“Don’t give him ideas,” Ryker muttered.
“Look,” I said, getting serious for exactly three seconds. “You’re overthinking this. Just ask her to dance. Worst-case scenario: she says no, and you go back to your corner to brood some more.”
“Thanks for the pep talk, Coach.”
Ryker continued gawking at the bar behind me and then said, “I’ll ask her out.” Ryker straightened his shoulders. “But not tonight. I don’t want to risk ruining Blake and Tessa’s wedding if she shoots me down in flames.”
“Smart man.” Jace nodded approvingly. “Always have an exit strategy.”
“Plus, look how much fun she’s having.” Ryker added, watching the girls behind me. “I’m not about to interrupt that.”
“When did we all become so …” I searched for the word.
“Whipped?” Jace supplied helpfully.
“I was going to sayconsiderate, but yeah. Whipped works.”
We stood there for a moment, guys who used to think relationships were for suckers, now completely gone for our respective women.
“This is pathetic,” Ryker said.
“Absolutely,” Jace agreed.
“Completely,” I added.
We clinked our glasses together.
“To being pathetic,” I toasted.
“To being happy,” Jace finished, and somehow, that felt exactly right.
I turned to look at our women, expecting to see them laughing at the bar. Instead, I found Scarlett and Faith on the dance floor, spinning each other around like teenagers. Tessa was still locked in Blake’s arms, lost in newlywed bliss.
And Dakota was …
Where the hell was Dakota?
54
PSA: DON’T GO TO THE LADIES’ ROOM DURING A WEDDING RECEPTION. #LESSONLEARNED
DAKOTA
“I’m going to the ladies’ room.” I squeezed Scarlett’s arm.
I glanced back at Axel, who was completely absorbed in a conversation with Jace and Ryker, cracking up. God, I loved seeing him like this: relaxed, surrounded by his chosen family, that gorgeous smile lighting up his entire face.
I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to have found him. To discover that the love of your life had been there all along, just waiting for you to finally open the door and step into the happiest room you’d ever been in. Life didn’t get any better than this. A perfect night, celebrating two of our friends marrying each other.
And, as if that weren’t amazing enough, Tessa let it slip why she’d had such a short engagement. At thirty-three, she wanted a family and didn’t want to spend a year and a half waiting for the official wedding to start. Besides, when you plan weddings for a living, it’s surprising how efficiently you can pull together a stunning celebration like this …
A baby. Wow, they were going to try for a baby. I smiled.
The ladies’ room was quiet, except for the muffled sounds of the reception bleeding through the walls. Only one stall door was closed. As I walked past it toward the sinks, I heard the lock unclick.
I turned with a polite smile ready for whoever was emerging, but my heart stopped.
It wasn’t a woman.
