Page 58 of The Best Man Wins

I let out a laugh. “What does that mean?”

“She got real drunk by the end of the party. I mean, sweet Cora was a hit. So me, being a gentleman, escorted her home. I made sure she was all tucked away. And then I spent the night on the couch…you know. Just in case she needed anything.”

“Did she?”

“No. She was out like a light. The next morning, though, I figured I’d make her something to settle her stomach. Blueberry pancakes. I used whipped cream to make a little smiley face on it and everything. That was the first thing we bonded over, those pancakes.”

“And what did she do?”

“She cried. Big, dopey tears. Not the pretty cry either. Said it was the nicest thing anyone’d ever done for her.” He shakes his head at the recollection and laughs. “I fell in love with her. Right then and there. Never looked back.”

By time he’s finished his story, I’m wearing a giant smile and I’m holding back tears. I sniff and dab the corners of my eyes. “That’s beautiful…it really is,” I tell him.

He cocks a grin. “I guess I just got lucky is all.”

I clear my throat. After a pause, I add, “I don’t mean to ruin the moment, but I have to ask…” I look back at him. “You and Mandy. What’s going on there?”

At Mandy’s name, Ray looks almost guilty, and he shakes his head. “I should’ve never let her get involved in the wedding, if you want the truth. I just figured…we were past this.”

“Past what?”

“We used to date. Mandy and I. I loved that girl. I really did. But Mandy is my past. Cora…she’s my present and my future. Much as I might like that past and think fondly of that time…there’s no way I can go back there.”

“Hear, hear,” I say. I have nothing to drink, so I extend my fist. “To letting go of the past for shiny new futures.”

Ray laughs and fist-bumps me. “I’ll honor that.” With that, he squints at me. “You’ve got someone who will do anything for you?”

“Oh, no, I don’t know…” But as soon as I start to talk, my tongue slows to a stop. In the back of my mind, I see Braxton. I see Braxton giving me his jacket when I’m cold, checking in on me, coming to my side when I’m stressed. I see Braxton kissing me, I see him telling me I’m beautiful, I see him confessing his dark secrets to me in the middle of the night. I see that look in his eyes every time he looks at me, the way he softens his hard edges when I’m around, the way he turns sweet and tender for me.

All the sudden, it hits me. Oh, crap.

Braxton loves me.

And I love him.

I can’t say when it happened—I can’t pinpoint it to one moment or one look. But somewhere along the way, I’ve gotten used to having him around. At some point, I became addicted to his smile.

I love him.

I laugh at the realization because it seems so easy all the sudden and so obvious. “Yes,” I tell Ray. “I do have someone special.”

Then I remember: Braxton. He called. I quickly reach into my pocket to pull my phone back out. “I’m so sorry…one second,” I tell Ray.

“Do what you’ve got to,” Ray tells me.

I flip through to my missed calls. Braxton called. Over and over. Now I’m starting to get worried. What if he really is pissed about stringing him up and leaving him on the bedpost?

Worse, what if my unhealthy obsession with the perfect wedding ruined yet another relationship?

I debate what to do when my phone lights up. Braxton is calling. Yet again. This time, I get to my feet and answer. “Braxton—I’m so sorry about this morning, it was a complete mistake—”

“Where are you?” There’s a dangerous firmness to his voice that puts me on edge.

“Listen to me, I had to do what I thought was the right thing, but the truth is I’ve been thinking a lot about us and—”

“Susie,” he says abruptly, cutting me off. “Is Cora there?”

I knit my eyebrows at that. “No…Ray just told me she was hungover and stayed home. Why? Is everything okay?”

---