Kitty Valentine Dates a Best Man

by Jillian Dodd

  Her face scrunches up, like she’s thinking hard about this.

  “My God, you’re right,” she eventually states. Her shoulders slump. “Damn it. I’m missing out on my wedding. I’ve put months of work into planning this, and I won’t have anything to remember but being annoyed when we fall behind schedule or getting mad at Hayley for fighting with the girls.”

  “Yeah, that’s probably true.” I’m trying my best to be gentle with her since I’m sure this can’t be easy to hear. “But, hey, there’s plenty of time for you to still be present in the moment. We’re only on day three. You can relax and let go and make the most of what’s left.”

  “I have to admit, I don’t know if I’ll be able to do it. That’s not my style.” She snickers, casting a rueful look my way. “Big surprise, I’m sure.”

  “No comment,” I whisper, and she laughs. Thank goodness.

  “I can try though. I want to have fun.”

  “You can do it. Tell Zack how you feel. He can talk you off the ledge whenever it seems like things are slipping out of your control and you get that tight feeling in your chest. Tell Hayley too.” She rolls her eyes. “I mean it,” I add.

  “You know she won’t listen.”

  “I think she will. I know she loves you, but you two would get along better, I think, if she saw you as a human being instead of this perfect person you give the impression of being. Like you never make a mistake or have things you regret. If she could relate to you, she’d get along with you. I swear. I’ve been putting up with her for years.”

  It’s nice to hear her laugh after so many days of wondering whether her teeth would break if she clenched them any tighter.

  She surprises me with a fierce hug. “Thanks. I’m so glad Hayley has a friend like you.”

  “Do me a favor and tell her that, okay?”

  She giggles and nods. “While I’m at it, I’ll ask Zack to ask his guys to lay off the booze. They’re treating this week like they’re back on spring break or something.”

  “I know, right? It’s completely irresponsible, and you couldn’t have imagined that. But maybe, you know … maybe only the people who feel up to it have to go on the excursions and activities. Hayley’s probably down at the dock right now. Her boss called just as we were leaving the room. I know she wanted to snorkel, and so did Brandon.”

  “Yes, I guess I can’t expect so much from certain people.” She hugs me again. “Thanks. I think I’d better go and apologize to the instructor.”

  “Heck no. Let them do it. They’re the ones who made fools of themselves. You take care of you and your fiancé.”

  She seems to like this idea. Her eyes even brighten a little before she hurries away in the direction of the snorkelers.

  Maybe this morning isn’t a total waste. If I helped take the stick out of her butt, or however Hayley likes to put it, that’s fine with me.

  The sound of a throat being cleared makes me gasp and spin in my chair.

  “Sorry.” Kellen holds up both hands, freezing in place on the other side of the semicircular bar. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  I laugh, nervous. “You have a habit of being nearby when I least expect you.”

  “Yeah, I’m stealthy.” He looks away from me, to where Kylie is still visible on her way to the group. “No, really, I was looking for her. Zack was worried about her. He didn’t know what to do. If he ran off after her, it would make things look worse than they were and bring the mood down even further. So, I offered.”

  “Best-man duties.”

  “Something like that.” He eyes me with a grin. “You were too fast for me.”

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean to step on your toes.”

  “No, no, believe me, I’m glad you did. If I had caught up with her first, I don’t know what I would’ve said. It probably would’ve come off sounding stupid. You knew exactly how to handle the situation.”

  Modesty compels me to shrug this off, though I can’t help but warm a little inside at the sound of his approving tone. Like he’s impressed.

  “I’ve been paying attention to her. Trying to figure her out. Hayley granted me a little extra insight yesterday too.” I glance his way with a smile. “But, hey, don’t sell yourself short. You knew just what to say to me when I was freaking out inside the bus. A lot of people might’ve ignored me or handed me over to Hayley since she knows me so well. You didn’t. You kept me calm.”

  He scoffs and tries to brush it off. “Yeah, well, Hayley already had her hands full with trying to keep her brother safe from the big, bad blondes.”

  “Still, you didn’t have to. So, I think you might’ve been able to get through to Kylie.”

  When he reaches me, he kisses my cheek. “You’re a real person. Decent. Substantial. Worth knowing.”

  My cheeks flush. “I have to admit, I’ve never heard those words used to describe me before.”

  “Then, you aren’t talking to the right people.” He squeezes my shoulder gently but firmly. “Just think, if you hadn’t talked sense into her, Kylie could’ve ended up regretting this entire week. You did something special today because you’re special.”

  I’m so overwhelmed; I don’t know what to say. I guess anything would sound empty and silly at this point—not to mention the fact that my tongue is completely tied, useless. I can only glow in the warmth of his approval.

  “Be careful,” I warn him. “I might start getting a big head if you don’t take it easy.” Because, obviously, I’m the queen of deflection when there’s nothing else I can think to say.

  “Fine, be that way.” He backs away with a wide smile, holding his hands up like he did before. “Keep pretending you don’t know how cool you are. I’ll get through to you before the week is over.”

  As he wanders off, all I can do is hope he keeps trying.

  CHAPTER TEN

  “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

  Missy shook her head, determined. “No, I’m going to. So long as it means shutting their mouths.”

  She threw a look over her shoulder, where the mean-girl bridesmaids looked on. There was nothing in the world so obvious as somebody trying to pretend they weren’t paying attention when they clearly were.

  Followed only by how obvious they made it that they couldn’t stand her.

  “Them?” Trent snickered, shaking his head. “What the hell does it matter what they think? Or even what they say? Nobody with a brain in their head would pay attention anyway.”

  She looked him up and down, not even bothering to make it seem like she wasn’t studying him. “You’re just saying that.”

  “No, I’m not just saying it. I mean it. They’re jokes, all of them. Don’t you know that?”

  “I know it. I just didn’t think you did.”

  He had a nice laugh, the sort that made a person want to laugh with him. The sort of laugh that lightened a person’s spirits.

  A miraculous laugh, since not much else in the world could’ve inspired Missy to giggle while standing on a cliff, overlooking the crystal-clear water below.

  How was she to know she was afraid of heights? She had been all over the world, had gone to the top of the Eiffel Tower, had taken a hot air balloon ride. She had certainly enjoyed the view from more than one Manhattan penthouse.

  There was a difference in all those situations when compared to the one she was in now.

  A guard rail had been involved. Or a window. Something to hold on to, something between her and the free fall.

  Not so much now. Standing at the edge of a cliff, looking down, down, down to the rocks below. Water battered those rocks, and how could she not picture her body being battered too?

  Her broken, bruised, bloodied body. After falling and hitting approximately every rocky ledge on the way down.

  “I guess now isn’t the time to tell you how clumsy I am.”

  “Maybe you shouldn’t think about it,” Trent suggested.

  “It’s just that I tend to trip
over thin air. If there’s any way for me to hurt myself, I’ll find it.”

  “Terrific. I’ll make it a point to stay far away from you.”

  Her head snapped around, and she could just feel her eyes bulging as she glared at Trent and his smirking face. “Thanks a lot!”

  “Hey, what am I supposed to do? Stand here and wait for you to fall against me, knocking us both over the edge?”

  It was only then that she figured out he was kidding around. When she cracked a smile, he smiled too.

  “See? It’s not so dire. Don’t think about what you don’t want to happen because that’s a surefire way to get what you don’t want.”

  He looked away from her, over the water stretching out in all directions. “Just look at how beautiful it is. Stand absolutely still, take a deep breath, and think about how lucky we are to be here. Right here, right in this moment. Today. When the water is so clear and the breeze is so warm. Can you smell the firepits back at the resort, where they’re getting ready to start roasting the pigs for tonight’s party?”

  “I guess now isn’t the time to tell you that I’m a vegetarian.”

  He laughed again. “You’re tough. Tell me you smell the wood burning.”

  “I do. It makes me think of camping when I was little. I used to go to the campgrounds with my parents and grandparents every summer. They had a trailer there big enough for the five of us.”

  “I can tell just by the way your voice changed that those are happy memories.”

  “The best. I used to look forward to it all year long. And then, when it finally came around, time slipped past. I wanted so much to hold on to it, but it was like blinking my eyes, and poof! It was over.”

  “That’s how it is. Life, I mean.”

  From the corner of her eye, Missy watched as he slid his hands into his pockets. His shoulders rose and fell as he took a deep breath—broad shoulders, thick, just like his thick arms and thighs, which she only now realized she’d been paying attention to.

  “When we try to hold on too tight, that’s when we lose what we’re holding on to. We can only enjoy things when we let go.”

  If this had happened under any other circumstances, she would’ve rolled her eyes. If one of her friends had told her of an experience like this, where a handsome stranger gave excellent life advice while standing on a cliff, she would’ve told them to get a grip.

  Yet here she was, and there he was. And in that moment, he was the only thing keeping her from launching into a full-fledged panic attack that would have probably sent her over the edge. Literally.

  Okay, so maybe I changed the details of the situation a little bit. A lot actually. At least my heroine had the courage to get off the bus. I couldn’t even manage that.

  And, sure, I might or might not have shared my own wisdom through my hero. Sue me. What I said has already had an almost-magical effect on Kylie, who, since yesterday morning, has loosened up to the point where everybody has mentioned it.

  At least, according to Hayley, who still can’t get over the difference.

  “You know, she actually said it was up to us whether or not we wanted to go parasailing. Did the aliens come and replace her when I wasn’t looking?”

  I only smiled and shrugged. “Maybe she finally figured out this is supposed to be fun and memorable. That looks different to different people. To some, fun means parasailing and snorkeling. To others, it means getting drunk off their butt every night.”

  “That’s another thing! I went down to the bar last night, figuring the guys would be there and they weren’t!”

  I only offered another Mona Lisa smile.

  I’ve never been one to brag after all. Besides, if Kylie hasn’t mentioned anything about our conversation, I won’t either.

  Hayley decided to go parasailing, but I begged off. I really do need to finish taking notes on this new project.

  And judging by the fact that I already have a few chapters at least roughly sketched out, my creative muse was just dying to get out and have a little fun.

  It must be the fresh air and all the sunshine. Much more sunshine than I ever get back home, cooped up in my apartment.

  Yet the thought of my apartment makes my heart clench a little. I can’t be homesick, can I? It hasn’t even been a week. People take vacations all the time. I’ve even been known to go away now and then, shockingly enough.

  Still, as divine as it is to sit on my patio with the beach just inches from my feet and nothing but the blue sky above me, I sort of miss my routine. Morning yoga in front of the window, letting the sunshine stream in. Ordering from my favorite Chinese place for lunch. With or without Matt.

  I’m still not totally cool with him, even after almost a week. In fact, I would rather not think about him right now.

  Still, he’s part of my routine. So is Phoebe. And I miss her even if I don’t miss her owner very much and would like to drown him a little if he were here with me.

  Maybe I’m getting too set in my ways. I need to mix things up. That’s never a good thing, falling into a rut.

  And if the amount of work I’ve already gotten done in only a couple of hours is any indication, a change in routine is good for my creativity.

  It also helps that I have solid source material to work with.

  In other words, the fact that Kellen has been so sweet. Much sweeter than I would’ve originally imagined. Of course, I’m working that into my outline too. My hero doesn’t start off all sweetness and sunshine. In fact, I don’t want him to ever be that way.

  After all, a little bit of salt brings out the flavor of the dish. You can’t have all sweetness, all the time.

  And I think, after these last several days of getting to know him, finding Kellen’s got salt and sweet in equal measure makes him more interesting. More intriguing. It makes those sweet moments all the sweeter and more worthwhile.

  I never would’ve imagined that coming here for a week would open my eyes this way.

  Maybe I should get my publisher to reimburse Hayley and Kylie for the costs.

  Cracking my knuckles, I get back to work.

  “Hey, Missy! You should try looking over the edge!”

  Missy shot a look in the direction of the group of bridesmaids, where two of them were chortling like what they’d just heard was the funniest thing that had ever happened. She had never been very good at defending herself. It was easier to stand back, to be passive, to let things happen without too much fuss.

  In other words, she’d spent her entire life trying to avoid confrontation.

  Yet, for some reason, things looked different now.

  Maybe it was the sea air, fresh and salty. The scent of the firepits carrying her way on the breeze.

  Maybe it was the fact that she had managed to stand here, in this spot, and not drop dead of fright—or go over the edge, screaming the whole way down.

  It could be the presence of the man standing next to her, someone who didn’t say a word but whose jaw had visibly tightened at the sound of giggles at Missy’s expense.

  Whatever it was, it heated her blood and stiffened her spine.

  “I sure wouldn’t want to land in the water without a flotation device to hang on to. Maybe you could help me out, Lexi?” With that, Missy shot a very pointed look at the girl’s way overinflated chest.

  Lexi’s face went red, her eyes narrowing until they were barely slits. “I guess some of us would sink pretty quickly, wouldn’t we?” She stared at Missy’s butt, snickering.

  But Missy had come to love her curves, and she never would have body-shamed anybody who wasn’t being a wretched, nasty witch. Sometimes though, people needed to be put in their place.

  Which was why she took a chance, winding her arm around Trent’s and smiling up at him. “You wouldn’t let me sink, would you?” she asked.

  His flash of a smile told her he understood. “No way. If you went over, I would go after you.”

  “My hero,” she cooed, squeezing his arm a little for
effect.

  The widening of his smile told her he understood—that he might have even encouraged it a little.

  Still, she had to be sure. On their way back to the bus, she whispered, “Sorry if I laid it on a little too thick back there.”

  “Are you kidding?” His eyes met hers, and for the first time, something danced in them. Something she hadn’t seen before. A new light. “If that had gone on much longer, I might’ve had to kiss you in front of everybody just to shut their mouths.”

  Her insides fluttered at the thought.

  And she wondered if it was crazy to wish Lexi hadn’t given up so easily.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “Wow.” That’s pretty much all I can say after stepping into the banquet room, where the rehearsal dinner is set to take place.

  Actually, that’s not quite true. I haven’t fully entered the room yet, instead lingering in the doorway. It’s like I’ve completely forgotten how to walk.

  Mostly because I’m overwhelmed by how beautiful everything is. If I didn’t know better, I would think this was the reception rather than the rehearsal dinner. Lush floral arrangements as centerpieces, candlelight flickering in every corner and on every table.

  It was a beautiful rehearsal too. Picture-perfect. I snapped a few shots with my phone and plan to show them to Kylie. If she wants, I’ll send them to her since they are truly spectacular.

  Not that my photography skills had anything to do with it. It just so happened that she and Zack were standing on a bluff overlooking the water, and the sun was on its way down beneath the horizon as they held hands and looked into each other’s eyes.

  Really, I couldn’t have come up with a better image if I tried.

  If things go even half as well tomorrow, this wedding will be one for the history books.

  Now, there is the matter of a serious party about to go down. I hope, for the sake of everybody involved with the wedding party, that it wraps up early and doesn’t involve too much alcohol, though I see bridesmaids and groomsmen already approaching the bar.