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“Why not?”Blair asks.Very fucking fast, may I add.I’ve no doubt this was where she was heading.Probably giving Rhodes the idea without anyone even noticing.She’s sly like that, my other best friend.
I make eyes at her.They’re so subtle no one here would pick up on them, but she and I are well-versed in making these eyes that sayshut the hell up right now.
“Yeah, why not?”Rhodes waits for my answer like he thinks I’ve actually got a valid one.
Callan?He’s over there thinking about this.I can see it on his face that he’s reaching the same conclusion as Rhodes, which means I need to double down on coming up with a reason he’ll buy.
Being his plus-one is a terrible idea.The worst idea in all the history of ideas.Not because I don’t want to spend that kind of time with him, but because doing so will be hard for me.
Over the years, I’ve accepted we will never be together in the way I’d like.Being his best friend is both the greatest thing in the world and at times the worst.It’s hard in the moments when he shares his greatest successes with me and I wish I could share them on a deeper level.And in his lowest moments when I wish I could do more for him.And every moment in between where I have to keep my hands and my mouth and my heart to myself.
A summer of weekends spent together at weddings would be filled with so many of these moments.Add in the romantic sentiments and desire to find my life partner that a wedding always stirs in me, and it’s a recipe for heartache.
I’m still racing to land on a plausible reason why it wouldn’t work when Callan says, “It’s a good idea, Ace.We’ve got three weddings in common already.Rhodes is right, it’s a no-brainer.”
My heart is pounding against my ribcage as every set of eyes comes to me, waiting for my agreement.
Oh, Jesus.
There’s no saying no now.When Callan sets his mind to something, he always makes it happen.
Blair’s lips pull up.Just a teeny bit, but I see them and I shoot her a quick glare.Then, I smile at Callan.“Okay, let’s do this.”
4
CALLAN
“Why anyone would choose to get married at ten a.m.is beyond me,” Sasha says during the pre-wedding dinner that Bobby and Karen hold on the Friday night before their wedding.They had their wedding rehearsal dinner last night so they could have this dinner tonight.Bobby insisted every wedding guest attend.This meant I had to push my way through a hectic afternoon of work meetings, reschedule a work dinner, and fight through traffic to arrive in Long Island on time.I couldn’t give a shit what time people get married; I only give a fuck that I was forced into this dinner.
“I don’t think I’d choose that time,” Olivia says as she reaches for her glass of wine, drawing my gaze to her bare arm.“I want the morning of my wedding to be relaxed and I don’t think an early wedding would allow that.”
“And who issues a wedding day schedule?”Sasha appears extremely confused about the timeline we were emailed during the week.
“I’ve never received one,” Olivia says.“But I’m not mad about it.”
“That’s because you’re the queen of being organized,” Sasha says.“It feels very bossy to me.”
I barely pay attention as they continue discussing the schedule.Rhodes checked out of the conversation five minutes ago when he had to leave the table to take care of a work problem and Olivia’s bare skin has me checking out now.
Truth be told, I’ve struggled to checkinon any of the conversations the four of us have had since I arrived an hour and a half ago.Olivia came earlier with Sasha and Rhodes, and when I knocked on the door of her hotel room, she answered it wearing the sexy black dress that’s the cause of all my current problems.
If I didn’t know better, I’d swear she glued it to herself.
It’s fitted everywhere but cinched hard at the waist, accentuating those luscious curves that I’ve been unable to remove my eyes or thoughts from for three long weeks.Ever since that conversation with Penny at Bradford’s wedding.
At least this dress covers her breasts.Unlike that pink dress I walked in on her wearing at Rhodes’s condo a couple of weeks ago.Fuck.That memory is burned into my brain and I’ve revisited it more times than I care to admit.
She laughs at something Sasha says and leans back against her chair while bringing both her hands up to scoop her long brunette hair off her shoulders and tie it into a ponytail.I’m fucking mesmerized.It’s as if I’ve never seen a woman tie her hair up.My gaze traces every single movement before finally settling on her sun-kissed face.
“Are you okay?”she asks, concern creasing her face.“You’ve been quiet and seem distracted.”
I’m distracted as fuck but I’m not about to tell her that.I pull at my tie that I’m still wearing and loosen it before undoing the top couple buttons on my shirt.There was no time to change when I arrived.We were straight into drinks and then dinner.“Work kicked my ass today, but I’m okay.Don’t worry about me, Ace.”
Her features smooth into a soft smile.“I always worry about you.That’s my job.”She glances around the restaurant before leaning in close to me, placing her hand on my thigh, and whispering against my ear, “Bobby and Karen just left, so this means we can too.And I have the perfect thing for you up in my room.”
Christ.
If she knew the shit running through my mind right now as to what she could give me up in her room, she’d be shocked.Fuck knows, I am.
