Walking into the bathroom, I turn on the shower to get ready for my best friend’s wedding.
The trees lining the quarter-mile gravel driveway to Mason’s family ranch are covered in pink and white blooms. Some curve over the drive to create a sort of tunnel to lead the way.
The blooms remind me of a garden from my childhood I dream about sometimes. Something that was warm and safe, but I can never make out the faces or details. They never fail to slip quietly behind the veil of sleep to be quickly forgotten when I wake up.
The sun is out, and the soft breeze is keeping the June Oklahoma heat away. I’ve left my windows down and the pleasant smell of the blooms on the trees is blowing through the cab.
The gravel crunches under my tires as I get closer to the house and the scene opens up to trees, bushes, and all the buildings decorated with ribbons and flowers. A banner hanging high between a couple of trees reads ‘Congratulations Mason and Sloane’.
Mason is my best friend and Sloane is the only woman who has ever been able to catch him, though many have tried. Before he met Sloane, we fucked our way around the globe without a care in the world, depending on where our off-the-books black ops team took us.
At first, I was pissed. I wanted to hold a grudge against her for taking my wingman. Until I met her. I don’t blame him. Not only is she beautiful, she has a kick-ass personality. I could tell I fucking lost him after he met her.
Now, eight months later, I’m the best man at his wedding.
After finding a parking space for my rented truck, I grab my garment bag off the hook in the back seat and walk into the house. There are people everywhere, and I have to bob and weave while turning sideways to find Mason.
Caterers are setting up tables of food, there is a table with a large cake, the all-important drink table, and decoratorshanging flowers and ribbons everywhere. Down the incline, close to the stables, the band is setting up their small stage and next to that is a small wooden dance floor.
I distinctly remember Sloane saying that she wanted small and simple, but I think Mason’s sisters may have taken made their own arrangements. Speaking of sisters, I glance around to look for the one I’m most concerned with, who is also the maid of honor and will be standing across from me during the ceremony.
“Finally!” Mason’s voice booms as he walks through the crowd of people as soon as I get through the front door. “I thought I was going to have to send someone to fucking get you.”
“You know I wouldn’t miss seeing my best friend getting the ball and chain hung around his neck.” With a smile, I wink at him before I hold my garment bag up. “I even remembered my clothes.” He claps his hand on my shoulder and pulls me in for a one arm hug and I ask, “Is the rest of the team here?”
He steps to my side and pulls on the cuffs of his cream-colored button down to straighten the sleeves. “Yeah, they’re milling around here and there, and I think Grace is in the kitchen with the girls.
Grace is our boss, Callum’s wife. He’s the only one on our team who is already married, well, until today. He plucked Mason from Delta Force about four years ago and poached me from DEVGRU shortly after.
Mason’s sniper skills rank with the best in the world, and my knack for languages and technological recon in the SEALS and then DEVGRU drew Callum’s attention. When he formed his own black ops team, Mason and I were among the first names he had on his list.
Holding my garment bag up by the hanger looped over my finger, I ask, “Where do you want me to change?”
“You can have the library or the office, they both havelocks on the doors. Sloane is still doing last-minute touch-ups in our room, so that is off limits, even to me.”
I wink at him with a shit-eating grin. “I’ll bet I could get in there with a knock and a smile.”
“Then I would have to kick your ass.” He turns to me with a cocked brow.
“You wish, you can’t even best me in training exercises.”
“I may not be some kind of knife whisperer like you, but I can definitely take you down MMA style. But if I get you bloody, Sloane will kick both our asses.” He laughs and tilts his head toward the stairs in her direction.
“Can’t have that, especially with all the horror stories you’ve been telling me about pregnancy hormones.”
“A pregnant woman will rip your balls off and stuff them down your throat while telling you to go get her ice cream in the middle of the night. The sad part is that they have no regret or guilt. It’s like they’re possessed.” Callum steps up behind us with a beer in hand and we both turn while laughing. He speaks from experience. He’s the only man on our team who has children, he and his wife have two kids, a boy and a girl.
“I’m definitely learning all about that,” Mason says and tips his head to the kitchen. “Let’s go get a beer.”
“You don’t have to ask me twice.” I say and we walk through the people milling around, talking in every room of the house.
When I step out of the office after changing, I almost bump into a five-foot-six, blond-haired vision in a pretty sundress. The soft scent of coconuts wraps around me. Mason’s twin, Marley, jumps back with a gasp like someone threw a firebomb at her. I grasp her arms to make sure she doesn’t fall.
The flash of fear that crosses her face sends white-hot anger through me. Every time I think about what happened to her when she was in high school, I feel the claws of ragescratching under my skin.
I don’t know details. Mason gave me the cliff notes version, which is all I really need, since it’s Marley’s story to tell. I’ll never ask, but if she ever wants to tell me, I’ll listen.
From the first moment I laid eyes on her eight months ago, I knew I was fucked. She has been a permanent part of my thoughts, and no woman has evoked any kind of feelings from me since. Several have tried, but my mind always drifts back to those ocean blue eyes that light up when she smiles.
