the proper order, anyway.
But the way Goldie turns to Riley and wraps him in a tight, happy hug gives me a very bad feeling.
“DR!” she squeals. “I’m so glad you’re here. Seriously, you’re a magician. We can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done to make this week happen. Best best man ever!”
I cover my mouth with my hand at the same moment Riley’s eyes meet mine over Goldie’s shoulder. I see the same shock and softness in them that I did last night.
The same interest.
It kills me.
It fucking kills me.
I bolt for the bushes on the other side of the terrace. I make it just in time to lose my breakfast everywhere in hard, angry heaves.
seven
Riley
Second Chances
“Ohmigod Louise!” Goldie cries.
Coop’s fist flies to his mouth, his other hand going to his stomach. “Y’all, I do not do well with . . . that.”
Side-eyeing the groom-to-be, I hurry after Lu, Goldie hot on my heels. My chest tightens at the sight of her waif-like body trembling as she retches violently into the bushes. I gather her hair in one hand and hold it back. I place the other between her shoulder blades, gently flexing my fingers.
Her heart flaps against my palm like a panicked hummingbird.
I frown. “Let it all out. That’s it. You’re going to feel a helluva lot better when you’re done.”
Goldie tries to elbow me aside. “Let me, please.”
“Coop said you’ve had some nausea. This isn’t going to help.”
“Really, I can—”
“I got it,” I reply, not taking my eyes—or my hands—off Lu.
I feel responsible. We shouldn’t have served her last night. She was drunk when she walked into Stede’s, and absolutely shitfaced when she left.
It’s an awful feeling, waking up with a full-body hangover. I’d know. I spent the better part of nineteen and twenty not knowing if—when—I’d vomit up what I drank the night before.
Also. Lu only tossed her cookies when I showed up.
Really, when Goldie called me “the best best man.”
Fuck me, Lu is Goldie’s maid of honor.
That’s why she’s here at The Ocean Club. Cooper told me Goldie enlisted her maid of honor’s help this week because Goldie wasn’t feeling 100%.
He never mentioned her name. To be fair, this whole thing was very last minute. The calls I’ve had with Coop have been quick and to the point. Clearing schedules, booking venues. Basically figuring out how to pull off a wedding on Bald Head, a popular wedding destination, with one month’s notice. I called in a lot of favors, this being one of them. Luckily I’m tight with the Club’s manager.
My heart skips a beat. If Lu is the maid of honor, and I’m the best man, that means we’re going to be spending a lot of time together this week.
A lot.
Coop already took me up on my offer to host the joint bachelor/bachelorette party on Dolly tomorrow. Obviously there’s the wedding here at the Club. And then there’s the rehearsal, and the cocktail party after the rehearsal dinner at Stede’s.
My heart skips another beat. And another.
I said I didn’t need to see Lu again. But here I am, very much into the idea of seeing Lu again all damn week.
What the actual fuck?
But this excitement I feel, it has a sharp edge. Nervousness. She made it crystal clear last night just how much she hates me. I don’t want to ruin her week by being around. I also don’t want to let Cooper down by not showing up.
Not sure what I should do here.
“I’m so sorry,” Lu says between retches. “This is—shit.”
She heaves one last time before gasping for a deep, shaking breath.
“Nothing to apologize for. We’ve all been there.”
“Not me,” Coop says proudly.
“You just stay in bed forever and moan about how awful you feel when you’re hungover.” Goldie rolls her eyes. “Honestly, it’d be better if you did puke. Then we could get on with our lives.”
Lu cuts me a look as she wipes her mouth with the back of her wrist. “I’m okay. You can let me go.”
“You sure?”
She straightens and leans a little to the left. Just far enough that her hair falls from my grasp. She quickly tucks it behind her ears and dabs at her eyes with her fingertips. “I’m sure. I just—yeah, made the mistake of trying to keep up with my mom and aunt last night. They can drink a real housewife under the table with her own Chardonnay.”
Goldie is rubbing Lu’s back now, slowly shaking her head. “Honey, we all know Katherine Wade is in a league of her own.”
Lu hiccups. It’s fucking adorable. She manages a wobbly smile. “When will I ever learn?”
“You want some crackers?” Coop asks. “A soda?”
Goldie grabs the water from him and cracks open the cap, handing it to Lu. “Water first.”
