You May Kiss the Groomsman

by Samantha Chase

  “O-kay, but…what happened with Katie? And why?”

  “I had lunch with my brother,” he said. “And we had a good talk. A really good talk. He told me anything worth having is worth fighting for and that’s when I realized I needed to go see Katie. I hate what I put us through, but…we talked, and she forgave me.”

  Shifting in her seat and getting more than a little pissed off, she snapped, “And just like that you’re getting married? Seriously? How…I mean…why would she even consider that? Does she have no pride? No self-respect? You proposed to her for a promotion even though you were dating and claimed to love her! Gah! What is wrong with everyone lately?”

  “Well…I guess I did sort of leave out an important part of the story…”

  “I swear, Tyler, you are worse than Elliott at telling a story,” she murmured with a glare.

  Not that he was fazed, he leaned back and rested his arms along the back of the booth. “I went and talked to my bosses,” he said, meeting her gaze head on. “I told them everything and handed in my resignation.”

  “What?!” she cried. “Are you kidding me right now?”

  “Nope. Something else my brother mentioned to me was how it’s okay to change careers, and he was right. I don’t hate practicing law as much as I said that night at your house, but I hate practicing the kind of law that I’ve been so…I’m going to make some changes and move on to adoption and family law. I’m going to stay on with my firm while I transition, and they were extremely gracious about the whole thing and appreciated my honesty.”

  The urge to roll her eyes was strong, but…as his friend, she was going to support him.

  Even though he’d done nothing but mess up her life and ruin her future with Daniel.

  “That is wonderful news,” she forced herself to say. “I’m very proud of you for figuring it all out.”

  “Yeah, well…between my brother and yours, I’ve been given a lot to think about and it was the first time in a long time that shit got this real.” He reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’m really sorry for the way things went and for all I put you through. For the record, Mrs. St. Clair still desperately wants to work with you and the girls so you should be getting a call from her sometime next week.”

  “Oh, well…that’s great, Ty. Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me; that was all you. Mr. St. Clair likes to talk a lot about the firm being one big happy family, but the reality is that his wife was so impressed with you that she would have worked with you no matter what. Turns out he was using it as a bargaining chip in hopes of motivating me.” Groaning, he added, “I’m so tired of being manipulated, you know?”

  Her jaw clenched and she was just about to lash out when someone cleared their voice.

  Katie.

  Kill me now…

  “Hey,” Tyler said as he got to his feet and kissed her. “Perfect timing.” He motioned for her to slide into the booth before he sat beside her. “I hope you don’t mind that I invited Katie to join us. We wanted to celebrate getting back together and getting engaged.”

  As if on cue, Katie held up her hand and…showed her a beautiful diamond solitaire ring.

  Son of a bitch.

  “Congratulations,” Josie choked out. “I’m really happy for both of you.”

  “Thanks,” Katie said, her smile positively beaming. “I’m sure this all just seems crazy to you, and after Tyler told me everything he put you through, I wanted to strangle him.”

  “Join the club,” Josie murmured as she reached for her water.

  “Anyway, I thought it was important for us to get together because Tyler really made things awkward between us–you and me,” Katie clarified. “And really, I would love for us to be friends.”

  Her expression was so sweet and hopeful that it was hard not to like her. “I’d like that too.”

  “Plus, we definitely want you to help us plan our wedding! We’re not looking for anything big, just more…simple and elegant, you know?”

  Boy, do I…

  It took her a moment to transition from hurt and betrayed friend to wedding planner, but at least as the wedding planner, she knew how to be professional.

  It was a great distraction.

  “So…simple and elegant. How many attendants?”

  Katie looked at Tyler and they shared one of those smiles that said they were sharing a thought and Josie wasn’t privy to it.

  Awesome.

  When Katie turned to look at her again, she said, “Just two each. My best friend Daisy is going to be my maid of honor.” Pausing, she gasped. “Oh, I would love for you to meet her, Josie! She would love to do what you do–party planning. I swear, she’s been talking about doing it since we were kids!”

  “Really? What does she do now?”

  “Right now she works as a preschool teacher, but…like some people at this table…it wasn’t her preferred career choice. She let her parents push her into it.”

  Tyler laughed. “Yup, we all know what that’s like!”

  Josie couldn’t help but laugh with him. “Okay, and I’m guessing Elliott will be your best man?”

  “That is the plan.”

  Someone else cleared their throat and she turned to see Daniel standing there–looking as intense and sexy as usual–and everything inside her seemed to both clench and sigh at the sight of him.

  Damn him.

  “And Daniel is going to be my groomsman,” Tyler said with a smile before standing to shake his brother’s hand. “Thanks for joining us. Why don’t you have a seat?”

  Without looking at her, Daniel slid into the booth beside her. “What…what is going on?” she asked.

  “Like we said, we wanted to celebrate. We invited Skye and Elliott but they didn’t want to bring Bella out and then didn’t want to leave her with a babysitter,” Ty explained. “Or her grandparents.” Then he laughed again. “Since we’re her godparents, I think it’s up to us to talk to them about relaxing a little bit.”

  “Oh, stop!” Katie said, playfully swatting at him. “I think it’s sweet.”

  “They’re going to need to go out without her eventually! They have two sets of grandparents who are anxiously awaiting their chance to babysit…”

  Josie stopped paying attention because beside her on the seat where her hand was resting, she felt the brush of Daniel’s hand.

  Déjà vu.

  She couldn’t make herself look at him so she simply forced herself to look at Ty and Katie who were playfully teasing each other. That’s when she noticed the difference in Tyler; he looked genuinely happy, and he hadn’t looked that way in a long time. So maybe…this was all a good thing. Somehow she managed to play a part in helping him find himself and maybe now he’d finally have the life that he wanted instead of the one other people told him he should want.

  So where does that leave me?

  She felt Daniel move closer and then felt his warm breath near her ear. “Would you be interested in joining me for dinner? Alone?”

  The warmth of him, the scent of him, had her verging on sensory overload, “Um…I don’t think we should,” she whispered.

  If possible, he moved closer. “What if I told you I have a table reserved on the other side of the room and they’re both aware of it? Then would you be interested?” His voice was deep and rumbly and so close to her ear that she had to fight not to shiver.

  Or purr.

  Or rub up against him.

  “Daniel, I…” Then she did turn her head and he was right there, so close. Her eyes immediately focused on his lips and for a moment she forgot to be mad at him and just wanted to feel his arms around her and his lips on hers. But when he whispered her name, it suddenly all came back to her and she moved to put some distance between them.

  When she looked up at Tyler and Katie, they were looking back at her expectantly.

  Traitors…

  “I’m trying to make this right,” Tyler said quietly. “You’ve always been fair, J
os. Always willing to hear someone out and give them the benefit of the doubt. Give him a chance. Please.”

  Her eyes narrowed at him and a million snarky comments were on the tip of her tongue, but…all she did was nod.

  Beside her, Daniel slid from the booth and held out his hand to her. Once she was on her feet, she said, “Just…give me a moment.” Then she moved next to Tyler and leaned down as close as she could, and whispered for his ears only, “At some point in the future–I don’t know when–but I’m going to get even with you for this. All of this. And as you know by now, I always do what I say, so…think on that.” Then she pulled back and smiled at him and was pleased to see he had paled a little. “You two have a nice dinner and congratulations again!”

  “Thanks, Josie!” Katie called out as they walked away.

  “Do I even want to know what you said to make my brother look like he was about to wet himself?” he murmured as they started to walk away.

  “You do not.”

  Daniel took her hand in his and led her across the restaurant to his table. “Okay, now that we’re alone, you can totally tell me to go to hell or that you don’t want to have dinner with me. It’s your call, Josie.”

  As much as she wanted to be alone with him, she knew what would happen if they went back to her place, so… “No, it’s okay. Let’s sit and have something to eat.”

  He’d been completely prepared for her to tell him off and leave but was wildly relieved that she wanted to stay. They had a small corner booth and he wished she were closer because he’d missed her so damn much.

  But he had a lot of groveling to do.

  “I’m going to start out by apologizing,” he said, jumping right in. “What I did was awful and hurtful and I shouldn’t have done it. At least…not like that.”

  “What exactly does that mean?”

  “It means…” He let out a long breath. “Josie, in that moment when Tyler confronted me, I realized just how much I had hurt him without even realizing it. That somehow…I had affected his whole life and I was oblivious to it all and I panicked.” Reaching over, he put his hand on top of hers. “I didn’t know how to handle both situations and I thought I was doing the right thing. But as soon as you ran away, I knew I was wrong.”

  “I…I don’t know what to say to that,” she said quietly.

  “I don’t want you to say anything. At least…not yet.” Pausing, he saw how wary she looked and hated it–hated that he put that look there. “My family…is important to me. I just didn’t really realize it until recently. As I stood there and watched my brother essentially become unhinged, I felt incredibly guilty because I caused that. Just my presence seemed to cause that. So I decided that I needed to do what I could to defuse the situation.”

  “Can I ask you something?”

  He nodded.

  “Did you really have me investigated?”

  Shit.

  He nodded again.

  “Were you really trying to prove I wasn’t suitable for Tyler?”

  And nodded again.

  “I see.” Slowly, she pulled her hand from his.

  “I didn’t really do it for him,” he admitted gruffly. “I did it for me.” He saw the confusion on her face and knew he had a lot more explaining to do. “The night we met?” He groaned at the memory. “You turned me upside down with that kiss in the parking lot. And when I saw you with Tyler, it pissed me off because I was totally conflicted–if I proved you were wrong for him then I wouldn’t feel so bad about wanting you so bad.”

  “That is the dumbest logic I’ve ever heard,” she said, crossing her arms.

  “Maybe, but I’m told logic sometimes goes out the window when you fall in love.”

  Those beautiful dark eyes went wide. “What?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

  “Josie Sullivan, I realized there is such a thing as love at first sight because from the moment I saw you in the cafeteria, you’ve been the only thing I wanted. I hated the thought of you with anyone else and if I proved you weren’t right for Tyler then…then you’d be free to be with me.” He ducked his head because he felt like he was making a mess of this whole thing. “That night, before the doorbell rang, I was ready to say it– I swear I was–but…for a man who’s spent a large portion of his life being brave, you scared the hell out of me.”

  She smirked. “I’ve been told that I’m a little scary on more than one occasion.”

  “You are, but in the best possible way. You challenge me and make me laugh and make me feel things that I’ve never felt before and I want all those things with you. Every day for the rest of my life.”

  Dropping her arms, he saw the shock on her face.

  “I lied when I said I would regret marrying you. I was scared and had no idea that love was this…this…big. And terrifying. And all-consuming. These last two weeks without you have been hell and if that’s what my life is going to be like without you then I don’t want it. I don’t want to live without you, Josie. When I left the Navy, I knew I wanted to come home, but I didn’t know what that was until I met you. Until I kissed you. Until I loved you.”

  “Oh my goodness,” she said, her hand covering her mouth.

  Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the ring he purchased yesterday after he and Tyler really talked. Opening the box, he prayed he made the right choice.

  The emerald-cut diamond set in platinum with a halo of diamond accents that curved gently around it seemed like the perfect ring for her and he held his breath while she stared at it.

  “I love you, Josie. I’ll marry you tonight because I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you starting right now. Or we can take our time and when you’re ready, we can plan the wedding you’ve always dreamed of. Whatever it is you want, it’s yours. Including my heart. Always.” When she still didn’t say anything, he realized he’d left out one particularly important question. “Will you marry me?”

  She was nodding and tears streamed down her face. He slid the ring on her finger before leaning across the table to kiss her. Champagne arrived and he barely acknowledged it because he didn’t want to stop kissing her. Josie was the one to pull back first, but her soft hands cupped his face. “Is this real? Is this really happening?”

  “It is,” he told her. “I promise. I’m just so sorry that it took so long for me to figure it all out.”

  “It wasn’t that long…” she teased.

  Reluctantly, he sat back down, and their waitress poured their champagne and took their dinner orders.

  He took her hand back in his and marveled at how right it felt there. “Talk to me about what’s been going on. How’s business? Anything new and exciting?”

  It was small talk at best, but they did need to get through dinner before they could go home and celebrate.

  “It was an extremely miserable few weeks,” she started, “and not something I want to dwell on. What about you? How’s everything going on your end?”

  “Equally miserable,” he told her even as he realized this was pointless. “How about we cancel our orders and go home?”

  “Oh thank God,” she said with a laugh of relief. “Yes, please!”

  Waving the waitress over, he canceled their orders, apologized, and left a hefty tip before they quickly made their way out of the restaurant, waving to Tyler and Katie on their way out. It wasn’t until they were outside that Josie groaned.

  “What? What’s the matter?”

  “Two cars!” she whined. “I know it’s stupid but…”

  “It’s okay. We don’t…”

  “No, it’s not okay. The thought of driving home separately just…ugh!” She handed the valet her ticket and then looked at him expectantly. “Aren’t you going to give him your ticket?”

  Grinning, he pulled her in close. “I don’t have a ticket because I drove here with Katie.”

  “Why would you do that?”

  “For this exact reason. I was hopeful that you were going to forgive me and
we were going to leave together.” His arms wrapped around her waist and he finally kissed her properly with no table between them. When her car arrived two minutes later, he said, “Let’s go home.”

  She surprised him by asking him to drive and with a joyful laugh, she explained, “I’m way too distracted to pay attention to the road!”

  “And you think I’m any better?” he teased, but he knew his focus would be laser-sharp because he desperately wanted to get them home.

  Fortunately, Josie knew they would need to pass the time. “So what do you think of Tyler and Katie getting engaged so fast?”

  That made him laugh. “Faster than us?”

  “Hmm…good point. But you know what I’m saying…”

  “I do and for what it’s worth, I think if he hadn’t been so focused on that damn promotion, he would have proposed to her for real months ago. He just sort of lost his way.” Shaking his head, he added, “I think he’s finally getting his head on straight. Katie may have said yes, but I think it’s going to be a long engagement. Ty’s got a lot to figure out career-wise.”

  She nodded. “There’s nothing wrong with a long engagement.”

  Glancing over, he had to ask, “Is that what you want?”

  Her blush was her only response and Daniel figured he had his answer, and it was more than fine with him.

  Reaching over, he took her hand in his. “I meant what I said, Jos. We can get on a plane and be in Vegas tonight if that’s what you want.”

  She squeezed his hand. “You have no idea how appealing that is, but…I really want the whole thing–the church, the gown, the craziness…all of it. Just planned at warp speed.”

  “If anyone can make that happen, it’s you.”

  “I think it’s totally possible, but…” Pausing, she gasped.

  “What? What’s the matter?”

  “Your parents! Oh my God…how are we going to explain this to them?”

  “Already done,” he assured her. “Tyler and I went over there last night and explained everything to them. And it’s safe to say they were extremely relieved with the way it all worked out.”