Nearly openmouthed with surprise, Gina asked, “Did you just make a joke?”
Cassie’s brow wrinkled. “Hyperglycemia is a very dangerous condition. Why would anyone joke about it?”
Marnie bit back a laugh. “You’re right, sweetie. It’s a very good thing none of us are diabetic.”
“Okay,” Reese said, handing out small notepads, “taste them and rank them and give me your top three when you’re done. Let’s not dawdle, ladies.”
Marnie silently agreed with her. The quicker she got done here, the quicker she could get to Dylan’s. Between starting her new job, Reese’s wedding stuff and Dylan’s work, she hadn’t seen him since Saturday. It had been a beautiful day, probably one of the few left before winter arrived, so they’d gone to Central Park. It had been fun—not as fun as that evening, though, and if she’d known there would be a four-day lull, she might have been willing to skip the park. Or maybe she wouldn’t have let Dylan leave quite so early that night.
Regardless, she’d been walking around in a constant, nearly desperate, state of arousal for four days.
How quickly can I get through fourteen freaking types of cake?
“I wonder if Reese wants these rankings in order of my personal preference or the assumed preferences of the guests?” Cassie asked.
It took Marnie a second to realize Cassie was speaking to her. “Um, both?”
“Well, how can I possibly assume preferences of Reese’s guests without knowing who these guests might be?”
Gina bit her lip. “That’s an excellent question, Cas. Why don’t you go ask Reese?”
As Cassie went to do just that, Marnie shook her head at Gina, who looked completely unrepentant. “That was terrible of you to set her on Reese like that.”
“But it will be amusing to watch.”
It took less than a minute for Reese to get that glazed, confused look that Cassie’s logic put on nearly everyone’s face. She stifled a giggle.
It really was amazing how quickly and easily everyone had fallen back into the old, familiar roles of their youth. She picked up a fork and tried the lemon-tangerine cake before giving it an eight out of ten.
“How are you liking the new job?” Gina asked.
“I love it. I’m freakishly busy and the learning curve is killing me, but once we get past the fund-raiser next week, things will settle down and I’ll get it figured out.”
“Carter will be relieved to hear that. He worries.”
It was still hard to reconcile Gina’s view of Carter with her own. “And Reese has been a lifesaver. I’ve probably sent her ten emails a day and she’s answered every one of them. It’s really sweet of her to take time to help me while she’s trying to plan a wedding.”
“Well, I sincerely hope Reese goes through with this wedding,” Gina said quietly. With a delicate shudder, she added, “You know, I still can’t face a truffle.”
The coffee-flavored cake was okay, but it didn’t seem wedding-ish, so Marnie marked it low. “I take it you won’t be having them at your wedding, then?”
Gina snorted. “I learned a lot of things from Reese’s first wedding, and I’m sure I’ll pick up some ideas at her next—and hopefully last—one. That said, I’m glad she ended up with Mason. She and Dylan just weren’t a good match.”
Silently, Marnie agreed with her, but she had different evidence to influence her opinion. She knew Reese and now she knew Dylan. That “great team” would have bored them both senseless eventually and made them both miserable.
“It’s a pity, though,” Gina continued.
“What is?”
“Dylan. It’s such a waste. The man’s yummy. He’s got that whole James Bond debonair thing going for him that’s really sexy.”
Yes, yes, I know. Her thighs were getting twitchy just thinking about it. “You’re engaged to my brother. Try not to drool over other men in front of me.”
“I’m not drooling. I just know a pretty piece of man flesh when I see it. And it’s a shame that all that gorgeousness is wasted on Dylan Brookes.”
Marnie happened to agree with that, too, but she kept that opinion to herself. Gina was way too quick to pick up on the smallest hints in that direction. “I’ll tell Carter you said so.”
“I’m engaged, not dead. It’s purely an observation.” Gina took a bite of cake and made a face. “Who the hell makes coffee-flavored cake?”
Good. Let’s talk about cake. Her relief was short-lived, unfortunately.
“You have to watch out for men like him, though. They can surprise you.”
Marnie made a noise that she hoped was noncommittal enough.
“They seem all tightly wound and buttoned up, but under those suits...pure dynamite.” Gina raised an eyebrow. “Maybe Reese has been withholding important information from us. I might ask her.”
Marnie choked on the bite of coconut-with-mango-filling cake in her mouth. Gina handed her a glass of water. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” she managed to croak. “It just went down the wrong way.” Everyone had a past, but she didn’t like to even think about Dylan’s and Reese’s, much less get any solid details. She needed a new topic, fast. “Do you know where Mason is taking Reese for their honeymoon?”
“Not a clue.” Gina marked something on her pad. “I think I’ll skip the raspberry-filled one.”
Marnie grabbed on to the subject gratefully. “Why the hell couldn’t Reese have narrowed this down to a reasonable number before bringing us in? I’m not going to fit into my bridesmaid’s dress.”
Gina tapped Marnie’s arm with the pen. “Speaking of withholding information, I’d still like to hear more about your friend.”
“Gina, please. Not now.”
“Why not? It’s not like I know him.” Her eyes widened. “Wait, do I know him?”
The lighter-than-air cake stuck in her throat like a rock. She wasn’t choking this time, but adrenaline had tightened the muscles, making it impossible to swallow. Marnie just shook her head and made a point of obviously chewing.
Gina laid down her pen and paper, grabbed Marnie’s elbow and pulled her out of the bakery to the sidewalk away from the glass windows full of fancy multitiered cakes.
Shock opened her throat enough to swallow. “Gina! What are you doing?”
“What is with you?”
“Nothing.”
“Don’t feed me that. Something is going on with you and I want to know what it is.”
Gina was probably the one person she could tell. She was probably the only one who would understand, and she might even have some good advice. But still... “If I tell you something, will you swear not to tell anyone?”
Gina frowned. “I think we’ve proven that secrets are bad.”
That was not what she needed to hear, even though it was true. “Gina, please.”
“Okay, I promise.”
She took a deep breath. “It’s about Dylan.”
Gina’s eyebrows pulled together. “Reese’s Dylan?”
That made her stomach roil. She’d jumped right past that part, convincing herself that it didn’t matter. All that initial angst of sleeping with her friend’s ex came rushing back. “He’s not Reese’s Dylan,” she snapped.
“Jeez, no need to get so snippy about it.”
“I’m sorry. It’s just... See I’m... I mean, I’ve been...” She couldn’t quite figure out how to say it. She settled for, “Let’s just say that you’re right about Dylan. And the dynamite.”
Gina’s eyes widened. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Gina closed her mouth, cleared her throat, and tried again. “You had sex with Dylan Brookes?”
Marnie nodded. It felt good to confess to someone.
“I did not see that one coming, pardon the pun.”
“Neither did I.”
“What did Reese say about it?”
“Reese doesn’t know. Hence the whole swearing-you-to-secrecy thing.”
“I don’t think she’d car
e.”
“But I’d rather not risk it. Especially this close to the wedding... If she is going to mind, I’d rather she find out after the wedding.”
Gina shook her head like she was trying to clear it. “Okay, when did this happen?”
“It started the night of Cassie’s wedding.”
“Oh, then Reese has no reason to be bothered—wait. It started after Cassie’s wedding? As in not just one time?”
Marnie couldn’t keep eye contact and examined her fingernails instead. “Not just one time. Many. Multiple. Ongoing.”
Gina seemed to be having a hard time processing this relatively simple fact. “Dylan Brookes is the casual fling you were telling me about?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh, my God. Why do we not know this already?”
“Could you lower your voice, please?” She glanced around, but the others were still inside. “I really don’t want anyone to know.”
“Then why tell me?”
“Because you won’t think I’m some kind of slut. And you’ll keep this news to yourself.”
“I don’t understand the secrecy.”
“One, it’s casual. Just physical. Two, it’s temporary, so why get everyone worked up over something that’s not going to last? Three, I work for the man, so that’s just a little awkward, and four... It’s weird. He’s Reese’s ex. She might not be okay with that.”
Gina rolled her eyes. “One,” she mocked, holding up a perfectly manicured finger. “If it were just casual and physical, you wouldn’t have felt the need to tell me or defend Dylan’s masculinity. Two, all things are temporary until they’re made permanent, so unless there’s an actual expiry date, you deal with what you have. Three, so what? If it were truly that awkward, you’d pick the one of the two you liked better. The fact you haven’t says a lot. And finally, to four.” Gina met her eyes seriously. “Reese really doesn’t figure into this. Reese has moved on. To Mason, who she’s quite happy with, if you haven’t noticed.”
“Yet, you, yourself, just called him ‘Reese’s Dylan’—”
“Simply as a way to distinguish him from every other Dylan in the world.”
“But what if she doesn’t feel that way? I know it would be strange if she did, but people can get weird about those kinds of things.”
Gina waved a hand dismissively. “Reese gave up any right to feel proprietary about Dylan or weird about who he sleeps with the minute she picked Mason. Should she lose sight of that fact, I will remind her.” Her voice dropped a notch, “Honestly, though, I bet she’d be thrilled.”
She nearly snorted, but caught herself in time. “That’s stretching it, don’t you think?”
“Reese considers Dylan a friend, so she’d want him to move on. You’re also her friend, and she’d want you to be happy. And you know Reese is far too realistic to believe that she has some kind of forever claim on the man. I tell you what, let’s go ask her—”
Gina started to walk toward the door, and Marnie grabbed for her arm to pull her back. “God, no. Did you not hear the whole ‘not before the wedding’ part? Reese doesn’t need to know this now, if ever. It could be over next week, and I would have upset Reese for no reason.”
“What might upset Reese for no reason?”
Marnie spun around at the sound of Cassie’s voice, but thankfully Reese was not with her. “Nothing.”
“Marnie is having sex with Dylan Brookes and is worried it might upset Reese for some reason if she knew.”
Oh, dear God. “Gina! You promised!”
Gina merely shrugged. “At the time, I thought it was going to be something important.”
Now was not the time to argue the point. “Cassie, please just keep this to yourself.”
“Cassie, tell her that Reese isn’t going to be upset over this news.”
Cassie looked confused. “I’m not sure I fully understand the problem.”
“See,” Gina said. “Even Cassie agrees it’s not a problem.”
“That’s not what she means and you know it,” Marnie snapped. “You know, this is a moot argument anyway. It’s only a temporary thing.”
Gina shook her head. “I’m starting to question that.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re awfully defensive,” Gina said. “Is this really just a fling?”
“Of course it is. Me and Dylan? We have nothing in common beyond really, really good sex. It won’t last. It couldn’t.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Cassie interrupted in that matter-of-fact tone. “In reality, you and Dylan are quite a logical pairing.”
Logical? “What the—”
“Oh, do tell,” Gina interrupted with a smile on her face.
“Because Reese and Marnie are friends, they share certain personality traits and common interests. Those similarities could certainly extend to preferences in mates. Conversely,” Cassie added earnestly, “those shared personality traits means that the same attributes Dylan found attractive in Reese would also attract him to Marnie.”
She hated it when Cassie got logical. It was impossible to argue with her, even though she really wanted to. She didn’t like the fact Cassie was making sense.
“In addition, Reese has, in a sense, already vetted Dylan as a satisfactory mate, as evidenced by her willingness to marry him. And Dylan, having lost his original choice, may see Marnie as a suitable substitute, particularly since they also share similar physical attributes.”
Nausea rolled through her stomach. “Oh, God, that’s just disturbing. I’m a Reese substitute.”
“No, no, no,” Gina interrupted, and Marnie caught the “Stop Talking” look she shot Cassie. “This is not about Reese. This is about you.”
“What?”
“Cassie’s mostly right.” She held up a hand as Cassie started to smile. “Except about the substitution thing, because while you and Reese do have a lot in common, you are very different people. But if you ask me–”
“Which I didn’t—”
“Actually, you did,” Gina interrupted. “You wouldn’t have said anything at all if you didn’t want my opinion.”
This was more than she could process at the moment. “Then let’s just back up and forget I said any of it. Y’all are making my head hurt.”
“If you like Dylan—which you obviously do, it’s clear as day—you should explore it and see where it goes. But don’t use Reese as an excuse to keep yourself at arm’s length.”
“You’re way off track.”
“Please.” Gina tossed her hair over her shoulder and crossed her arms across her chest. “Do you honestly think it’s not very clear to us what you’re doing?”
“It’s not clear to me,” Cassie interrupted.
Gina turned to her. “Think, Cas. Use that big brain. When we used to talk about the kind of men we’d marry, what did Marnie not want?”
That was true, but that’s why she didn’t like him, and why it could only be a casual thing.
Cassie’s brow wrinkled, then. “Oh. Dylan represents what Marnie rejected.”
“Very good, Cas.”
Cassie beamed. Marnie wanted to pull her hair out in fistfuls. Maybe she needed different friends. Ones who didn’t know her back in the old days.
“What did Marnie used to call it? Umm...”
“The wifelet,” Cassie supplied.
“Exactly. Dylan’s the kind of man who needs a wifelet to host the parties and make him look good while he rules the world. You like him, that scares you, and so you’re coming up with all kinds of excuses.”
Her head was about to explode. She knew it. “That’s enou—”
“What is going on?”
They jumped and turned. Reese and Amber stood in the bakery door wearing matching frowns. But neither of them looked shocked or surprised, so most likely, they hadn’t overheard the conversation.
“Why are you all out here? You’re supposed to be helping me pick a cake.”
“Marnie doesn’t want you to know,�
�� Cassie said, and Marnie died a little inside.
Gina elbowed Cassie and then smiled at Reese. “Because it’s a surprise. Um...” She looked at Marnie for help, but Marnie was still reeling and had nothing to offer. “Um...for the rehearsal dinner,” she finally said.
Reese teared up. “Aw, you guys are so sweet.”
Marnie managed a weak smile in return.
“But can you please come finish with the tasting? I need decisions.” Reese and Amber went back inside with Cassie in their wake, leaving Marnie and Gina alone.
“Give it a think, okay?”
Like she had a choice. “I’m still going to kill you, but not until after the wedding.”
Gina patted her on the back. “We’ll see.”
Marnie tried all nine remaining cakes, feigning sincere interest for Reese’s benefit, but Gina and Cassie’s words were banging around in her head and they all tasted like wet sawdust to her. She needed to get out of here and clear her mind. She randomly picked three to recommend to Reese, grabbed the bridesmaid’s dress Amber pushed in her direction, and claimed a headache as her reason for a hasty exit.
A text came in before she was halfway down the block.
“Let me know if you want to talk more—G”
Unfortunately, Gina had said more than enough.
* * *
Marnie should really have been here by now. She said she had a wedding thing with Reese and the others right after work, but that it wouldn’t take long. He’d showered, shaved, ordered dinner, and opened the wine and still nothing. As the clock ticked past seven, Dylan still hadn’t heard from her.
She’d sent him several explicit texts today, more than enough to keep him on a low boil, and since she claimed to be feeling similarly, he couldn’t understand why she was so late.
He wasn’t worried yet, but there was concern.
Then the doorman called. “Mr. Brookes? This is rather unusual, I know, but your friend Miss Price is here.”
How was that unusual? She’d been here enough that they normally just waved her through now. “Then send her up.”
“That’s the thing, Mr. Brookes. She’s not actually in the building. A taxi dropped her off about twenty minutes ago, but she’s been sitting outside since then. We’re not sure what to do. And it’s about to start to rain.”
Last Groom Standing Page 11