Truthfully, he’d love to introduce Tori to his mom. But that was serious. He didn’t introduce women to his family. Because, well, the wedding bells in their brains and stuff.
So yeah, hanging out away from Autre and dating Tori—at least kind of—without his family debating if their wedding should be in his mother’s garden or in the Autre Community Church, would be great.
He definitely hoped he had a bed at Buckworth. With a certain gorgeous brunette from Iowa next to him. All night long.
And that was the thought that made him finally open his truck door and head toward the huge front entrance to the plantation in spite of the fact that Tori hadn’t answered his I’m here text yet.
An honest-to-God doorman in a tuxedo opened the main door for him, and Josh stepped into the foyer of one of the oldest and grandest plantations in Louisiana.
There was, appropriately, a sweeping staircase directly in front of him and a chandelier hanging overhead. Huge rooms opened off to either side, both full of people. One side had hors d’oeuvres laid out and the other had a live jazz band playing. The atmosphere was fun and lively with a sophisticated edge.
Josh ran a hand over the jacket and button-down shirt he wore. He could dress up. At Bourbon O he’d worn dress shirts and slacks every night. He was happy that Trahan’s dress code was more relaxed. And certainly the gators and tourists didn’t expect suit jackets. But he had one and he didn’t mind wearing it. Once in a while. If it was to play doting boyfriend to a sweet girl from Iowa, then yeah, he’d even put on a tie.
But he had to admit that he was a little disappointed now that he was staying in the foyer of the plantation house. He’d been envisioning a romance movie scene with Tori standing at the top of the stairs, waiting for him, giving him a dazzling smile as she ascended the steps gracefully to where he stood, slack-jawed, awed by how gorgeous she looked. Then he’d take her hand, dip her back, and kiss her, making sure every single person in this house saw it.
A romance movie scene required a heroine though. And Tori was nowhere to be seen.
Josh blew out a breath. He’d gotten here. He hadn’t thought beyond this point.
“Well, hi.”
Josh turned to see a beautiful blonde smiling up at him.
He couldn’t help his own smile. Pretty girls did that to him. “Hi.”
“Please tell me that you’re groomsman number four,” she said.
Josh shook his head. “Sorry, no.”
She pouted. “Dang. I’m supposed to walk down the aisle with him and he hasn’t shown up yet.”
“Sorry to disappoint you.”
She smiled and moved in closer. “I’m Courtney.”
“Josh. He’ll be bummed when he realizes that he missed out on getting to know you ahead of time,” Josh said. Yeah, he was flirting. But he didn’t mean it. It was just a natural reflex.
“Hi, Josh. Maybe I’m not as disappointed as I was a minute ago.”
He laughed. “Well, thanks, but I’m here with someone.”
Now the pout looked a lot more genuine. “Really? Who?”
“Victoria Kramer,” he said.
Courtney’s eyes widened. “Seriously?”
He nodded. “Yep. Why?”
“She’s…” Courtney shook her head. “Do you know she kissed the groom last night?”
He laughed. “I heard. Big mistake. She thought he was me.”
Courtney stepped back and looked him up and down. Slowly. Then she nodded. “Yeah, okay, with a mask on, in the dark, with a few drinks in me, I can maybe see it.”
Josh grinned. “I promise you, I’m gonna be sure that doesn’t happen again.”
“So…you’re real.”
“Completely.”
“Well, this is going to be interesting,” she said.
“Is it?”
She smiled, but this time it looked more sly than flirtatious. “Everyone thinks she made you up.”
“Definitely didn’t make me up. I’m real, and I’m here,” he said.
“Well, come on then. I’ll show you where she is.”
“Oh thanks,” he said sincerely.
She shot him another of those sly smiles. “No thanks necessary. I’m happy to have a front row seat for this.”
“For what?” Josh asked, following her down a short hallway toward the back of the house.
“You’ll see,” she said.
Josh frowned, but turned the corner after the blonde. And came up short.
There was a little alcove behind the staircase just before the kitchen door. Josh guessed there was a closet under the stairs based on the door that Tori was pressed up against. But all of his attention was on her. Well, and the tall man with dark hair and a short beard who was standing very close to her. They were talking in hushed voices, oblivious to anything around them.
Josh had been absolutely right. She looked stunningly beautiful in the sparkly crimson cocktail dress that hugged her body and showed the scantest hint of cleavage. It had short sleeves and ended just above her knees, showing off her tanned, toned arms and legs. She wore heels, too, that accentuated the muscles of her calves and the sexy arch of her foot.
He loved the heels. She looked sexy as hell. But, strangely, Josh thought he preferred the shorts and tennis shoes from earlier. That seemed more her. Though he wasn’t sure he knew her well enough to judge that.
“That’s Andrew,” Courtney whispered to him. “The groom.”
The way Andrew and Tori were standing close and talking softly definitely made the whispering seem appropriate. They gave off all kinds of this-is-private-don’t-interrupt vibes.
“I figured,” he said dryly.
Every male instinct in him made him want to stomp up and grab her away from the guy. But this was more than the groom. Even more than the guy she’d kissed—accidentally—last night. This was her best friend.
Her best friend who had just reached up and tucked a stray curl behind her ear.
Josh felt his fist tighten at his side and he made himself relax.
If anyone was an outsider here, it was him.
What the hell was he supposed to do here?
“Let’s give them a minute,” he told Courtney.
She lifted a brow. “Really? You don’t want to interrupt?”
He definitely wanted to interrupt. But he couldn’t do that. Obviously Andrew was the reason Tori hadn’t answered Josh’s text. She probably didn’t even know he was here.
But he sure as hell didn’t want to watch Tori and Andrew together.
“They’re friends,” he said. Friends that stood really close together. “If they have stuff to talk about, that’s none of my business.”
That was completely true. And, in spite of the surge of jealousy he felt—maybe because of the surge of jealousy he felt—he needed to remember that.
Courtney was clearly surprised. “It’s not your business if your girlfriend is cuddled up with another guy?”
Josh turned away from Tori and Andrew. “They’re not cuddled up,” he said, feeling a prick of annoyance. They weren’t. Exactly. They were talking. Privately.
“I don’t know if Paisley would agree with you,” Courtney said.
“Well, if you’re worried, why don’t you interrupt them?” he asked.
“The last thing we need is for the groom to be pissed at a bridesmaid too.”
“Too?”
“Paisley is, obviously, pretty upset with Tori. And the fact that Andrew refused to kick her out of the wedding party.”
“The kiss was a mistake,” Josh said. Taking her bridesmaid status away seemed like an overreaction.
“Yeah, maybe.” Courtney tipped her head. “I mean, I guess now that you’re here that seems more likely. But it’s not like that’s all Paisley is upset about.”
“She’s a bride,” Josh said. “From what I understand, brides are supposed to be upset about stuff.” Hell, they made entire TV shows about it.
“I mean about Andrew and Tori,�
�� Courtney told him. “Paisley thinks Tori is trying to talk Andrew out of getting married.”
Josh felt a tightness in his chest. Was that what they were talking about now? She’d told him that they’d been friends forever and that she’d had a crush on Andrew in high school. There could be jealousy there that had nothing to do with Tori being in love with him. Obviously, if he’d moved from Iowa to Louisiana and now had a fiancée, his time with Tori had been cut way down. Maybe she was just missing him. As a friend.
Josh really didn’t know what to do here. Tori had asked him to come. She wanted him here to help convince everyone that she’d meant to kiss him. That he was real. And she wanted them to all think that they were more than two strangers that met last Mardi Gras and hadn’t been in touch since. She wanted him to play the part of her boyfriend. She wanted him to help her convince everyone that he was the guy she had feelings for.
Yeah, he could do that. Definitely. And if Tori was one of the people he convinced, then all the better.
“Tell you what,” he said to Courtney. “How about you introduce me to Paisley? That will keep her away from this.” He jerked his thumb toward where Andrew and Tori were still talking. “And will prove that I’m real and I’m here. That’s gotta make her feel better.”
Courtney nodded. “Yeah, that’s a good idea.” She cast one more glance in the direction of the two friends under the stairs. She frowned slightly, but Josh resisted looking in that direction.
Tori had known Andrew her whole life. It made sense that she was comfortable with him in her personal space. And Josh couldn’t forget the way she’d kissed him in his office yesterday. She’d let him in her personal space too. Very in. And he intended to spend a lot more time there.
He followed Courtney back down the hallway and into the main ballroom of the mansion. A ballroom. It wasn’t as big as he would have expected a ballroom to be, but it was impressive nonetheless. A domed ceiling, easily twenty feet high, rose above them, and huge murals decorated the walls. The flooring was polished wood and the walls at the two ends of the room were floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over the rolling lands of the plantation. It was gorgeous. And right in the middle, the princess was holding court.
Okay, it was the bride, but she commanded the space as if this were her throne room. People milled around, smiling and congratulating her, sipping from champagne flutes and plucking fancy hors d’oeuvres—he’d been right to eat before coming—from silver trays carried by wait staff in tuxedos. Paisley nodded and smiled at her guests, even hugging a few. She looked completely content at the center of attention. Without her groom by her side.
And she was beautiful. There was no denying that. She was dressed in a white, well, princess dress. The kind that fit her torso and then flared below her waist in huge billowing layers of material. The bodice sparkled. As did the tiara sitting on top of the blonde curls that had been piled up on top of her head.
It was absolutely the opposite of anything the women in his life would ever wear.
Or that Tori would wear.
He didn’t know how he knew that. He just did.
Girls who wore tiaras didn’t play with river otters.
Not that Tori had played with Gus. She knew better. She knew animals. But Gus had picked her out as a friend. Josh felt very strongly that otters would not like tiaras.
“Introduce me to the woman of the hour,” Josh said to Courtney.
“Woman of the week, you mean?” she asked with a little laugh.
Fair enough. Courtney led him across the ballroom and they waited for a few seconds as Paisley finished talking to the people she was with. They moved off and Josh stepped in.
He extended his hand. “Hi, Paisley. I’m about to be your favorite person tonight.”
The bride arched a perfectly groomed eyebrow, her blue eyes taking him in from head to toe. “Is that right?”
“It is. I’m Josh Landry. And I’m Victoria Kramer’s date tonight. And for your wedding.”
Now Paisley’s eyes widened and she took his hand. “So you’re real.”
This was, evidently going to be the general reaction to him tonight. “I very much am.”
She looked him over again. “I guess you’re built a little like Andrew.”
Barely. He had way more muscle than Andrew. And, okay, Andrew had an inch or two on him. But he wasn’t going to argue. It was good for Paisley to agree that Tori kissing Andrew could have been an honest mistake.
“I promise you that there will be no more accidental kissing with Tori and…anyone else,” he told her, letting go of her hand.
“I’m very happy to hear that.” She looked at Courtney. “Oh, hey, Court, Sam is here now.” She pointed across the room to a man who’d just arrived and was being greeted by other members of the bridal party.
Courtney glanced over then smiled up at Josh. “Groomsman number four.”
He grinned and nodded. “It was nice to meet you.”
Courtney winked, then turned and headed for the newcomer, and Josh focused on Paisley. Clearly she’d been trying to get a few minutes alone with him. She grabbed his arm and tugged him off to one side. It wasn’t like she could really hide out. She was the bride. And was wearing the biggest dress he’d ever seen. And a tiara, for fuck’s sake. But Josh guessed that Paisley Darbonne was used to managing a room like this. If she didn’t want anyone interrupting them, Josh was sure they wouldn’t be interrupted.
Paisley stopped by one of the huge windows and faced him, her arms crossed. “Listen, if you can keep Tori away from Andrew for the rest of this week and through my wedding, I will give you a million dollars.”
He blinked at her. It might just be an expression, but he thought it was possible that she really had a million dollars to throw around. “Trust me, I don’t need any incentive to keep Tori away from Andrew. Or any other man.” He flashed her a grin. They needed to keep this light. He wasn’t going to let a soon-to-be-bride hopped up on adrenaline and champagne to talk him into making this a crisis.
“Good,” Paisley said. Not lightly.
“But,” Josh added. “Obviously I can’t keep her away from him completely. They’re best friends.”
Paisley gave a little eye roll. “Whatever.”
“You don’t think they’re close?” Josh asked. He wasn’t going to tell her about their little meeting in the hallway that was for sure.
“Well, when you spend eighteen years within a forty-mile radius and around the same twelve-hundred people, I suppose you’re ‘close’ to everyone.”
Josh frowned. “Doesn’t mean they’re not friends.” Most of the people he knew did exactly what Paisley had just described. Maybe the radius was a little bigger and when you added in New Orleans and all the tourists in Autre, the population of people they interacted with was bigger, but Autre was a little town, and most people from there stayed pretty close to home.
“I think they’re both making a bigger deal out of their relationship than it really is, that’s all,” Paisley said.
“Why would they do that?”
“Oh, they believe they’re close. But a lot of this is just nostalgia on Andrew’s part.” She sighed. “He’s been away from home for a year, and now it’s sinking in what a big change it’s going to be…for good. Then Tori showed up and made him start thinking about everything at home and the past, and he’s just getting a little homesick.”
Josh frowned. “So you think the solution is just to keep them apart?”
“Yes.” She threw her hands up. “Obviously. Tori is the only thing that does that to him. He can see his parents and not get all emotional. We’ve been back to Iowa a couple of times and he does get nostalgic then, but he’s always ready to come back here with me. He wants everything down here. He wants the amazing city, the amazing job, the amazing wife.” She gave Josh a look that challenged him to disagree that she was that.
Josh held up his hands. “I’m not saying he doesn’t.”
“Tori is just
this person who…doesn’t want more. For herself or for him.”
“What do you mean?” Tori was a veterinarian. She was clearly bright, and anyone who loved animals got big points with him. Plus his family had loved her. Paisley made Tori sound unmotivated. Or something.
“She’s comfortable for him. She likes things back home just as they are. She’s not looking for anything new or bigger. Where they come from, everyone meets someone in kindergarten, goes to prom with them, marries them, has three kids, and farms their dad’s farm.”
Wow. It was really clear how Paisley felt about all of that. “You’re afraid he’s gonna bail on you, Paisley?” Josh asked. “Really? You think he’s getting cold feet now that Tori’s here?” That caused a strange twist in Josh’s gut.
“I think she represents everything easy and familiar to him.”
“His parents don’t represent that? Going back to visit his hometown doesn’t make him feel that way?”
She shrugged. “For some reason, not the way she does.”
“And you think deep down he wants easy and familiar?” Josh didn’t like the sound of that. Not only because he meant Andrew might want Tori, at least on some level, but because Tori should be more than easy and familiar to whoever she was with.
Though, he had to admit, familiar, comfortable, reassuring were all good things too. Things that meant home. And yes, he did want the woman he went home to at the end of the day to be those things.
“I think he’s nervous. I challenge him,” Paisley said, lifting her chin. “I believe he can do amazing things. I’ve pushed him. He deserves someone who will help him aspire to greater things. But, just like any challenge in life, sometimes it’s a little scary and it’s tempting to fall back on what you know. Tori is…like a teddy bear or a pair of worn-out slippers to him,” Paisley said. “Comforting. Broken in. She doesn’t demand anything of him. But she doesn’t see all the things he can accomplish.”
A teddy bear or a worn-out pair of slippers. Okay, well, that was a pretty clear stance on things. “Tori deserves to be more than someone’s…slippers,” Josh said.
“I agree.”
He wasn’t sure Paisley cared one whit about Tori, but he wasn’t going to argue. They were on the same side here. Tori and Andrew weren’t good enough for one another.
My Best Friend’s Mardi Gras Wedding: Boys of the Bayou Page 11
