Just One of the Groomsmen

by Cindi Madsen

  Now she was thinking she’d chosen wrong when she’d answered the phone.

  “Well, that’s somethin’, at least. Come on, I need more details. Lately my life revolves around the kids’ appointments and waiting for Eli to come home so I can have some actual adult conversation—I’m practically starved for it.” Her voice lowered. “Have you slept with him yet? And how was it? Did he…drill you good?”

  “Oh my gosh, we’ve only been on one date.” A small glimmer of hope rose—maybe it could actually go somewhere. “But we’re goin’ on another this weekend.”

  “It’s been a while since you’ve gone on two dates with a guy.”

  “Thanks, Alex. I’m well aware.”

  “You’re very welcome, Addison. Just thought I’d remind you that it wasn’t somethin’ to turn your nose up at.”

  She loved her sister like crazy, but sometimes she also made her crazy. If it didn’t come from a place of love, Addie would’ve simply hung up on her. Instead she defiantly turned up her nose—it was nice that her sister couldn’t see her right now.

  Fewer repercussions that way.

  “The reason I also bring up that it’s been a while is because that means you’ve been hanging with your boys a lot, and I’m sure you’re used to how things are between you and them, and…well, what I’m saying is, you’re different with the guys.”

  “Actually,” Addie said, “I’m different with you. With pretty much everyone except them.”

  With the guys, she never had to censor who she was, and she loved having a safe place to completely be herself.

  “Don’t worry,” she added. “I’m used to being an edited version of myself around other people.”

  “Good, good,” Alexandria said, again not one for sugarcoating. “Okay, I know you’re gonna want to reject this idea before I even finish, but please, Addie, just once in your life, listen to me. I know quite a bit about dating and landing a man.”

  “Maybe I don’t want to land one.”

  Even before her sister met Eli, she’d always had steady boyfriends, the kind who adored her. Addie didn’t want to feel like she had to “land” a man and do whatever it took to make him stay, but she could get on board with a little adoration.

  “You wanna die alone?”

  “Oh, for sure.” Addie set her laptop aside, since it was getting too warm and she clearly wasn’t going to get back to her job search anytime soon.

  Alexandria sighed again. “I want you to go and buy some sexy lingerie. Wear it underneath your clothes on your date.”

  “I’m not sleeping with him on date two.”

  She didn’t think.

  Depended how well it went.

  No, it was too soon.

  Shoot, she didn’t know.

  Like her sister pointed out, it’d been a while since she’d gone on a second date. Still, she usually dated for a while before she was ready to add sex to the mix, and she needed to be sure before she crossed that line.

  “It doesn’t matter whether you sleep with him at the end of the date or not. It’ll make you feel sexy. You’re all about not impressing anyone, right?”

  In spite of it feeling like a trap, Addie said, “Sure.”

  “Do it for you, then. When you feel sexy, it’ll show through. You’ll automatically be sexier, to yourself and to him.”

  Addie spun the idea over in her head.

  It’d been a long time since she’d felt sexy.

  Honestly, she wasn’t sure she’d ever felt truly sexy. Comfy always seemed to take precedence, and while she was confident in a lot of areas, the bedroom wasn’t one of them.

  While there was a general attraction to the dentist she hoped would grow stronger in time, part of her thought maybe she just didn’t feel sparks anymore. Like, maybe she’d grown immune to them.

  But then…

  Nope.

  She wasn’t going to think about the way she’d gotten that fresh-from-the-roller-coaster feeling when Tucker caught her wrist earlier today. That was…well, there was a logical explanation, and she’d figure it out later.

  If anything, it was more reason to focus on the dentist—on David. She was so sexually deprived, she was imagining things.

  “Promise me,” Alexandria said. “I’ll just call you every few hours until you agree. You know I will.”

  With Eli working so many late nights lately, Alexandria had way too much free time to worry about Addie’s social life. She had a feeling her sister would even load her kids in the car and drive down this weekend if she thought Addie needed a push.

  “Fine.” It wasn’t a totally horrible idea, she supposed.

  And she didn’t want to die alone, although there were like one hundred levels between landing a guy and that. Right now, she’d settle for not feeling the loneliness her empty house occasionally echoed back at her.

  What she truly wanted was a guy who wanted her. Who couldn’t wait to see her.

  Possibly she could even try the cuddling thing and see if it was all it was cracked up to be.

  After all, Shep was getting married. Once he’d met Lexi, things moved pretty fast, and it was only a matter of time before the rest of the guys found girlfriends of their own.

  Then where would she be? Perpetually third wheeling it?

  “Fine as in you promise?”

  “I promise,” Addie said. “In fact, I’m going online right now and I’m going to rush order some sexy underwear.”

  “Ooh, which site? I’ll help you look.”

  At first Addie thought it might be weird, but she was utterly clueless about lingerie, so she went ahead and let her sister take the wheel.

  And about thirty minutes and an outrageous amount of money later, several matching sets of underwear and one bustier that she feared she’d feel too ridiculous to ever actually squeeze herself into were on their way to her house.

  Chapter Seven

  Thursday night football meant the Old Firehouse was packed, and Addie couldn’t stop watching the door every time it opened, hoping the next person who walked through would be Tucker.

  They’d been interrupted by the dueling neighbors yesterday, and while Easton had come to the town square and done his best to help defuse the situation, threats of legal action were still being flung around as Tucker took Faye and her pig one way, and Easton took Nellie Mae the other.

  I should just text him and tell him to get over here.

  Only she was meeting Lexi, and she had no idea how long their planning session was going to run. When it came to all things wedding related, she wasn’t sure of pretty much anything besides how happy Lexi made Shep.

  Which was what she held on to when she wanted to crumple the confusing list and throw it in along with the towel.

  As if her thoughts had summoned them, the betrothed couple strolled in. Shep had Lexi tucked under his arm, and Addie wasn’t sure how he wasn’t tripping over tables and chairs, because he never broke eye contact with his fiancée as he led her to the table.

  “I’ll be over at the bar watching the game if you need anything,” he said, and Addie nearly begged him to take her with him.

  Then he gathered Lexi to him and kissed her, really giving it his all.

  Admittedly, a few times while being exposed to way too much of their PDA, a thread of longing had risen up in Addie, making her wish she had someone who’d kiss her that recklessly. Someone who didn’t care who was watching, because the need to touch and taste each other was too strong.

  The yearning that’d been growing more frequent as of late drifted to the surface now, and she told herself she had her group of guys, no matter what.

  Which she did, and they’d be there if she needed them, but it wasn’t the same. Even if she’d accidentally thought about Tucker too many times today. Not just that moment in the gazebo when his strong finger
s had been wrapped around her wrist but about how she laughed harder with him than anyone else.

  “Is Tucker coming to watch the game?” she asked Shep when he came up for air.

  “Not sure. Did you text him?”

  If she asked Shep to text, he would wonder why she couldn’t do it herself, and the great thing about their group was that things had never been weird between any of them.

  Well, besides the week or so back in high school when Shep’s status had changed and they hadn’t known how exactly to fit him into the group anymore.

  It was so long ago that it’d been forever since she’d even thought about that, and it all worked out for the best, thank goodness.

  Lexi took the stool across the table from Addie and then glanced back. “Will, honey, can you have the bartender send over a glass of rosé?”

  “No shit, they actually serve rosé here?”

  Lexi gave her an aren’t-you-precious look, but since Addie knew she didn’t mean anything derogatory by it—and since she’d spoken up against Delilah without needing to hear any of the details about how rude she was in high school—she let it slide right off her.

  “Did you want something else?” Lexi wrinkled her nose as she eyed the puddle of foam left in Addie’s glass. “Another beer?”

  “Sure.”

  Shep nodded, already understanding, and Addie resisted wrapping herself around his ankle and forcing him to drag her closer to the bar where the action was. She extended the beat-up paper with its rough sketch of the gazebo and measurements.

  “We got interrupted by a case of pig versus garden, but I managed to get the dimensions down.”

  Lexi arched her eyebrows, high enough they momentarily disappeared into the platinum blond. “Pig versus garden? Do I even wanna know?”

  “Probably not. And I have to warn you there’s a gag order in effect, so if the pig tries to talk to you, you just call Easton or Tucker.”

  Lexi laughed. “And see, here I thought I was getting out of the city and moving to somewhere safe. Somewhere where pigs and gardens could get along.”

  Addie snickered, Lexi’s unexpected humor easing some of the tension in her shoulders—she kept on surprising her.

  The paper crinkled when Lexi lifted it. She frowned at it, lips pursed. “Uh, what does this mean?”

  “Oh, I thought you’d know. I’m not sure how you want to drape the tulle, or if you were, like, wrapping it, or…”

  Using the side of her palm, Lexi smoothed out the paper, the ink smearing slightly and leaving streaks on her skin. “I’m not sure. I don’t really know what I’m doing.”

  “That makes two of us. I’m more the girl to call if you wanna know who to put on your fantasy football team or where to buy the best yoga pants. I can also go on all day about what makes the perfect hoodie—a mixture of fabric that’s thick and snuggly without being bulky and constricting. I prefer a zip-up for traveling and a pullover for watching TV at home or for doubling as pj’s on cold nights.” Addie’s gaze ran over Lexi’s red dress and matching heels. “Have you ever even worn a hoodie?”

  She laughed. “Of course. I’m not always dressed up. I just feel naked if I go out without my dressy clothes and makeup.”

  Shep materialized, a glass of pink wine in hand. “Did someone say naked?”

  She giggled as he set down her drink and kissed her cheek. “You seriously must have a sixth sense for when I say something improper.”

  “And I highly encourage you to set it off as much as possible.” Shep slid a beer bottle across the table, and Addie caught it, the condensation wetting her palm. He tipped his beer at her, and after she reciprocated, they both drank.

  Then cheers erupted and they lost him, his attention drifting over his shoulder.

  Addie braced her forearms on the table and peeked around the mess of bodies so she could catch the replay. Neither team was one she cared much about, besides seeing how they might measure up to her beloved Falcons.

  Still, any day with football on TV was a win in her book.

  Lexi encouraged Shep to return to the bar to watch, since they were in the middle of “boring wedding planning” and apparently saying “no kidding” about the boringness wasn’t the right thing.

  Oops.

  “What about poker?” Lexi asked once they were alone again, the din of the game and celebration back to a normal, background-level decibel.

  “At the wedding? That’d seriously rock.”

  She frowned, and Addie felt like she’d failed a pop quiz.

  Lexi twisted the stem of her wineglass between her fingers. “You were saying you were the girl to call to learn about football.” She took a demure sip of her drink. “I meant could you teach me how to play poker?”

  “Oh. Oh! For sure.”

  The concern faded as a smile curved her red lips, somehow unsmudged despite the kissing and drinking. “Will just talks about your games so much, and I’d like to try my hand at it. I don’t think I could get my mother on board for poker at the reception, though. Pretty sure she’d have a heart attack if I even mentioned it. She thinks I’m crazy to be getting married here and moving here, and basically, she just thinks I’m plumb crazy. Which, when it comes to that sexy man over there…” Her gaze drifted to Shep and a dreamy quality entered her features. “I am.”

  “It’s nice to see, actually. And the townspeople will love you forever for having the wedding here and letting them be part of it.” Addie picked up one of the stray coasters and spun it to give her fingers something to do. “And I’m sorry about saying that wedding planning is boring. It just…”

  “Is,” she supplied. “I mean for me, it’s overwhelming, but like I said when I asked for your help, I know it’s not your thing.”

  “I seriously don’t mind helping. But admittedly teaching you poker is something I’m way more qualified for.”

  It also gave Lexi more bonus points. Clearly she was embracing small-town life and trying to fit into the group, and hopefully that meant things wouldn’t have to change too terribly much after they were married.

  It also gave her an excuse to text Tucker and ask him to bring a deck of cards if he happened to swing by the bar to catch some of the game.

  While Addie waited for his response, she and Lexi made yet another to-do list from the master to-do list. Addie took the items she thought she could handle, or at least could find townspeople willing to help make them happen.

  In a lot of ways, discussing everything that needed done and how they’d go about handling them highlighted their differences, but along the way, they also connected.

  Which was probably why, when Tucker showed up and tossed a deck of cards across the room to Addie, Lexi felt comfortable enough to ask if she thought Tucker would be interested in Brittany. Evidently the meticulous brunette couldn’t stop talking about the way he’d swooped in and offered his car, and how sexy he was.

  What Addie wanted to say as she pulled the deck of cards out of the well-worn box was I’m not sure she’s his type. But his type had always been pretty Southern belles, ones who didn’t understand or care for Addie.

  So honestly, the bridesmaid was right up his alley, and now she was remembering that during the whole car-breakdown debacle, he’d requested she put in a good word.

  “Yeah, he’d probably be interested,” Addie said, and why did that make a pit form in her stomach?

  It had to be because she’d been thinking about what would happen if all her friends coupled off and she got left behind.

  But she forced herself to push that worry aside and say, “I’m sure he’d give her a call if you gave him her number.”

  More gut sinking immediately followed, which was stupid.

  Well, not exactly stupid. They’d been apart for two years and it sucked. With him in a different city, and communication between them slowing to a tri
ckle, there’d been a few times when she wondered if she was forgettable.

  Replaceable, even.

  Mostly just on dark days when she’d been missing Tucker more than usual or when she’d felt especially lonely.

  Part of the fault belonged to her, too. The roads went both ways, and she could’ve made more of an effort. So she resolved to do better, even if he got a girlfriend.

  She’d also try to ignore the jealousy—jealousy she’d feel for anyone who took away any of her time with him.

  She met his gaze, and he winked at her, a smug, semimocking grin on his lips that made it clear he was teasing her about her current wedding-planning situation.

  It also made her heart stutter the tiniest bit.

  Underneath the table, she thumbed out a text.

  Addie: FYI, I’m going to drag you with me to at least half these tasks, so wipe that smug look off your face.

  Tucker: Why don’t you come wipe it off for me?

  A swirl went through her stomach. Because of the challenge—she loved a good challenge.

  Addie: Oh, I’m coming for you. But it’ll be when you least expect it. Be afraid. Very afraid.

  Tucker: Unlike most guys, I’m not afraid of you.

  Her mouth dropped. He did not just go there.

  She glanced up in time to see his shoulders shaking in silent laughter, and she summoned the dirtiest look she could and aimed it his way.

  He dragged his finger around his collar in an exaggerated yeesh gesture, clearly thinking he was hilarious.

  “Addie?”

  She jerked her attention back to Lexi. “Sorry. Where were we?” She shuffled the cards and threw herself into explaining the ins and outs of poker. They went over the general rules, lingo, the hands and what beat what, and how the betting worked. It was way easier than discussing wedding decorations.

  Not to mention more fun.

  Later, when the guys came over, Lexi gave Tucker Brittany’s number, and as Addie watched him enter the digits into his phone, she became more and more determined to do whatever it took to make sure her date with David went well on Saturday.