by K. C. Crowne
“Hey!” Logan said, turning away from the mirror as I adjusted my tie. “Are you seriously sticking your face into the men’s dressing room?”
Her eyes latched onto Logan, and I could tell right away from her narrow-eyed expression that she was most definitely not the type to find joking around cute.
“You guys somehow managed to take longer than the bride to get ready. So, considering we’re on a schedule with mother nature herself, yes, I’m going to bust into the men’s dressing room to make sure you’re all on-task.”
I couldn’t resist.
“Now, what if we would’ve been in states of partial undress? You open the door, and half the men are standing in here pants-less.” I let out an ahh, as if understanding something. “Wait a minute – that’s your thing, isn’t it? You pop open the door and get a peek, pretend it’s all about keeping a schedule. I’m onto you, missy. But if you want to see my bum, all you have to do is ask nicely.”
That got some laughs from the guys, and a sharp elbow jab to the side from Ryan.
She raised her finger at me, her eyebrows arched as if she were a schoolteacher getting ready to scold.
“We’ve got a wedding to get off,” she said. “Please no jokes, and please keep to the schedule.”
With that, she pulled her head back behind the door and shut it.
“You’re going to get a smack one of these days for a comment like that,” Logan said with a laugh.
Wouldn’t be the first time.
“Alright, shh, shh!” The wedding planner’s voice carried over the small crowd of wedding participants.
We all hushed up and paid attention. She stood on a chair outside the ballroom, the site of the ceremony behind her. The aisle was adorned with gorgeous white flowers, the altar done up like something out of a fairy tale. Behind it the sunset was about twenty minutes off from its crescendo.
“Now,” she said, once all eyes were locked onto her. “As I’m sure you all have been informed, the bride and groom have two requirements for the wedding. They want it to be quick and casual, and they want it to happen at sunset. The first part can happen at any time, but the second has a much smaller window. So, you should all know your places and instructions, and I hope that you carry them off the minimum of fooling around.”
I winked and made a quick kissy face at her, to which she responded with an arched eyebrow glare.
“Places!” she said. “If you’re a guest, be seated. If you’re in the ceremony, you should know where you need to be, and with whom you’re walking down the aisle. Let’s go, everyone!”
She clapped twice, and the group broke up. Most of the guests were still inside, and the wedding planner’s assistants rushed into the building to get them ready to come out.
“You know, Hayden,” spoke a familiar voice from nearby. “Not everyone is going to fall for your stupid charm.”
I turned in the direction of the voice and there she was.
Holy hell did Grace look exquisite.
Her sun-blonde hair was in an elegant updo, the light makeup around her eyes setting her hazels off as brilliantly as the sunset nearby. The spaghetti strap, lavender bridesmaids’ dress she wore showed off her lithe, dancer’s body. Her face was as gorgeous as ever – a face like hers didn’t need a drop of makeup – but the little bit she wore had been applied flawlessly.
I wasn’t a man to be stunned, but Grace in that moment did the job.
“You alright there, Doc?” she asked. Grace waved her hand in front of my face, a touch of grouchiness taking hold of her expression.
I cleared my throat and came back into the moment.
“Uh, yes. Sorry.” It was all I could manage to stammer out. Grace’s beauty had briefly turned me into an awkward kid. How the hell was the gorgeous woman before me that same gangly teenage girl I’d known when I’d visited back home from university?
“Seriously,” she asked. “Something wrong?”
I managed to compose myself by this point, clearing my throat one more time and allowing an easy smile to spread across my face.
“Nothing’s wrong. You look beautiful, Grace.”
She paused, regarding me with skeptical eyes.
“What?” I asked.
“That’s it? You’re just calling me beautiful? No snarky comment, no cute one-liner?”
“Wouldn’t dream of it. You look incredible, and I wanted you to know.”
Grace continued to regard me skeptically, narrowing her eyes as if she wanted to be ready for whatever came next.
“Places, everyone!” the wedding planner called out. “Guests will be taking their seats in a few moments! If you’ve got a partner that you’re walking down the aisle with, get arm-in-arm right now and get ready to move! We are not going to miss this sunset!”
“Hear that?” I asked. “Time to do it.”
Without another word, Grace and I hurried over to the covered area where the rest of the groomsmen and bridesmaids were arm-in-arm, ready to march. Once we were in line, Grace at my side, I offered her my arm.
She took it. And when she did, the strangest thought occurred to me.
This is how it’s supposed to be.
Chapter 3
GRACE
I wasn’t going to admit it. Not a chance in hell. No way on earth would I let Hayden have the satisfaction.
But his compliment had hit me right in the freaking feels.
I wasn’t the type to get caught up in my appearance. Well, I liked to stay in shape, but that was a whole other thing. When I’d been up with Carly and the rest of the bridesmaids, I’d been focused on her. The hairdresser and makeup stylists had caught me up in their flurry of activity, but I’d hardly paid myself any mind.
So, I’d barely taken a look at myself in the mirror before coming down to join the rest of the party. Hearing Hayden’s words, seeing the look on his face when he’d turned around to speak to me, it’d felt good. There was desire in his eyes, sure, but there was also surprise. And something more than that, like in that moment he’d seen something in me that even I didn’t see.
Whatever the hell had happened, it’d been enough to put me off-kilter. My heart thumped hard in my chest, and it took all the focus I had to be present in the moment. We were in a covered space to the right of the seating area, the deep red of the sunset visible at the entrance. The little space was packed with bridesmaids and groomsmen.
I couldn’t help but notice that just about every single bridesmaid had her eyes on Hayden. Not like I could blame them – the man looked damn good. His James Bond-ness was on full display. He looked like he was born to wear a tux. His gaze was fixed forward, and the sunlight that streamed in was enough to catch the outline of his profile, highlighting the dusting of stubble on his face.
What was even crazier was that he didn’t seem to notice that every unmarried woman in the tent was eye fucking him like mad. I wasn’t sure if he did notice and didn’t care, or if he just straight-up was oblivious.
I wasn’t sure which one was worse. The guy had always gotten all the attention from women that he could ever want, which meant it was reasonable to think that having every woman in the room ogle him was simply par for the course.
Either way, it was frustrating. And even more frustrating was how a part of me loved that I was the one on his arm.
I had to say something so that I wasn’t simply standing there.
“You know, most people would shave for their best friend’s wedding. Kind of a special occasion when you think about it.” I was being snarky, but it was all I could muster.
He only smirked, of course. He brought his hand to his face and rubbed the dusting of stubble.
“I know, I know. But, if you want to know the truth, it’s because of my weak chin. I’m a little sensitive about it, and a little stubble goes a long way to cover it up. Can you blame a guy?”
Speaking of chins, mine dropped along with the rest of my jaw at his words. There were many, many things one could say about Ha
yden Frost. But one most certainly could not say that he had a weak chin. It was as perfectly formed as the rest of his ridiculously handsome face.
He was being cheeky, of course. I narrowed my eyes.
“Ha-ha,” I said, the words dripping with sarcasm. “That’s a very cute way to sidestep the fact that you didn’t bother to shave for your best friend’s wedding.”
Hayden opened his mouth to respond with what would no doubt be another retort. But before he could, one of the other bridesmaids, a pretty brunette around my age, reached over and poked his arm to get his attention. We both turned, the harsh look on her face making it clear that whatever she wanted to talk about, wasn’t a happy subject.
“Hey, jerk,” she said.
At that moment I was glad that the rest of the groomsmen and bridesmaids were chatting among themselves – it meant no one had noticed her insult.
“Now, I’ve been called a jerk before,” Hayden said, totally unbothered by the name calling. “But usually, I know the reason why. Or, at least, the name of the person calling me a jerk. But I don’t believe we’ve met.”
This answer didn’t do him any favors. The woman looked like she wanted to rip his dick off on the spot.
“I’m Hayden Frost,” he said, extending his free hand in her direction.
“I don’t give a damn what your name is. I’m Crista. But you might’ve already heard of me.”
He cocked his head to the side, looking genuinely perplexed.
“Um, Jamie’s sister?” she said, picking up on his confusion.
A look of relief washed over his face. “Ah, Jamie – that was her name. Where the hell did I get Julie?” His expression flushed as he realized he’d just said something he most definitely shouldn’t have.
“Are you freaking kidding me?” she asked. “You don’t even remember the name of the girl you —,” she looked around, making sure no one in the tent was listening in on the conversation “— had fun with last night?”
Hayden looked chastened. At least he had the decency to appear to feel bad. Whether he actually felt that way…well, that was a whole other story.
“I mean, I did have fun with her,” he said. “And she had fun with me. I can’t wait to see her after the ceremony. Maybe if I’m lucky she’ll save a dance for me.”
Crista narrowed her eyes at him. The look said it all. She’d come at him hard, expecting Hayden to melt into a puddle of profuse apologies. But Hayden wasn’t that kind of guy at all. He was totally unflappable, never one to be caught off guard.
“A dance for you? Gonna say that’s pretty freaking unlikely.”
She shot Hayden, then me, a hard glare. Crista didn’t give him a chance to say another word. Instead, she turned and stormed off, finding the groomsman she’d been assigned to and giving both Hayden and me the cold shoulder.
“Yeowch,” he said, shaking his head. “Someone didn’t take that well.”
Up front, the wedding planner took position and gestured for all of us to get paired up and in double file line.
“How exactly did you expect her to take it? You did…stuff with her sister and she’s mad at you for tossing her aside like a used tissue now that you’ve had your fun with her.”
He cocked his head to the side, giving me a confused look.
“What are you talking about?”
“What are you talking about?” I asked. “You know what you did. And I don’t even want to repeat it.”
“I had fun with a cool woman,” he said. “And so far, that’s all that’s happened. Trust me, I’ve dealt with enough jealous friends and family to be able to spot it at just a glance.”
“You think jealousy is what’s going on with her? What about looking out for her sister?”
He chuckled, as if I were some cute kid who didn’t know any better.
“Concern is one of the most common ways to dress up jealousy. Trust me, I’ve been in this situation enough times before to know that, if I wanted to, I could have the watchful sister in bed before the end of the day. I wouldn’t do that, of course, but that’s what’s going on here.”
“Ugh, that’s…so gross.”
“Like I said, a move like that’s not my style. But I’m right to be cynical. I bet you anything that later tonight, after she’s gotten a few drinks in her, Crista will be finding me at the party and wondering if there’s a chance she can get in a dance with me. I’ll turn her down, of course, but still. And speaking of jealousy, you getting as worked up as you are…that raises questions.”
“What?” the word shot out of my mouth. “Please tell me that you’re not suggesting I have a problem with your douche-ness because you think I’m jealous.”
“Maybe, maybe not. All I said was that it raises questions.”
“You keep talking like this and the only thing that’s going to get raised is my fist when I hit you upside the head.”
He chuckled. “I ever tell you that you get the most adorable little dimples in your cheeks whenever you’re mad?”
“Oh, now you’re going to get it!”
“Shh!”
We both stopped and turned to see the wedding planner standing right next to us.
“Not sure if you’ve noticed, but there’s a wedding going on around you. So, you two get on your best behavior, now!” With one last hard glare, the wedding planner stomped off to the front of the tent.
“Headmistress Helga,” he said, giving a mock salute with his free hand.
“She’s right, you know.”
“Then maybe you should stop pestering me in the middle of the tent.”
“I’m pestering you? Oh, ho-ho, you’re really asking for it, bud.”
We were cut off again, this time by the string quartet playing The Wedding March. The couples began to step forward and out of the tent, and as best man and maid of honor, we were last in line. Carly and her dad were in the country club lobby and would be following Hayden and me. One couple stepped forward, then another, then another.
And then it was our turn.
“Alright, kiddo,” he said. “You ready to walk down the aisle?” He winked.
“First and only time it’s going to happen with you, jackass.”
He laughed.
Our turn came and we stepped out. The ceremony was filled to capacity, the sunset a gorgeous fire-red swirled with sherbet-orange. It was beautiful, and despite the jerk at my side, I couldn’t have been happier to be a part of it.
The ceremony was short and sweet and to the point – just how Ryan and Carly had wanted it.
“In and out, no muss no fuss,” Hayden said, as he and I and the bride and groom along with a few other friends gathered near the bar at the party after the ceremony.
“That’s right,” Ryan agreed. “See, everyone’s happy for their friends and family to get married, right? But the dirty little secret of weddings is that they’re so boring.”
“So,” Carly said, jumping in to finish his thought in true couple style. “We figured we’d save you all the worry of being bored to tears by making the ceremony short and sweet. That way, there’s more time for partying.”
“I like where your head’s at,” Hayden saluted.
The party was in full swing. The string quartet had packed it in, a DJ taking its place. Popular dance songs filled the air, a Justin Derulo tune pumping at that moment. On the dance floor, everyone had their eyes on our parents, both shaking their butts to the song in a way that no one would’ve expected from a pair of Boomers.
The party went on, but after an hour or so it was time for drinks. And a good thing, too – I spotted Crista’s sister making her way to Hayden, and the flash of his eyes when he realized he was about to have some company made it clear he wasn’t in the mood for chitchatting.
But when the music died down and the ting-ting-ting of a spoon tapping a glass cut through the air, I knew that meant one thing – speeches. Ryan and Carly were at the front of the stage near the DJ booth, Ryan taking the mic from the stand and t
apping it to make sure it was on.
My gut tightened. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted Hayden breaking away from Crista’s sister and hurrying over to me.
“Damn, saved by the mic tap, huh?” he asked, a smirk on his face as if he’d just said something totally clever.
I didn’t give him the satisfaction of a reply. Besides, I was too busy working my stomach into knots at the idea of speaking to all these people.
Ryan smiled, leaning back against the stage with the mic in his hand. It was easy to see that he was fine with the attention, not sweating it at all. That’s how Ryan had always been, ever since we were kids. Silence hung in the air, everyone waiting for him to begin. I glanced over at our parents, each of them with one of Ryan and Carly’s adorable twins, my nieces, on their shoulders.
“God, I can’t even say how bloody amazing it is to see everyone here,” he said. “We’d always intended a quiet little ceremony, but when Carly and I went down the list of all of the amazing people in our lives, we knew that there was only so small this thing was going to be.”
More purposeful silence. I had to admit, Ryan really knew how to work a room.
“It’s been a strange path that’s brought us here, but one I’d walk down again and again. After all, it ends with me being married to my best friend and the mother of our amazing kids. We are so grateful for all of you to be here, to be a part of the happiest day of our lives. Well, second happiest, after the day those two made their entrances.” He nodded to the twins, who were so freaking adorable in their little dresses that it was almost criminal.
He handed the mic to Carly.
“Nothing I could say that my always dashing husband hasn’t already said. But thank you all for coming tonight and being a part of our special day.” Her eyes flashed, as if something had occurred to her. “Oh, I almost forgot – the maid of honor and best man speeches!”
Fuck. Part of me was hoping they would forget. No such luck.