Page 21 of Good Boy

Jamie glances at Wes and Ang again. So do I, and I notice that Wes’s eyes look a tad shiny. Awesome. More man tears.

“I think he needs rescuing,” Jamie says wryly. “If that photographer Jess hired gets a picture of him sobbing, he’ll kick the guy’s ass.”

Speaking of Jess…where’s my angel at?

Jamie walks off to join his hubby, and I search the crowd again until I find Jess. She’s hugging her mom too. Lots of mom hugging going on tonight. And now she’s walking off, but not back to the party. She’s hurrying down the limestone steps that lead to the gardens.

This property is awesome. I walked down there earlier with Granny Canning, and there was a cool flagstone path that wound through the gardens. A really nice koi pond too.

But it’s weird that Jess is disappearing midreception. People have barely started dancing, and we still need to do the toss-the-jockstrap-bouquet thing. At least I’m hoping we do. Though someone probably vetoed that idea too.

I drop my empty flute on the tray of a passing waiter, then head toward the stone staircase, reaching the top in time to see a flash of purple near the path.

I take the steps two at a time and duck past a row of hedges toward the path. My legs are about twice the size of Jess’s, so my stride eats up a lot of ground. I reach the koi pond just as Jess is flopping down on the stone bench across from it.

Oh, and she’s crying her eyes out.

Cheezus. Is this a fucking party or a screening of The Notebook?

“Go away,” she croaks when she spots me.

Yeah, right. I march over and sit beside her.

“I said go away,” she growls.

I hide a smile. Now this is what gets me going—a woman who doesn’t give a shit that I’m Blake Riley the hockey player. A woman who’d rather shoo me away than impress me. It’s…refreshing.

I’m surprised there aren’t any lights out here lining the walkway or shining at the pond, but it’s dark. We’re in the shadows, so it’s hard to see her expression. I don’t really need to, though. If she’s crying, I’m pretty sure that means her expression ain’t sunshine and rainbows.

“Aw baby, why are you crying?” I ask gruffly. “Don’t do that anymore.”

A choked sob tickles my ear. “Why not?”

“Because I don’t like it. Makes me want to beat up whoever did this to you.”

“You can’t beat up my mom.” She laughs weakly.

“Cindy did this?” I’m surprised. Jess’s mom is the sweetest lady on the planet. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a bad word leave her mouth.

Jess lets out a long, unsteady breath. “She said she was proud of me.”

I gasp. “The nerve of her!”

My angel doesn’t even crack a smile. My jokes aren’t doing it for her? Shit. This must be really bad.

“She told me I planned the best wedding she’s ever been to,” Jess whispers.

“Again, not seeing the problem.”

“You don’t get it.” She shakes her head forcefully, and a chunk of hair falls out of her updo and into her eyes.

I tuck it behind her ear, and she lets me. Yup, shit’s bad if she’s letting me touch her like this. Lately she has an aneurysm if I so much as smile at her. Not sure why. I mean, I rocked her world this spring. We both know it.

“This doesn’t happen often,” she goes on. “I’m not someone who gets a lot of compliments from my family. I’m the one who screws everything up. I’m not like Tammy, who’s supersmart and turned down a million scholarships. Or Scott, who’s wanted to be a cop since he was five. Or Jamie, who fell in love with coaching the moment he started his job. I can’t even tell you how many jobs I’ve had and failed at.”

“You didn’t fail at this.” I gesture to the party that’s in full swing up on the lawn.

“No, I didn’t.” She bites her lip.

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