Just One of the Groomsmen

by Cindi Madsen

  If she didn’t feel some sparks, she was going to take things into her own hands and freaking make some.

  Chapter Eight

  One lesson and a mini refresher over the phone wasn’t exactly a lot, but when it came to poker, Addie decided the best way to truly learn involved jumping right in.

  As planned, she and Lexi met at the houseboat a few minutes early—Lexi wanted to surprise Shep by showing up at poker night, not just to spend time with him but to play.

  Despite Addie’s warnings about the banks being on the marshy side, Lexi had on tall wedge shoes. She’d opted for dressy white capris instead of a skirt, ones that probably wouldn’t remain white, but Addie kept that tidbit to herself.

  Especially since she’d worn her dressiest jeans and a purple shirt that had more polyester than cotton, which was dressy as far as she was concerned. Factor in the draped neckline and the lacy black push-up bra that left the girls right under her chin, and…well, she felt super overdressed for poker.

  But she had a date later tonight—exact time yet to be determined—and as promised, her underwear was on the super-sexy side. Also a lick tight, and the panties were riding up her ass a little, as they didn’t have enough fabric to fully cover both cheeks.

  “That top looks amazing on you,” Lexi said, and Addie tried to take it as a good sign that Lexi liked it, but it also made her worry the guys would wonder what in the world she was trying to pull.

  She didn’t rightly know; she just thought she’d add some fuel to help with sparkage.

  But now one side of her shirt kept slipping off her shoulder, and she felt exposed and stupid, and what the hell was she thinking? “Are we going to go in?”

  “What? Oh. Yeah.” Addie crossed the plank and knocked on the door to the cabin before spinning to face Lexi. “You ready for your poker-playing debut?”

  “I’m more nervous than I thought I’d be.”

  “You’ll do great.”

  Me, that’s a different story.

  Tucker swung open the door and greeted them with that great smile of his, the one that brought out his strong jawline, and without having to shave every day, a delicious amount of scruff dusted his jaw.

  Wait. Delicious? Calm it down, brain.

  “Come on in,” Tucker said, leading them toward the small living room area. He gestured to the couch. “Go on and make yourself at home, Lexi. There are drinks in the fridge, and I set out some chips. The guys should be here soon.”

  Before Addie could get the “hey” on the tip of her tongue out, something barreled into her legs. She let out an unpreventable squeal when she spotted the culprit—a bouncy white Labrador puppy. “Oh. My. Gosh.”

  “I…did a thing,” Tucker said.

  Addie scooped up the puppy and laughed as he went to licking her cheek. “He’s so cute! He looks like Casper the Second.”

  Growing up, Tucker used to have a white lab named Casper that had followed them around most everywhere they went. The only time she’d ever seen Tucker choked up was when the dog had to be put to sleep after a long, full life, and it was one of the few times she’d let herself cry in front of him.

  A mix of sorrow and sentimentality met the happiness holding the puppy brought her, and it was a lot of emotions to process at once.

  Tucker scratched the top of the dog’s head. “That’s why when Ford called me yesterday and said they’d rescued a white Lab and her puppies from a home where they’d been neglected and asked if I wanted one, I jumped at the chance. Remembering how much work puppies are set in afterward.”

  “That’s the beauty of spontaneous decisions,” she said with a laugh.

  The rumble of engines broke through, followed by deep voices that sounded like the bass line of a song until the guys got closer and the words became more discernible.

  The second Shep stepped inside, Lexi jumped off the couch and threw her arms around his neck. “Surprise,” she said. “I came for poker!”

  The other guys walked past with muttered hellos and head nods, relatively unfazed by the new addition, heading right toward the food and drinks as usual.

  Addie turned back to Tucker, her fingers rubbing one of the puppy’s fuzzy ears. “Have you named him yet?”

  She dodged the puppy’s tongue as he shifted in her arms, climbing higher to lick at her jaw. After a few seconds, she gave up and let him lick away.

  Tucker was staring at her, eyes wide, mouth slightly ajar. “You, um…” He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. “Your shirt.”

  She dropped her gaze to see the wiggly puppy had pushed down her shirt, revealing a generous portion of one half of her bra, and thanks to its hoisting powers, a whole lot of cleavage.

  Heat crept up her neck and into her face and she thrust the puppy into Tucker’s hands, then quickly went to work adjusting her shirt.

  This was why she didn’t wear stupid dressy shirts with drapey necklines. She did far too many things that could result in a wardrobe malfunction.

  Then again, not even her beloved clothes were totally safe—back in high school, she’d once stripped off her hoodie in front of Tucker, only for her T-shirt to come along for the ride.

  She’d barely been able to look at him for days.

  For some reason, this felt far worse—most likely because it was happening now, and she’d worn the demi-bra that left so much of her exposed, and maybe the fact that it was lacy and pretty made it better, but oh, holy crap her cheeks still blazed and the temperature turned stifling.

  After a moment or two contemplating fleeing the scene, she dared a glance at Tucker. He’d put the puppy on his dog bed and he flopped down and tucked his nose in the blanket, tired after doing all that assisted flashing.

  Tucker seemed to be avoiding eye contact as he asked if he could get her a beer, and she avoided it as she took it from him.

  It gave her some small semblance of comfort that since everyone else had already been settling in at the table, he’d been the only one to see it, but considering the awkwardness in the air, dressing up had done the opposite of what she’d been going for.

  Not that Tucker was the target of her lacy push-up bra, but what if she just couldn’t pull off being sexy? What if she made things awkward with David and scared him away?

  Then there’d be no sparks and no relationship and dying alone.

  Great. Now my sister’s in my head.

  “I’m eager to see my girl in action,” Shep said, rubbing his hands together. “Let’s get this game going.”

  Addie started to take her usual seat, but Lexi patted the one next to her—Tucker’s unofficial spot. “I want you next to me in case I need a teensy bit of extra tutoring. Is that okay with everyone?”

  A beat of silence, and then the guys sorta half-heartedly agreed. Not uncommon when a new person sat in on their poker games, although when she’d brought her former boyfriends, they were more vocal about their disdain, especially if Addie had to remind the guy which hands beat which.

  And when one of her boyfriends was actually good at poker, they were even more annoyed.

  Looks like we’ve all grown up a bit. Maybe. Not enough to just acknowledge the boob flash had been weird.

  Not that she wanted Tucker to say anything about it. Like, ever.

  “You okay, Murph?” Ford asked. “You look all flushed.”

  “I’m fine,” she quickly said.

  Ford leaned across the table to feel her forehead.

  “Dude,” Easton said, slapping his arm away. “That’s such a mom move.”

  “No, it’s a paramedic move to make sure she’s not going to pass out halfway through the game. I’ve already had to carry too many people out of their houses today for heat exhaustion, and my arms can’t take one more body.”

  She tilted her head. “Well, at least it’s not because you actually care a
bout me.”

  “I care.” He dropped back in his seat and jammed a ridiculous number of chips in his mouth before talking through the crunch. “That our game doesn’t get interrupted. Now, drink some water already.”

  “Yes, Mom,” she said, making a big show of reaching for a water bottle and glugging half of it.

  Then, in an attempt to get things back to feeling like a normal poker night where she hadn’t flashed her best friend, she asked Tucker and Easton if they’d made any headway in the Pig Versus Garden Case.

  And okay, maybe she looked at Easton as she asked, but she could sorta see Tucker in her peripheral.

  “Crawford saved the day with that,” Easton said. “I’ve been breaking up fights between those two ever since Faye got that damn pig, so if this actually works, I’m gonna owe him more than the two dollars both ladies kept tryin’ to pay him.”

  Tucker shook his head, and she snuck a tiny glance at him. She couldn’t fully meet his eyes, but it was mostly normal.

  Phew.

  “What’d you do?” she asked.

  “I drew up a binding legal agreement with concessions on each side. Fair rules about boundaries and fences. Fines they pay to each other if they break ’em, and with any luck, peace and their friendship will be restored, and the pig won’t end up on anyone’s dinner table unless Faye agrees to it.”

  Which she never would, even though the pig had started off with that fate. Somewhere along the way, it’d become a pet.

  The trash talk got going as they threw in money and converted it to plastic chips, and Ford took charge of the cards, shuffling them thoroughly before dealing.

  Lexi asked how often they played poker, which led to talking about their history, from back in the day when they used to play Whiskey Poker—one communal hand, which meant a bigger chance of super-high hands—to when they’d switched to Texas Hold’em to be more “legit.”

  Tucker nudged her from the left side—still felt weird for him to be there instead of to her right. “Remember that night when the wins and losses were so even that we kept on playing till we basically passed out?” He pulled the top card off the deck and added the turn to the other three.

  Addie fought to keep her face neutral when the three of diamonds gave her two pair. “Of course I remember. We woke up to your parents and mine over us.”

  “Oh yeah,” Tucker said. “Because we hadn’t cleared sleeping over in the houseboat, and their first assumption when they woke up and found we weren’t in our beds was that we must’ve died.”

  Usually she’d let her parents know when she planned on staying the night, and while there was occasionally some blowback about her needing to spend more time at home, they were mostly cool with it.

  That night they’d gotten caught up in the game-that-wouldn’t-end, and she only vaguely recalled stumbling to the double bed where she and Tucker had crashed out.

  “It’s your turn,” Addie said to Lexi when she didn’t make a move.

  “Right.” Lexi met the bet, and the crinkles between her eyebrows made it clear she was thinking hard, only she was staring at Addie instead of the cards. “It was just you and all these guys?”

  “Once in a while, we held some mild parties with a few more people, but as soon as everyone else cleared out and the poker games turned serious, it was always the five of us.”

  “I…” Lexi shook her head. “Never mind.”

  Addie’s muscles tensed. “Go ahead and say whatever you’re thinking. I’ve probably heard it before.”

  How she should act like a girl; how she’d never get a date hanging around the guys; how it made other girls unable to trust her—she had never understood that one, but it seemed to be true enough.

  “Well, if a girl in my high school stayed overnight with four guys… It wouldn’t be very good for her reputation. Everyone would assume… You know. One girl, several guys, all-night parties.”

  For the second time that night, heat settled into Addie’s cheeks. “Funny enough, I never heard rumors like that. But you know that song about not giving a damn about my bad reputation? It was pretty much my theme song.”

  “Most people knew us well enough they didn’t say stuff like that, though.” Ford flattened his cards to his chest and shifted in his seat to more fully face Lexi. “See, Murph hasn’t been a girl in years.”

  Addie’s mouth dropped open. “Hey! I’m still a girl!”

  Ford shrugged a shoulder. “Eh.” Shep and Easton gave about the same response, and Tucker remained stone-faced at her side, not contradicting it, which was basically the same as agreeing in this circle of friends—they’d never been shy about disagreeing or throwing in their two cents.

  No wonder it took David so long to ask me on a second date. I’m not even a girl.

  She checked her phone to see if he’d texted yet. He’d told her he was slammed these days, and that it might be late before they could get together. Still, when she didn’t have any new messages, her ego took another nosedive.

  I’m dealing with a lace and satin wedgie for nothing.

  What was I thinking, trying to be something I’m not?

  She tried to keep her spirits up as they played the next hand, but with every minute the dentist didn’t text or call, they dipped that much lower.

  Lexi’s shoulder bumped Addie’s as she leaned closer and whispered, “I forgot which is better, a flush or a straight?” She flashed Addie her cards as she asked, and a grumble went around the table before the guys could help it.

  “It’s okay, babe.” Shep grabbed her hand, kissed it, then swept his gaze around the table. “Right?”

  “Sure,” Easton said. “As long as Murph’s disqualified from winning this round.”

  “Sounds like someone’s scared.” Since she didn’t have anything anyway, Addie folded, and when she noticed Easton’s anxious tell of curving his hand around the bill of his hat, she nudged Lexi under the table.

  Lexi raised, and after he matched what she’d thrown in, they laid down their cards. The high-pitched squeal that came from Lexi when she won made Addie flinch, but it also made her smile.

  The girl was so dang happy about winning a hand.

  Then she surprised Addie with a tackle hug, and if Tucker hadn’t shot out his arm, her chair would’ve toppled over and she probably would’ve experienced her second wardrobe malfunction of the night.

  As it was, everyone was examining them a hair too closely, eyes glazing over, the kind of look dudes gave when two girls were squished together.

  “Really, guys?” Addie scolded as Lexi retreated to her own chair, and the girl’s eyebrows drew together.

  “What?” Clearly she hadn’t hung around guys in the “just friends” setting, or she’d know that anytime girls so much as hugged, most hot-blooded males got images of experimenting females who couldn’t keep their hands off each other.

  Glad to know she qualified as a girl in that type of situation.

  “Never mind,” Shep said. Then he cleared his throat and the guys straightened in their seats and refocused on the center of the table as the cards were shuffled and re-dealt.

  At the end of the next round, Shep prematurely folded and gave the pot to his fiancée, even though she was clearly bluffing.

  She bounced in her seat, a satisfied smile on her face. “That was way more fun than I expected it to be. Winning probably helped.” She squeezed Addie’s hand. “Thanks again for teaching me so I could come play tonight.”

  “Happy to help,” Addie said, and more than that, it was true.

  “Admittedly, when Will first introduced me to you, I didn’t understand how one of his closest friends was a girl.”

  “Apparently I’m not a girl.” Addie fired a glare over the table at Ford.

  “But you’re very pretty, regardless of your preferred hobbies. I’m surprised that none of you
ever dated.”

  Everyone froze, panic slowly bleeding from face to face. Their expressions were so gonna get them busted, just like their smug ones always had after they’d pulled off a prank.

  Addie had taken a swig of beer but couldn’t seem to swallow, and Shep squirmed in his seat. Then he cleared his throat and they were done for.

  Lexie turned to him, her forehead all scrunched up. “Will?”

  “Well, technically, at one time, Addie and I…” He left that hanging, as if not mentioning the fact that he and Addie had been boyfriend and girlfriend a lifetime ago would undo it.

  Lexie’s shoulders tightened, and her fingers wrapped around her glass, the cheery pink of her nails at odds with the violent squeeze. “Are you telling me that one of my bridesmaids is your ex-girlfriend?”

  “Groomsmen,” Addie ever so helpfully added without thinking. Her blood pressure skyrocketed as she worked to fix it. “What we did could hardly even be called dating. I mean, it was the beginning of high school, and neither of us could even drive yet.”

  “How. Long?” Lexi asked, her voice a few degrees icier than usual.

  “It was also during football season, which hardly counts because we rarely saw each other,” Shep said, digging their grave a little deeper.

  Addie grabbed a shovel and got to digging, too. “Right. He was the new guy in town, so I didn’t really know him that well before we went on a date to the movies, and it was our one and only official date. Then I introduced him to the guys, who naturally thought he was awesome, and we ended up doing all group things.”

  “Then Shep couldn’t handle that she was the dude in the relationship, which made him all insecure and shit,” Easton said, and sniggers went around the table.

  They were yucking it up, but Lexi still looked legitimately upset, all of their connecting coming undone.

  Addie’s stomach bottomed out, desperation filling the suddenly empty space, and she grasped for a way to fix it. “It was more that we realized it’d been a while since we’d held hands or kis—” At the wild gleam that entered Lexi’s eye, Addie decided to forgo mentioning their kissing and quickly revised it to, “Hugged. Along the way we’d become friends instead, and we found we preferred that to dating. We work really well as friends, and in a lot of ways he’s more of a brother than anything.”