Page 6 of Finally a Bride: Best Friend's Brother

She nods, tears rolling down her cheeks like she’s sprung a leak from deep inside. “I don’t know why, but he doesn’t want to get married.”

I swallow hard. I’ve trudged into enemy territory several times and seen my buddies’ lives cut short right before my eyes. I never felt as inept to deal with a situation as I do now.

“I don’t know what to say.”

The woman holding her looks up like that’s the right thing to say.

Who leaves a woman right before a wedding? Who is that cruel?

But then again, isn’t marrying someone you don’t or can’t love even more cruel?

“I…” Mallory’s chest hiccups, “I don’t know how to tell Mom and Dad.”

“I’ll do it.” I stand up straight.

“They’re going to be furious.” She’s worried about the money part, but a divorce costs the people in the relationship more than money, I’ve seen it time and time again with my buddies, so I’ll help them understand.

“Yeah, well, they’re mad at me a lot, so I can handle it. Plus, they won’t be as mad as you?—”

“Thirty thousand dollars, McCabe. That’s how much they spent on this wedding.”

Our only daughter… I could hear Dad in my head saying he’d spare no expense for his little girl. She was and probably is his favorite. And she still will be. Not that I’m upset about it. When you’re his favorite he has expectations. He expects virtually nothing and yet, blames me for everything and judges my every move. Maybe it’s just the yin and yang balance of the world.

“I’ll be right back.” I can hear them calling out for me but this needs to happen sooner and not later.

I round the corner to outside and my father’s puffing on a cigarette. Not something I’ve ever seen him do and I’m literally shocked into not knowing what to say.

“Dad?” I squeak out.

He doesn’t try to hide it so it’s clear I’ve reached a new level. “Just don’t tell your mother.”

I chuckle. The man’s actually human, imagine that.

“I need to talk to you about something.”

“You didn’t get a girl pregnant, right?” he offers dryly, his voice cracking.

I sigh. “No. Worse.”

I lean back against the building and motion for one. I’ve never really been a smoker, but this seems like a moment we can bond over. I take a first drag as he lights it and I cough.

He chuckles. “Well, I guess smoking isn’t something we can put in the ‘he’s done that’ column.”

There’s a lot I haven’t actually done.

I snuff it out and throw the crumpled carcass into the trash. “Cedric’s decided he’s not going to get married.”

Dad stops mid-drag and he coughs out the puff. “What the fuck? I never like that man. I tell you that I wanted to tell her that from the beginning.”

No one has ever been good enough.

“Dad, this isn’t about you. This is about Mallory.”

“Have you told your mother?”

“No, she went to get the cupcakes for the dessert table, remember?”

He pauses and his eyes seem to be searching for something.

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