Page 3 of Bedding The Best Man (Bedding the Bachelors)

“I’ll show you around,” Brianne said, standing.

Not what he’d been going for. He’d wanted to get away from her.

She was too much. Too beautiful, too rich. She made him feel dizzy and hot and unsure of himself. It was hard enough being the poor kid in the middle of the rich kids. She only made it worse, highlighting everything that was wrong with him.

But she didn’t give him a chance to object. “Come on, we’ll go to the beach.” She led the way, and Gabe decided to play it cool instead of arguing and looking like an even bigger tool than he felt. There was a gate just off to the side of the pool area, concealed by perfectly trimmed hedges, which opened to a set of stone stairs leading to the beach. It was like something out of a movie.

“What are you thinking?” Brianne asked once they reached the sand.

“Honestly? I was thinking how I didn’t know people lived like this in real life. I can’t imagine having my own private entrance to the beach. I mean, how cool is that?”

She chuckled. “It’s not such a big deal.”

“Spoken like someone who lives like this.”

“I guess you don’t, then?”

The waves crashed on the sand, and Gabe turned his head to watch them. She’d caught him off guard, asking him what his thoughts were, and he’d said the first stupid thing that came to mind. He sure as hell hadn’t intended to reveal he’d grown up poor, but it was probably written all over him.

“Not really,” he admitted. He left it at that.

They walked for a long time in silence. The warmth from the sun, beating up from the sand, was no match for the way his body burned from the inside out. He was tempted to jump into the surf just to cool off.

“So what are you doing here, Brianne? I heard you were in your first year at school.” It seemed like a pretty safe topic.

“I am. I, uh…I come home on the weekends sometimes, and whenever I get a chance during breaks.”

“So you’re a homebody?”

“Not really. I just ended a relationship.” She took a deep breath. “We were engaged.”

His first thought was that her fiancé must have been a total asshat to have let someone like Brianne go. “I’m sorry.”

She shrugged. “It wasn’t meant to be. I mean, we’re too young. It was dumb. I need to experience more from life before I settle down, right?”

She was trying to be brave. He wanted to reach out and touch her, comfort her. Make her feel loved. Because even in the short time he’d known her, he knew she deserved it. She deserved everything.

“He was cheating on me,” she admitted.

“What a stupid shithead.”

She stared at him for a beat, then laughed.

“Sorry. I just can’t imagine a man being stupid enough to cheat on you.”

Brianne shook her head, laughing lightly. “You know, and this is going to sound silly, but that’s exactly the sort of thing I needed to hear right now.”

His heart swelled just from knowing he’d made her happy, even if it was only for the moment. It was bizarre, the thoughts going through his brain over this girl. A girl he’d just met, and one who wouldn’t look twice at him if she knew where he came from.

She stopped walking, and turned to the surf with her hands in the pockets of her cutoff shorts. “Do you wonder how many people the ocean is touching, right this very minute?” The water swirled around their feet.

“Not really,” he admitted. He looked down, watching the bubbling water. He felt it pull at him as it rushed away, then flow back over him upon its return.

“I wonder how many people are feeling this same water right now. I wonder what their lives are like. You know? Who are they, and what are their problems? Do mine pale in comparison?”

He couldn’t tear his gaze away from her profile, and when she turned to smile at him, the sun was hitting her just right. A puff of air rushed past them, carrying the scent of her perfume and shampoo to his nose.

And that was the moment he actually felt himself fall for her.

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