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I saw beyond the spunky city girl act she’d been putting on. There was something deeper there. Something warm and kind and nurturing. Something I’d been looking for but had long ago given up on finding.
My new favorite thing about being best man was that it put me in a lot of pictures with the maid of honor. We didn’t get to stand next to each other, but as soon as they were finished with us, we had some alone time.
“How do you know Emerald?” I asked when we resumed our spot next to the heater.
Slade and Cheyenne were getting awfully cuddly over there. Good Lord, don’t let me lose another of my friends to a woman. I was already feeling like the last single guy in town.
“School,” she said. “We went to the same all-girls school, growing up. I’d like to think we both escaped, but maybe there’s no way to escape…that.”
She got a strange look on her face with those words, and I wondered what she meant. There was more to this story thanshe was saying. There were rumors all over town about how strict Abbie’s father had been, but Bo said they were bullshit. He was strict on her, but nothing as crazy as the stuff people were saying.
Maybe Addison came from that type of strict background, though. It might explain the haunted look in her eyes right now.
“What about you?” she asked. “How do you know Bo?”
“We’re both troublemakers.” I laughed as her expression shifted from haunted to confused. I rushed to further explain. “Before joining the military, I lived in Boone, bartending at the watering hole where the guys up here go to get…”
I hesitated there. “Laid” was the word on the tip of my tongue, but no way could I say it. Not while looking at that beautiful face.
I finally settled on, “Drunk.”
Was that any better? Probably a little less crass. Maybe not.
“I was always meeting all kinds of people from Blackbear Bluff,” I continued, hoping to push past the “drunk” comment. “I joined the military in my early twenties, but the place stuck in my head. I remembered a bunch of vets lived here. Then I heard about the logging crew, and I was sold.
“And that’s how you met Bo,” she said.
Right. That had been the original question. How had I ended up blathering on about what led me to Blackbear Bluff?
“My first stop when I got here was Bo’s bar.” I smiled at the memory. “We talked shop, and soon, we were hanging out.”
“And you became good friends,” she said.
“Okay, everyone. Time to head inside.”
Erika’s voice pulled me out of the little bubble that seemed to have surrounded us in the past few minutes as we chatted. I didn’t want to go inside. I wanted to hang out here with this woman. Was it my imagination, or did Addison look a little reluctant too?
She stared at me a long moment, took a deep breath, and gave a nod. “I guess we should go inside, but I’d love to continue to talk.”
Without saying more, she headed inside. I smiled to myself as I followed. City Girl did like me. Maybe I’d be able to talk her out of that dress by the time the night was over.
3
ADDISON
The maid of honor and best man didn’t have to dance together. I was hoping we did, though, as we stood on the sidelines, watching couples head onto the dance floor. I even considered asking Brody to dance. Would that be too forward?
What did it matter? I was leaving here tomorrow. May as well go for it. If not, I’d regret it later.
“Do you?—?”
“There’s food in the kitchen.”
Brody interrupted me with those words. My heart sank, but my stomach perked up in response. Food. I hadn’t eaten today at all…unless that weird snack mix on my crack-of-dawn flight counted.
Still, I was filled with regret as we passed embracing couples, moving in time to a love ballad. Maybe he’d ask me to dance after we ate.
“Where is everyone?” I asked as I led the way into the kitchen.
