But he didn’t want her to have a single regret about this night, and something told him if she kept nodding off through the rehearsal tomorrow, she would. So as much as it killed him to do so, he nudged her awake. “Come on, gorgeous. Time for me to take you home.”
Chapter 13
Brody scowled into the mirror above the sink and adjusted his coat, getting ready for the rehearsal. Of all the days to be booked from dawn to dusk, it had to be this one. Gwen was finally, unequivocally his, but had he been able to call her up for breakfast as he had so many other days? No, because today, he’d had the inspector coming through and meetings with vendors he’d set up months ago. By the time he was free, Gwen was already mani-pedi deep in spa activities for the bride’s side.
Yeah, he’d see her at the rehearsal soon, but they weren’t even riding together, and Bret had asked if he’d be willing to hang out afterward. Only the biggest douche in the world would blow off the guy he’d sworn to be best man for because of a woman. Even if said woman was special and sweet and had been driving him out of his mind for so long, he could almost, almost justify doing it.
But damn it, best men didn’t leave their grooms hanging the night before they made the biggest commitment of their lives. No matter how bad they wanted to. And worse? Playing extremely unfairly when he’d walked her to her apartment early that morning, Gwen had extracted his oath to behave over the next two days.
In other words, no epic displays of PDA.
That was already driving Brody nuts, and he hadn’t even seen her yet. All he could think about was wanting to get his hands on her again. Wanting to taste her and touch her and hold her. He wanted to hear her moan his name and see her eyes when she came apart and figure out every different way he could get her there.
How the hell was he supposed to play it cool when he hadn’t seen Gwen in almost twelve hours, and during the last minutes he’d spent with her, she’d been making all those sounds that had nearly pushed him over the edge?
Fuck, those sounds.
He was going to be thinking about them all night. Thinking about the hot rush of her breath against his jaw and the way she pulled at his hair when he bit her neck.
Great, not helping at all. And even better, Bret was downstairs waiting for him, and now he had a semi. This was going to be a long fucking night, and the part where he got to see Gwen? Not nearly long enough.
When they arrived at the church in Evanston, Claudia was already there with her family, chatting with the priest. Brody jogged up with Bret to shake hands, exchange greetings, and assure the mother of the bride that the worst of the weather was behind them and the forecast for the next day couldn’t be brighter. That was true. They were looking at highs around forty-five with clear skies and plenty of sun. And with an end-of-December wedding date, you really couldn’t ask for more than that. Soon, the cars started pulling into the lot. One bridesmaid here, another groomsman there. The grandparents and Bret’s aunt. And then there it was: Ted’s sedan with Gwen in the passenger seat.
Brody should’ve known they’d come together, and the sight of them shouldn’t have made the muscles along his back tense and scream, but he hadn’t, and it did.
Nothing had happened with Ted. Nothing was going to happen either. Gwen had stopped wanting Ted as anything more than the friend he’d always been. It was complicated and a little messy, but when it came to Gwen, the pencil neck was part of the package. So Brody needed to chill the hell out.
Of course, watching the guy hop out of the car and jog around to help Gwen, then keeping his hand at the small of her back as they walked up the shoveled walk wasn’t helping. Jesus, he wasn’t a jealous guy. Or he hadn’t been. But this—Gwen, Ted, the crush too recently killed—was bringing out a side of himself that he didn’t normally see. Didn’t totally like. But couldn’t seem to cool.
Brody met them on the front steps, using everything he had in him not to stare Ted down until the guy tucked tail and ran. Instead, he focused on the woman he’d been waiting to see. “Hey, gorgeous. Ted. You guys get up here okay?”
He asked the question in a general, nonexclusionary way, but he was looking at Gwen as he waited for the answer.
She nodded, a pretty pink pushing into her cheeks.
“I visited with Claudia a couple of months ago, so we knew where we were going.” She glanced around, nodding down the street. “It’s pretty up here. All these old houses and big trees. Can you imagine it in the fall?”
He could. He could imagine walking the lakefront with her, the falling leaves catching in her hair. Kissing her. And as enlightened a guy as he might be, he was still a guy, so he could imagine doing a hell of a lot more than just that.
“We’ll make a date up here next year,” he suggested, reaching for her so she fit under his arm. Which absolutely wasn’t breaking any promises about behaving, so he wasn’t going to feel guilty. Especially when she snuggled in to him, her arms coming around his waist.
This woman.
Inside the church, Brody started to help Gwen with her coat, but then Ted was right there taking it out of his hands, muttering something about keeping their coats together for when they left later. It didn’t matter.
Ted could run off with Gwen’s coat, no problem. Because that left Brody alone with her. Or as alone as they could get in the middle of a church filled with all the critical players from the wedding party. So really, it just left them together without Ted for a few minutes, and Brody would take that any day of the week.
Leaning close, he asked, “How’d you sleep?”
* * *
Gwen could feel the heat of Brody’s body from her shoulder all the way down to her heels.
She smiled and turned her head to answer over her shoulder, keeping her voice low. “Not at all. And you?”
“Not a wink. But I’ve got to tell you, it was the best night I’ve had in weeks.”
She felt the brush of his knuckles low over her spine and bit her lip. “I get that.”
She wanted to turn to him, run her hands up the solid expanse of his chest, and sift her fingers through his hair. Tell him that she’d been thinking about him from the minute he dropped her off until her alarm sounded, and it had taken everything she had not to call and beg him to come back.
So much for getting some rest before the big weekend.
“You girls have plans tonight after the dinner?” he asked, playing with the ends of her hair, his touch light and tender.
“Couple of us are going over to this pub with Claudia for a while. I guess it was one of her favorites when she lived up here. Tina and Janna are staying at Claudia’s parents’ place with her overnight, but Ted is going to drive Nat and me back into the city tonight.”
“Sounds like fun. Wish I could join you, but Bret—”
“I know, I know. A best man’s work is never done. I’m glad he has you as a friend.”
Bret didn’t have much family, and from what Claudia had told her, he didn’t connect with people that easily. Heck, half his groomsmen were Claudia’s friends or family.
She peeked back toward the front of the church where people seemed to be getting organized. The rehearsal was about to start. Still, she had one last thing to say. “I’ll miss you tonight.”
Brody opened his mouth, but then his eyes shifted past her, and his expression shut down.
“Time to line up, Gwennie.” Ted was waiting with his arm out to the side, an open smile on his face. “You ready?”
He was such a good guy. A great guy. A true friend, but right then, he was the last man whose arm she wanted to take for a stroll down the aisle. What she wanted was another few minutes with Brody. Okay, another few minutes in the stockroom with Brody and the door locked and no one coming to interrupt them.
She pushed a smile to her face and stepped over to where everyone was lining up. “You bet.”
The rehearsal went like they always do. A few people fumbling around, but for most, this wasn’t their first gig. Brody looked like he could have handled it in his sleep. He was quick to help out, and by the time they were through, he was everyone’s favorite person. Especially hers.
Dinner was at a little Italian place a few blocks away, and when Gwen arrived, Brody was sitting next to Bret. He shot her an apologetic look when she walked in, his eyes cutting to shriveled Aunt Doris who’d claimed the seat beside him and, despite being nearly ninety-five, wasn’t immune to his physical draw.
The frail little thing couldn’t seem to stop touching him.
Tim called to Gwen from the other end of the table where he was holding out one of two open chairs. The restaurant was noisy and crowded, but in a way that left them all laughing and having fun, even when they had to squeeze to get everyone seated around the tables that weren’t quite big enough for their group.
After a half hour, she discreetly pulled her phone out to text Brody.
Gwen: Should I be jealous?
Brody: Yes. Save me.
Gwen: It’s those arms. They’re like a magnet…impossible to resist.
Brody: I know about the arms. I’m used to the touchy arm stuff. Even guys feel them up.
So he noticed. She’d wondered about that. But the guys too? Wow.
Brody: It’s the leg where I draw the line.
Laughing, she peered over at him, ready to scold him for joking about a little old lady like that. Only then, she saw it. Brody going stiff in his chair. His ruddy complexion turning a deeper shade of beet as he retrieved Aunt Doris’s wandering hand from what Gwen could only assume was the vicinity of his lap.
Doris looked delighted.
“Gwennie, you remember when we were kids? Stella Jackson and Mike Rychek’s wedding?” Ted asked, leaning his shoulder into hers as he cut into his chicken Florentine.
Dragging her attention from Brody, she turned to Ted. “Sorry?”
“You were the flower girl, and I was the ring bearer.”
She laughed. Of course she remembered. It had been one of those days that put the kind of fairy-tale notions in a little girl’s head that were nearly impossible to shake out.
He winked. “Remember the dress? It was one of those pint-size replicas of the bride’s.”
“That dress!” She sighed, leaning back in her chair and pressing a hand to her chest. “I couldn’t get enough of that dress. I think I wore that thing until it was disintegrating on my body.”
Ted was laughing beside her. “Yeah, you were wearing it when you made me marry you in the backyard by the old oak tree.” And then she was laughing hard enough that tears were squeezing out of the sides of her eyes. Because she remembered that screwed-up little scowl on his face as she told him what to do. “You were not happy.”
Just then, Brody slid into the chair the wedding coordinator had vacated across the table from them.
“What’s so funny?” he asked, his eyes fixed on hers in a way that made her heart catch.
“Just reminiscing with Gwennie about that time we got married,” Ted explained, hooking his arm over the back of her chair.
Brody’s eyes met with hers, his smile amused. “Married, huh?”
She grinned. “We were six.”
Ted shook his head from beside her. “She says that like she thinks it doesn’t count or something.”
Brody’s jaw shifted to one side as he shook his head. “I can imagine you all dressed up—”
“Covered in dirt and grass stains and bossing this poor guy around.” Glancing back at Ted, she saw he was still watching her. Still smiling, and her heart warmed. Yeah, he’d been acting a little off, a little jealous about Brody maybe, but that would pass.
This guy was her oldest friend. They’d been through so much together, were so much a part of each other’s lives—and for the first time since they were kids, she realized how truly lucky she was that it had never gone beyond that.
Chapter 14
“Double espresso please—no, make it a triple.”
Gwen handed her credit card to the clerk and wondered whether anyone would notice if she took a little nap in the limo. She was starting to feel like she couldn’t even remember the last time she’d had a full night of sleep. And since she didn’t plan on getting much that night either… a few z’s en route to the church hardly seemed like much to ask.
She sighed. If only.
After the rehearsal, Brody and Bret had taken off for a quiet last night of bachelorhood, and she’d gone with Claudia and a few friends to the pub. Turned out to be a great place, and more than a few of Claudia’s high-school besties had shown up to help her celebrate before the big day. It hadn’t been a long night. Gwen had been in bed by twelve, but once again, she’d been lying there, staring at her ceiling and thinking about Brody.
She should have dragged him off to the ladies’ room at the restaurant when she’d had the chance. Not very romantic, but she’d been aching to feel his mouth on hers again. She wanted the tightening of his fists at her sides and—
Who was she kidding? She wanted to feel all of him, and she wanted to feel it everywhere, and while something quick would have been a start, she wanted it for a whole night. For longer than that.
She was sugaring up her order when Janna materialized beside her.
“Just a sip. We’re T minus sixty, and the last thing we need are a bunch of bridesmaids crossing their legs during the ceremony.”
Gwen forced a chuckle, hoping the sound was at least remotely sincere. There was something off about Claudia’s maid of honor she couldn’t put her finger on. Not that it mattered. By this time tomorrow, Janna would be on her way back up to Wisconsin, and hopefully Gwen wouldn’t see her again until they had a baby shower to attend.
Gwen’s sip was more like a gulp as she started to head back toward the rest of the girls gathered by the front door. But then Janna was beside her again, reaching out to touch Gwen’s arm.
“So, you and Brody?” she asked, and if this was her idea of polite chitchat, she really needed to work on it. Because it felt forced. Uncomfortable.
Still, it was a simple question and one she didn’t mind answering. Gwen took another less greedy sip and nodded. “He’s a good guy.”
“And what about Ted?”
Gwen blinked, not following.
But the way Janna’s lips had pressed into a flat line and her eyes were all but shooting daggers said maybe she was. Did this have something to do with Ted and Janna hooking up after the shower?
“Ted and I grew up next door to each other. We’ve been friends forever, so we’re very close. But that’s all it is.”
If it was possible, Janna looked even more pissed. “Friends. But not just friends. At least not always.”
“What?” Gwen choked out, unable to believe what she was hearing.
There was no way Ted would have told Janna about their history. He wouldn’t tell anyone, least of all some one-night hookup he’d been actively dodging at the pub the night before. Unless…no. He wouldn’t.
Her gut churned.
Unless he’d been trying to brush Janna off with some tall tale about there being something between him and Gwen, just so she’d leave him alone.
“Isn’t one man enough for you? Or do you really have to keep stringing Ted along too? He’s a good guy, Gwen. And if you can’t see that, you ought to let him go once and for all.”
Looking like she was ready to break down and cry, Janna turned on her heel and stomped back to the bathroom.
Clearly, Gwen had entered some kind of parallel dimension.
She wanted to set Janna straight, but if Ted had gone to the effort to fabricate this story, the friend in her felt like maybe she ought to back him up. And then set him straight as soon as humanly possible about using her to handle h
is hookup problems.
* * *
Sixty minutes later, they were at the church. Every hair was in place, every lash thick and long, every bridesmaid buzzing with nervous excitement as they crowded around Claudia for one last hug. She looked beautiful, and the smile on her face was what you wanted to see from every bride on her special day. This woman was about to have her own happily ever after, and she knew it with her whole heart.
One by one, the girls lined up at the entryway, taking the arm of their assigned groomsmen. Gwen hooked her arm through Ted’s, because of course they were together again.
“You are in so much trouble, mister,” she whispered through a forced smile.
His head snapped around, alarm in his eyes. “What are you talking about?”
Like he didn’t know. “Janna?”
Ted blanched, his expression every kind of guilty. In fact, he looked almost sick.
“Relax, Ted. I forgive you,” she said, relenting. They’d both made their share of mistakes over the years. “She’s a serious nutcase. But if you’re going to make up that kind of lie, at least make up the girl you’re hung up on too.”
Ted ran a hand over his face and shook his head. “Gwen—”
“We’re up,” she whispered, starting down the aisle, her eyes locked on the far end of the church where Brody stood beside Bret.
She’d seen Brody in a suit, in jeans, in plaid pajama pants, and in Bears jerseys. The man looked good in anything he put on, but this? This was something else. Brody looked like the cover model for some Irish formal-wear magazine. The black single-notch tuxedo and crisp white shirt fit him to a T, emphasizing his build in a way that had her fingertips itching to touch—and probably half the women in the church drooling over him.
And when his eyes locked with hers, that low thrum of anticipation shifted into high gear. Because even from across the church, she could see the way his face changed, and it did something to her. Made her confident, excited.
Decoy Date Page 13