Mending His Past
Page 19
“Actually, it’s even easier than that. Olivia and I aren’t interested in bachelor and bachelorette parties. All we want is a shared family-friendly party the night before. She still wants the familiar touch of having close friends plan it, but wants it to be something that the wedding party can enjoy together. Would you mind working with whoever she taps for Maid of Honor to plan something?”
“Anything for you and Olivia.” He reached his can out and clicked it against Trent’s as if he were punctuating a toast before taking a sip. “I’m not much of a party planner, but I’ll give it my best shot. Who’s the maid of honor? Anyone I know?”
“I can’t remember her name offhand. It’s an old friend of hers from high school.”
Levi’s stomach lurched. Olivia’s best friend in high school was… no, it couldn’t be Brooke Larsen. Trent didn’t say it was Olivia’s best friend from high school. He said it was a friend from high school. Chill, grease monkey.
The two men walked back toward the area the Roland family had laid claim to for the day. “Man, I can’t tell you how much of a load this takes off my shoulders,” Trent said. “Olivia had her heart set on a party planned by the maid of honor and the best man. I didn’t know how to tell her that my brother wasn’t going to be here to have anything to do with it. You’re a lifesaver. Consider yourself my best man 2.0.”
“2.0 means better, right?”
Trent laughed. He sure did laugh a lot easier these days. “Yeah, man, 2.0 means better.”
They opened a couple of sling chairs and placed them opposite of where the ladies sat, deep in conversation that involved regular bouts of giddy laughter. With Trent’s mom on one side of Olivia and Kat on the other, there was no doubt they were talking about the wedding, too. They each glanced up, offering a wave and a smile, but dove right back into a conversation that was paced much too fast for Levi’s taste.
Placing their chairs on either side of a cooler filled to the brim with ice, soda, and juice boxes, they relaxed into their seats. They’d been sipping their soda for only a moment before Molly ran up with Sport hot on her heels. She dug a grape juice box out of the cooler.
“Help, please.” She handed the dripping box to Trent.
“Sure thing, little M&M.”
“M&M?” Levi said. “Are you an M&M?”
Molly grinned and nodded.
“Which color?”
Without hesitation, she shouted, “Pink!”
Levi laughed. “There’s no such thing as a pink M&M. There’s blue, green, yellow—” Molly’s expression soured a little more with each new color Levi listed “—orange, red, and brown. See, no pink.”
Molly’s lower lip jutted out as she folded her arms over her chest.
“If she says she’s a pink M&M, she’s a pink M&M,” Trent said shooting Levi a warning look.
Levi laughed and raised his hands in surrender. “Whatever you say. I stand corrected. I guess you really are a pink M&M.”
Molly’s expression brightened and she took the juice box Trent held out. “Thank you.” She bounced off with Sport trotting behind her.
“It’s good to see her up and around again,” Levi said.
“You better believe it. That little girl brings sunshine with her wherever she goes.”
Levi had never seen such contentment on his friend’s face—not even as kids. “It looks like you’ve got the whole family man routine down already. How does it feel to almost be a married man?”
“Pretty amazing. It’s been almost two months since I proposed, and I’m still basking in the afterglow from that night.” Trent took a sip of his drink, punctuating it with a long sigh his, gaze fixed on Olivia.
It would be nice to be able to sigh like that. Long. Satisfied. Without a care in the world. Levi was happy for his friend, even if Trent’s newfound happiness shone a light on his own less-than-perfect life.
“And how are you doing on this bright, sunny day, Mr. Levi?” Kat said from a few feet away where she sat on her own sling chair.
“Same as always.” He put on his happy face, the one that did such a good job of hiding his insecurities.
Kat stood and walked around behind him. Resting her hands on his shoulders, she hummed to herself. “Let’s see, I just got one of my boys practically married off. I wonder who’s next on the chopping block.” She squeezed his shoulders to emphasize each syllable of the last two words she spoke.
Levi gulped. It’d been funny back when Kat was scheming to get Trent hitched. But now? Well, the game wasn’t quite so hilarious anymore.
“What’s your maid of honor’s name again, Olivia?” Trent asked.
“Brooke Larsen. Levi knows her. They dated for a while back in high school.”
Levi’s heart skipped a beat—and not in a good way. If it wasn’t frowned upon for men to faint with despair, Levi would have slid out of his chair right then and there, and face-planted in the sand.
Trent looked over at him. “Did you really? It was always hard for me to remember the names of the people y’all talked about on the phone over the winter. I only remember the kids we hung out with when I was here for the summers.”
Levi ran his fingers through his shaggy hair. “Yep. We dated.” That was all he was willing to say about the situation. He’d never dream of mentioning the fact that she’d ripped his heart out and stomped all over it at the prom. Not only that, she’d done it in high style, right in front of the pretty-boy quarterback and his posse. No, he wouldn’t want to spoil all of the wedding fun with his personal drama. High school was ancient history. History he’d rather forget.
“How exciting,” Kat said. “You know I’ve always said, there’s no better place to find a future spouse than at a wedding.”
Wonderful. Levi could hear the gears turning in Kat’s head already.
“Come and get it,” Andy called, carrying a large platter of meat to the picnic table.
Trent went straight to Olivia, her face lighting up when he held a hand out to her. Levi could sense the charge in the air between them from his seat. When she stood, Trent slipped his arm around her waist and leaned down to place a tender kiss on her temple. Levi looked away. Some moments weren’t meant to be intruded upon.
He remained seated a moment longer while the others headed for the table. Kat slipped into Trent’s chair and fixed her gaze on Levi. “So, are you going to fill in for Travis and help plan the party with Brooke?”
“How did you know about that?”
“I told Trent you were just the man for the job.”
Levi messaged the creases on his forehead. “Kat, did you know Brooke was the maid of honor when you put my name into the hat?”
She gazed off into the distance and chewed on the inside of her cheek, straining against a smile. “I’m not sure I remember exactly when Olivia told me.”
“And did you happen to remember the fact that Brook and I dated back in the day? We only came to the rescue every day after school so she could play with the dogs.”
“Isn’t it just amazing how life has a way of coming full circle? What a wonderful coincidence this is. This wedding is going to be one for the record books.” She couldn’t contain her smile any longer, and it stretched from ear to ear.
She couldn’t fool him with her innocent act. He’d seen her pull it one too many times on Trent. That was it. Kat was a self-proclaimed Cupid, and she’d set her sights on him. There was no escape. The fact that Trent was in the process of picking out groomsmen was proof of that.
“Come on, Levi. Let’s grab some food while it’s hot. My brother’s steaks are epic.” They stood and Kat looped her arm around his.
Sure, why not? Even guys on death row got to eat a last meal.
The End
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About the Author
Kristen Iten is a night owl-ish author, and mother of three happy little owlets. She spends her working hours solving mysteries, bringing evil doers to justice, and meddling in the love lives of her imaginary friends. She suffers from an over active imagination, but doesn’t really mind because it helps with the whole ‘writing books thing’. She lives in a cute little town, in a cute little house, with her cute little family, and couldn’t possibly be happier.
Visit www.KristenIten.com for a complete list of Kristen’s books, including other books in this series!