You May Kiss the Groomsman

by Samantha Chase

“Uh, yeah. Why?”

  “Josie lives there too! Talk about a small world!”

  And getting smaller, he thought.

  “C’mon,” Tyler said as he walked toward the door. “Dad’s manning the grill and his skills have not improved over the years so unless you like everything charred, we should head out there.”

  They walked out to the yard together and Daniel was instantly dragged away by his mother so they could talk. He figured she meant talk with her and maybe his grandmother and some aunts, but as they walked past the group and to the gazebo in the far corner of the yard, he figured it was going to be just the two of them.

  When she sat, she let out a sigh of relief. “You know, I used to love hosting these get-togethers, but lately they seem to exhaust me.” She smiled up at him as she patted the spot beside her. “Come sit with me.” He sat and she immediately took his hand in hers. “There’s a part of me that still can’t believe you’re home. You were very secretive about your plans for the future these last six months and I’m sure the decision to leave wasn’t easy.”

  “Well, I never saw myself doing it as a career,” he explained. “But it feels wrong to say I’m retired, too.”

  She laughed softly. “You’re too young to be retired. Your father, on the other hand, I wish he’d start thinking of retiring.”

  “I had no idea you wanted him to do that.”

  With a small shrug, she said, “Well, not right now, but I hope he’ll consider it next year. With Tyler getting married, hopefully we’ll have some grandkids sooner rather than later. But that means I want us to have some time to enjoy them and ourselves without having to deal with his work schedule.”

  “Mom, he sells insurance and basically works from home; it’s not like his schedule has him away from home for months on end.”

  “Unlike yours…”

  “You know what I’m saying,” he interrupted because his military career was always a bit of a sore point within the family. Daniel was the only one in generations to enlist and no one understood why he had wanted to in the first place. They didn’t understand that the Navy saved him. There was no way he was going to be the guy who went away to college and then settled into an office job selling insurance like his father or a lawyer like his grandfather and brother. Even now that he was home and getting ready to start his own security business, the thought of spending time sitting behind a desk made him twitch.

  “How’s the house search going?” she asked, changing the subject.

  “Slow. I’m not sure what I’m looking for exactly and I’m not really in a rush. The townhouse is really perfect for me for right now and I’ve got a year’s lease, so I’ve got time.”

  “Maybe you and Tyler should search together.”

  “Um…why, exactly?”

  “Well, he’s got a place of his own and Josie has a place of her own but they’re going to have to combine households once they’re married.” She shook her head. “I have a feeling that’s going to be an issue because your brother loves his house and from everything Josie’s said about hers, she loves it too. There’s going to be a fight over who has to sell so it would be smarter for them to just start fresh in someplace new.”

  “Okay, I get that, but why do I have to get involved?”

  “Because your brother has always looked up to you and if you can maybe guide him and encourage him to find someplace new for him and Josie, he’ll be a little more open-minded, that’s all.”

  “I’m not so sure that will work.”

  “Why not?”

  “Maybe Tyler looked up to me when we were kids–which I certainly don’t remember–but I can guarantee that is no longer the case.”

  She waved him off. “Nonsense. He was hurt that you went away for so long and missed out on the big things in his life. You’re just lucky you came back when you did so you can see him get married.”

  So many thoughts raced through his mind and he figured there were no better openings than this one.

  “Speaking of him getting married, what do you think of this…sudden decision? You’ve mentioned more than once how surprised you were by it.”

  “I’ll admit that I don’t get involved in your brother’s personal life. Ever since his relationship with Katie ended, I learned to back off.”

  “Wait. Who’s Katie?”

  “She’s the girl he dated for almost two years,” she said with a sad sigh. “We all thought he was going to propose to her. They were the golden couple.” Looking up, she smiled at him. “They were just picture-perfect together and would have made beautiful babies.”

  “So what happened?”

  She hesitated and then shook her head. “It’s not really my story to tell.”

  “Mom…”

  With another sigh, she explained. “Tyler takes his job very seriously. Sometimes a little too seriously. Everything became about the job. He wanted to impress his bosses, he wanted a promotion, and he started working crazy hours. Then he wanted to organize some big event that he was certain would win them over and, of course, he reached out to Josie.”

  “Why? I thought she was a wedding planner.”

  “Primarily weddings, but she and her partners handle all kinds of big events. Anyway, he was almost obsessed with that blasted event and started spending more time with Josie than with poor Katie. He never told me the specifics, but there was an ultimatum and then they were over.”

  Daniel was fairly sure he was in shock. That was not the story he had been expecting.

  “Do you think Josie broke them up?” he asked with more heat than necessary.

  She patted him on the leg again. “I don’t think it was quite like that. Because of his friendship with Elliott, Tyler’s known Josie for most of his life. I just think things evolved or maybe it’s a rebound…” She shrugged. “But he’s asked her to marry him so maybe it’s more than that.”

  He still wasn’t so sure.

  And now he was even more determined to find out.

  4

  “It is better to just be single than to settle for a partner who has no potential of living up to your standards.”

  Unknown

  On Monday morning, Josie stared at the message on her phone and groaned miserably.

  “You okay?” Leanna asked as she walked into the office, placing a cup of coffee and a bagel on Josie’s desk.

  “I don’t know.”

  “I’ll take that as a no, then,” she said as she sat down behind her own desk. “Spill it. We’ve got back-to-back meetings today and won’t have a lot of time to chat and now you’ve piqued my curiosity. Plus, I can totally see that gaudy ring on your finger which tells me you and Tyler are still moving forward with your ridiculous plan.”

  “I was going to call him and tell him I’m really having second thoughts…”

  “And yet, here we are.” It was very unlike Leanna to be sarcastic, so Josie knew just how upset she was.

  “I really was all set to call him,” she began.

  “So why didn’t you?”

  “The weekend events distracted me and then I knew he was getting together with his family and…I don’t know! There just didn’t seem to be a time to do it.” She sighed loudly. “You know I’m not good at this sort of thing!”

  “I call poop on that,” Lea murmured.

  “I’m sorry, did you just say you call…poop on that?”

  Lea nodded.

  “What does that even mean?”

  “Oh my goodness! That’s what you’re focusing on? The fact that I said poop instead of cursing? For the love of it, Josie, focus on what’s important here!”

  “Which is…?”

  It was Lea’s turn to groan. “You are usually the queen of confrontation. You’ve never had a problem telling me or Skye when you think we’re doing something wrong and yet you can’t seem to tell Tyler the same thing! He’s your friend, isn’t he?”

  “You know he is!”

  “Then put on your big girl panties and tell him
this isn’t going to work and put an end to this charade! Sheesh!”

  “Okay, look…I know you think I’m being vague or dragging my feet on this, but I really needed the time to think things through and make sure I wasn’t making a rash decision or that I wasn’t going to hurt Ty.”

  Lea didn’t look convinced. “So what are you thinking now?”

  “Ugh…where do I even begin?”

  “At the beginning?” Lea suggested before taking a sip of her coffee.

  “Tyler got the promotion, Lea. He got it primarily because of this.” She waved her hand and the ugly ring on it. “If I back out of this, who knows what will happen? And there’s no way I could live with myself if my selfish actions caused him to lose his dream job!”

  “Okay, that’s a little dramatic…”

  “And now there’s his family. No one was supposed to know about this and now they’re inviting us to family dinners and barbecues and now his stupidly hot brother–who kisses better than any man I’ve ever kissed–wants to take us to dinner and…”

  “Wait, wait, wait,” Lea quickly interrupted. “Back up. Why does Daniel want to take you two to dinner?” Then she grinned. “And tell me again how hot he is.”

  Shaking her head, Josie let out a long breath. “How could someone so sweet be so evil sometimes?”

  “I like keeping people on their toes,” Lea said as her smile grew. “And he’s so hot…why?”

  “You know I was never one for the big muscle-bound guys, but Daniel is just…” She groaned again. “Well…you saw him in the cafeteria that night! Like I can’t even believe he and Tyler are brothers! Tyler is all lean and kind of…I don’t know…metrosexual? Is that even still a thing?”

  “I’m not sure but I get what you’re saying.”

  “And his brother looked like his shirt was straining at the seams because he’s so…big.”

  “Oh, my…”

  “Yeah. I know. The night I went out with him, I ran my hands over those arms and it was just so…exciting. Arm porn. Who knew?” Then she held up her phone. “I was determined not to think about all that when Tyler just texted that Daniel wants to take us to dinner tonight and he knows this is my one guaranteed free night. How do I possibly get out of it?”

  “Just tell him you’re not interested in going and if you’re going to keep this simple, then you shouldn’t be encouraging his family.”

  That made complete sense, but Josie had a feeling she was going to cave and end up going because seeing Daniel again was just that tempting.

  “Jos, this is already getting out of control and you’ve been engaged…what…three days?”

  “Four. I think.”

  Leanna rolled her eyes. “We really need Skye in on this.”

  “She just got home with a newborn. The last thing she has time for is this craziness.”

  Unfortunately.

  They ate their breakfast in companionable silence for several minutes before Leanna spoke again. “You’re going to go to dinner with them, aren’t you?”

  It wasn’t really a question.

  “Probably.”

  She shook her head. “What’s happened to you? You were the badass one in our group. The one who was always telling us not to back down and not let anyone tell us what to do, and now look at you.”

  “You don’t get it. Tyler needs me.”

  “Tyler needs to grow up and take responsibility for his own life! It’s not your place to make sure he looks good for his bosses, Josie! He accepted a promotion based on a lie and if you ask me, that’s really a rotten thing to do.”

  Nodding, she couldn’t help but agree. “But it’s done now and we have to see this through.”

  “I disagree.”

  Before she could second-guess herself–again–she picked up her phone and typed out a quick text that she could do dinner and asked that he just send her the details. Lea continued to express her disapproval all day long, so when Josie walked into the restaurant that evening, it was almost a relief to be away from her friend.

  They opted to go someplace more casual tonight–an Irish pub close to downtown–and Josie kept reminding herself that she didn’t have to do anything other than be herself. She and Tyler were friends who were normally extremely comfortable around each other so…this was all no big deal.

  And she made a mental note to just…not sit next to Daniel.

  Or touch him.

  She found the brothers sitting in a booth and they both stood when she walked over. “Hey! I’m not late, am I?” Tyler kissed her on the cheek and she turned and smiled toward Daniel without looking directly at him.

  “You’re right on time,” Tyler told her as he slid into the booth and motioned for her to sit beside him. “I ordered you a glass of Moscato.”

  “Perfect. Thank you.” She got situated and kept her smile in place. As far as she knew, Daniel hadn’t said anything to Tyler about their “date”, so she needed to act as if they were basically just meeting. “So, Daniel, how are you adjusting to civilian life? Is it weird being home?”

  He shrugged and she was almost mesmerized by the movement. He was dark-haired to Tyler’s light, muscled to his brother’s lean, and his closely-cropped beard was just way more attractive than it should have been compared to Tyler’s baby soft jaw.

  Yeah, I have a problem…

  “…And that’s how I ended up there,” he was saying, and Josie realized she had completely zoned out.

  Dammit.

  With a nod, she reached for her wine and took a long sip.

  “Daniel lives in your neighborhood,” Tyler chimed in with an easy smile. “Isn’t that crazy?”

  She choked on her wine and it took a minute to catch her breath. Tyler rubbed her back while Daniel was hiding a smirk.

  Charming.

  Deciding to focus on Tyler, she asked the one question that was on her mind for him. “So how did it go at the office today? Are you officially starting on this new case?”

  “I am and I have a feeling it’s going to be a lot of long hours and weekends,” he went on to explain and then shrugged. “Plus there’s talk that I’ll have to travel a bit to talk with all the parties involved. But this is going to seal the deal on my partnership so it’s all worth it.”

  And the thing was, she was happy for him. After knowing him for so many years, he truly was her friend and as such, she wanted him to have the things he wanted. Lifting her glass to him, she said, “Good for you! Cheers!” They tapped glasses and paused when Daniel cleared his throat.

  There was no glass in his hand and he was just staring at both of them like they were crazy.

  “Um…”

  Tyler’s phone rang and he muttered a curse before giving her an apologetic smile. “It’s happening already.” He held up the phone to her. “I have to take this.” They both slid out of the booth and she watched him walk out, leaving her alone with Daniel.

  Great…

  Josie sat back down and prayed Tyler wouldn’t be gone long. She took one last look in his direction before turning back to Daniel.

  “Does he do that often?” he asked.

  “Do what?”

  “Take calls while you’re out on a date?”

  “This really isn’t a date…”

  His expression showed he wasn’t amused. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

  For some reason, she took offense to his tone. “His job is important and if someone calls him and he has to take it, it’s not a big deal. It’s the same for me.”

  “I remember,” he said, his eyes never leaving her.

  Choosing to ignore his comment, she said, “Anyway, it just goes with the territory. What about you? Where are you working now that you’re home?”

  There was a snort and then a smirk before Daniel rested those massive arms on the table and seemed to level her with a glare. “I just told you about it not even five minutes ago.”

  “Oh, um…”

  He leaned back against the seat and rested his a
rm along the back of the booth. “Not a big deal. I’m used to being the boring one in the family.”

  Seriously?

  “How is that even possible?” she asked with genuine concern. “You were a Navy SEAL for crying out loud. I’m sure you’ve done more exciting things than all the people in your family combined.”

  “And yet I couldn’t hold your interest for more than thirty seconds. Or one dinner.” And yeah, one dark brow arched at her and it was quite possibly the sexiest thing she’d ever seen.

  Definitely going to need either a cold shower or a little self-love when I get home…

  “Okay, fine. I guess we need to talk about that, so…”

  “Do you go out on a lot of dates with strangers while dating my brother?” he asked bluntly.

  “It wasn’t like that,” she snapped, hating what he was implying.

  Leaning in a little menacingly, he said, “It was exactly like that. You were obviously dating Tyler and yet you accepted a dinner invitation from me.”

  He’s got me there…

  “You might not believe it, but…” She sighed. “I’ve never done that before. Ever.” Looking up at him, she added, “I swear.”

  He stared at her long and hard and prayed he wouldn’t push for more details. So she just chose to pretend that he wasn’t going to.

  “And as for a few minutes ago, I was a little distracted when you were talking and I’m sorry,” she said with a bit of attitude. She hated being called out like this, but she wasn’t going to argue with him in the middle of the restaurant. “Can you please tell me what it is that you do for a living?”

  For a minute, he said nothing, but then he seemed to relax. “I’m starting up a security training firm with a couple of buddies of mine from the service. We’ll specialize in cybersecurity as well as physical and personal security.”

  “You mean like bodyguards or just security guards?”

  “Both, but primarily bodyguards.”

  “That is incredibly cool.” Shifting in her seat, she got more comfortable. “So you’ll deal with physical training–sort of like self-defense classes but more intense, right?”

  Now he started to smile. “We’ll focus on physical strength, endurance, and agility, but they’re only part of the EPS equation.”