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Or people waiting to fuck you over, I tell myself automatically. But Marvin doesn’t feel that way, and so far in his life, I guess it’s worked out for him.
“Marvin!” Chance answers, approaching the man with open arms. They embrace, then Chance hugs Noah too, who’s a near clone of his dad minus a few years and plus a few inches of height. “Thanks for coming. Kyle’s finishing, then it’s Cole’s turn, and then you’re up.”
Noah is part of the wedding party too, which is gonna be huge. Chance is a traditionalist and wants all of his brothers by his side, plus Noah. Samantha’s having a matching large group on her side of the aisle—Luna and Kayla, of course, and Olivia, plus her friends, Jaxx and Sara.
“Sounds good,” Noah replies, taking a chair to wait his turn.
“While we wait, there’s something I want to talk to you about,” Marvin tells Chance. But then he looks around the room. “With all of you.” He’s stone-faced, with a line of worry between his brows.
“What’s wrong?” Chance says, instantly on high alert at the unusual expression on Marvin’s face.
He doesn’t ask about Samantha directly, probably because he saw her this morning, which was only a few hours ago, and he’s been texting her all day. But the only people who’ll get Marvin to be this serious are his girls—Susan, Samantha, and Olivia.
Marvin’s jovial tone has vanished, replaced with a somberness that seems foreign on the man. “We got a call this morning . . . from Glenn.”
The only people to react are Chance, because I’m sure Samantha has talked about her father, and me, because of course, I researched Samantha’s whole family when she and Chance got engaged. I grit my teeth to hide the gut punch. Chance doesn’t bother.
“What the hell does he want?” he demands. Again, for a man who doesn’t usually curse, this is a trigger button that could start World War III. Chance will do anything for Samantha, including and not limited to annihilating her dad for her.
“To come walk his baby girl down the aisle.” Marvin is doing his level best to keep a stiff upper lip while talking about his wife’s ex-husband, but on the inside, I bet there’s lava on the verge of eruption.
Glenn and Susan were married for years, but like in too many cases, she carried the weight of their entire world on her shoulders. Glenn took that for granted and started cheating, ultimately leaving his family for his mistress without a glance back. Until now, apparently.
“No.” Chance’s response leaves no room for interpretation, but he still adds, “Absolutely not. He wasn’t invited for a reason, and he’s not walking Samantha anywhere.”
“I know,” Marvin agrees, “but I wanted you to know because Susan’s in a tizzy, worrying that he’s going to show up.” To all of us, he says, “That’s where you come in. Historically, one of the roles groomsmen played was that of protector. If Glenn comes, we all need to be ready. I don’t want anything to ruin Samantha’s day.”
For having such a shit father, Samantha lucked out in the stepfather department.
“Of course,” Chance vows, then looks around the room, making sure we’re on board with the plan.
“Want me to go preemptive? Find him, kill him, keep him away from Samantha forever? Glenn Redding, right?” I question like I don’t already have a file on the man.
I know where he lives and works, where he banks, his secret Tinder profile account, his new wife’s name and what days she fucks around with her trainer, and more. I could blow his life up in under a minute from where I’m sitting and be out clean. Or if I needed to, I could find him tonight for a more hands-on approach. It’s just a matter of travel time.
Realizing my brothers are looking at me strangely, I laugh like I’m kidding even though I’m dead serious. Chance is my brother, and though we might not have the best relationship, I’ll go to the mat for him, and by default, Samantha. But they already half-wonder whether I’m a hitman, so they’re probably taking my offer as genuine.
Which, this time, it is.
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Marvin answers me, though Chance looks like he may be considering it. “Susan’s talking to Samantha today, letting her know gently, but I want everyone on the same page.”
“Page one through epilogue, keep Samantha out of prison,” Chance says.
Honestly, he’s probably right. If Glenn shows up, it won’t be us protecting Samantha from him. It’ll be the other way around. Samantha can probably hurt her dad in much more creative ways than I could. Most of them might even be legal.
We finish our fittings, and as planned, I stand still and don’t say a word, not even about the floral socks that go with the tie. As we’re heading out the door, I corner Chance.
