Page 25 of The Best Man Wins

“You’re financing the wedding, and we need to make some wedding-related purchases. We need some set pieces for the ceremony.” I hang in the doorway and turn to look at him. “Or you could just give me your card, if you don’t want to come with.”

Apparently, the idea of giving me free rein of his credit card doesn’t sit well with him because that’s enough to get Braxton to shut his laptop and get to his feet. “Where are we going, exactly?”

“That’s what we’re going to find out.” I pluck Ray’s car keys from a hook on the wall and twirl them around my finger.

“Susie.”

I’ve got my hand on the door when he says my name. I turn around and see him holding a me-sized jacket. It’s light, powder blue, and when I touch it, it feels like suede. My eyebrows crinkle together. “This is cute. Is it Lena’s?”

“It’s yours.”

I squint at it. “No, I don’t think so.”

“Yes,” he argues, “it is.”

It clicks. “Did you…get this for me?”

“It was either get you a jacket or a string,” Braxton says. “You know. To keep you from floating off in the clouds. Because you’re always stuck in your head…it was a joke. A bad joke.”

One good deed and he’s fumbling over his words. I can’t fight the smile on my lips. “It’s cute. You’re cute.”

Now Braxton looks like he’s swallowed a handful of tacks. “Put it on and let’s go.”

I tilt my head back to look up at the tall man as he opens the door. “You’re sweet.”

“The car, Susie.”

Braxton has used up all of his smiles for today, apparently, so I stop pushing my luck. I do say, “Thank you,” and press a quick kiss to his cheek before slipping out the door. The lining of the jacket is kitten soft, and it keeps me warm as Braxton and I pile into Ray’s car. We leave the property and drive through thick trees and quaint gingerbread houses. There’s hardly a chain store in sight. I spot a Walgreens and Starbucks, but everything else is Mom ’n Pops This and That. I find it unbearably charming. I drive us to the Holiday Inn where Thom and Marlee are staying and park outside. “Stay here,” I tell Braxton.

He lifts his eyebrows. “You want me to babysit the car?”

I bite my lip. “I’ll only be a second. Promise.”

He frown, but then says, “Don’t be long.”

I slip out of the car and leave it running for him. I cross the parking lot to go to the entrance. As I step inside, I text Thom and ask for their room number. My phone buzzes with a text when he sends it seconds later. I take the elevator and follow the room numbers to get to theirs. A Do Not Disturb! sign hangs on the doorknob. I knock anyway.

Marlee answers the door with her toothbrush hanging out of her mouth. I feel like I’ve walked in on a dorm room.

“Hi, Susie!” she says cheerily. “Come on in!”

I step inside. My dorm room assumption wasn’t far from the truth—they’ve got one room complete with twin beds. Both their bags are open, stuff splayed out on the floor and on the beds.

“Still unpacking?” I ask.

“It’s a process,” Thom says defensively, waving the mess off. He’s ready to go, at least, dressed in white slacks and a smart cable-knit sweater. His eyes flicker over me and catch on the jacket. “Nice look.”

I beam. “Braxton’s waiting downstairs, so.”

Marlee rinses out her mouth before she comes back in and dives into her bag. “Almost ready!”

I rub my hand over the back of my pants and wince when I feel a sting there. Truthfully, I have an ulterior motive for coming upstairs.

“Thom.” I tilt my head to the bathroom. “Can I borrow you for a second?”

“Certainly.” Thom gets up and follows me into the bathroom.

“Do you have tweezers?” I ask him.

---