She sniffled. “Three.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” She shook her head and I wanted to press my hand to her chest just to make sure she was breathing right now, to prove that she was okay. The back of my neck prickled. I wanted to kill him—but I also needed to hear the rest of this. “What else, Muggsy?”
“He’d pinch me”—she motioned to her side and reality shifted into the kind of slow motion where I could see plays before they went into effect and my body knew how to respond—“and tell me to go easy on the sweets. Or say my clothes looked too tight when we were going out or slap my hand away if I reached for the bread?—”
“I love you and you’re perfect and you can have all the bread in the world.” I leaned in, pressed a quick kiss to her lips and brushed away her tears. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
She grabbed my hand as I turned to leave. “Ryan, no. Whatever you’re thinking, don’t. He’s not worth it and?—”
The resignation in her eyes almost killed me. “Butyouare.”
I made my way through the bar, Emme’s hand locked around my wrist, and found her ex near the dart board with a few of the groomsmen. One of the guys elbowed him when I stepped up to their group.
Teddy turned around with that shifty-eyed look of his. He glanced at me and then Emme over my shoulder. “How’s it goin’, man?”
“I want to thank you,” I started, “for being such a phenomenal bottom-feeding parasite. Because if you’d found even an ounce of sense in that empty tuna can you call a brain and kept your dick in your pants, I wouldn’t be making this gorgeous, irreplaceable woman my wife. If you hadn’t shown her what rock bottom looks like, hadn’t made it really fucking clearthat knowingly triggering a life-threatening allergymultiple timesis as low as someone can go, she wouldn’t have left your ass and I wouldn’t be marrying my best friend. Thank you. You gave me an incredible gift by showing her exactly who the fuck you are, and paving the road she walked right out of your sorry life.”
Teddy glanced around but his boys had all taken several large steps back. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Ben closing in. He didn’t look happy. I didn’t care.
I leaned in, dropped my voice so no one else could hear. “I’d like nothing more than to take you outside and kick your fool ass around until the only thing you can do is piss yourself and cry for a mother who probably doesn’t like you very much. But my arm is worth more than seventy million dollars a year and you have proven you are worth nothing.” I stared at him for a beat. “If I ever find out that you have so much as breathed in my wife’s direction, I will bring my entire offensive line to your door and teach you about what lies beneath rock bottom.”
He gulped.
“Do we understand each other yet, Teddy?”
A nod. Sweat glistened on his forehead.
“It’s good that you’re scared.” I tugged Emme to my side. “Now you’re going to apologize for not only being the kind of juvenile piss troll who’d break rocks on his own head but also attempting to kill my wife.”
He wet his lips and kept his gaze low. “That was an accident.”
“Once, maybe.” I could make that concession. “But not three times.”
“What the fuck, man?” Ben asked.
It was good to see his furious attention trained on Teddy. I wasn’t sure which side he was on until now. Ben crossed his arms over his chest and shot Teddy a stare that smacked of disappointment.
“There are no accidents,” I said. “Just fools who don’t give a fuck about anything but themselves. You know which one you are.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I—I made a mistake. Lots of mistakes. And I am sorry.”
“Thanks for saying that, Teddy,” Emme replied. Her fingers twisted in the back of my shirt. She gave a little tug. Time for this to be done.
“You’re going to be a father in a few months. A husband. Time to grow the fuck up, young man. Find Jesus, go to therapy, whatever the fuck you need to unlearn this toxic shit. Because the last thing the world needs is more of this.” I jabbed a finger at him. “Stay the fuck away from my wife. Listen to me when I say I’m keeping score and I never forget.”
I turned, wrapped an arm around Emme’s shoulders, and led her toward the door. Behind us, I heard Ben echo, “What thefuck, man?” We were almost there when Grace stepped into our path, her hands held out and her gaze panicked.
“What just happened?” she asked.
“I’m so sorry, honey, but I can’t do this tonight,” Emme said. “I’ve had a lot to drink. Probably too much, but at least I didn’t mix it with allergy pills this time. I need to go home. Okay? I’m sorry to leave your party early. You should throw me out as your maid of honor. Put Audrey in first position and knock me down. I’m the worst. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
Grace pushed her fingers through her dark hair. “Can you at least tell me if you’re all right? Because I don’t know what’s going on and I’m kind of freaking out about it.”
Emme dropped her head against my chest. “I think I might be okay. Finally.”
Grace spared me a glance, her brows pinched and her lips twisted into a severe line. Then, “You’re not the worst. Don’t saythat shit to me. You’re the only maid of honor I’d ever want. Even if you keep getting drunk and leaving my parties early.”
Emme folded her into a hug and they said a few things I couldn’t hear. When she returned to my side, I scooped her up and carried her out to where Soto waited at the curb.
