I grinned. “Not at all. It’s a lot, man.”
“It is,” he grumbled, but I saw how his eyes followed Melinda everywhere. They were perfect together.
“Who’s, um, Sadie’s date?” I hated myself for asking but couldn’t hold back any longer.
“What?” Drake followed my line of sight and started laughing. “You haven’t seen her little brother in a while, huh?”
I literally gasped. “That’s Timmy?”
“He goes by Tim now, but yeah.”
A big smile spread over my face for two reasons. It was great to see Tim again. But it was even better that he wasn’t her date. It also explained the arm wrestling.
I also understood why Sadie’s mom kept giving them the evil eye and trying to get them to be quiet.
“Yeah, I think Melinda’s mom was hoping he’d hit it off with one of her cousins. People are always trying to set Tim up, but the dude is a perpetual one and done kind of guy.”
I nodded, trying to look like I was scrolling through my phone instead of watching Sadie from across the church. I was having a hard time thinking of sweet little Timmy as a player, but I guessed stranger things had happened.
“Sadie mentioned you to Melinda.”
I almost dropped my phone. “She did?”
Drake nodded. “She said it seemed like you were back to being like you used to be before all the drama went down.”
That was a good sign. I waited to see if he would say anything else. When he didn’t, I asked, “What do you think that means?”
“I don’t know.” He leaned back in the pew. “I’d like to think it means that she can at least imagine being friends with you again.” His eyes cut over to mine. “What do you want it to mean?”
I looked down. “I mean, I’d like it to mean I could ask her out again and have a second chance. But I’m afraid that might be too much to hope for.”
“I was leaning that way, too. Seeing the two of you during the game night competition was so fun. It was just like it used to be.” He winced. “I had already started reading the stupid question off the card before I realized what it was asking. I tried to think of some other way to direct it halfway through reading it, but my mind went blank. Later, I thought of a few different ways. I could have asked who King Charles’ grandfather was, the name of his sister, his children’s names… basically anything that didn’t mention the horrible affair he had.”
“Thanks, man. But isn’t that the first thing anyone thinks of when they hear his name anyway?”
“Probably.”
“Okay, wedding party,” the wedding planner’s voice boomed through a microphone causing both of us to jump. “Time to get lined up!”
“Jesus,” Drake said, his hand going to his heart.
This was my chance. I would be matched with Sadie since I was best man and she was maid of honor. I knew we wouldn’t have many more opportunities to talk.
I hurried to find her, giving Tim a handshake and a back slap. He pulled me in close for a moment and whispered in my ear. “If you ever make Sadie cry again, I will literally kill you. I was too young to come after you before. I’m not now.” When hepulled away, he had a big smile on his face like he hadn’t just threatened me with homicide.
“Are you okay?” Sadie asked, her brow furrowed. “You look kind of pale.”
I cleared my throat. “Fine. I’m fine.”
Tim walked off, narrowing his eyes at me and making a throat cutting gesture. When Sadie turned to look at him, though, he was all smiles. “I bet you had a hard time recognizing Tim, huh?”
“I sure did.” For more reasons than one. It was hard to believe the little kid I’d spent hours playing driveway basketball with had just threatened to kill me. Also, he was huge. He was taller than me and outweighed me by a good thirty pounds, all of it muscle.
She beamed, obviously proud of him. “He’s one of the managers at the quarry now.”
I gulped. “The quarry?”
“Yeah, you know the one between Indigo Falls and Halliwell?” She laughed. “He jokes that he’d have no problem hiding a dead body.” She rolled her eyes. “He’s so ridiculous.”
