Page 30 of The Best Man Wins

“Went?” Susie lifts her eyebrows. “You took me to your hotel room after talking to me for a couple hours. There’s no past tense about it.”

I press my lips in a line.

Susie’s toes knead into my leg briefly. “I’m not judging you…I just…I don’t know.” She sighs. Her front pushes forward as she arches back in a stretch. “It is what it is.”

With that, Susie downs the remainder of her wine and then hands over the empty glass.

“It’s late,” she announces. “I’m going to bed.”

As she gets up, Susie’s lips ghost my cheek.

That won’t do. She’s floating away like driftwood, and I feel a sudden, strong tug of desire to keep this woman close. I catch the side of her face and kiss her lips firmly. She tastes like citrus and my wine. She tastes like temptation. Her body softens as she melts briefly into my mouth. It’s cool outside, but her lips are warm and her breath shudders against me.

And then, just like that, Susie tilts her chin downward and she escapes my grasp. She averts her eyes, wets her lips, and pats the side of my face briefly. “Good night, Braxton. Thanks for the drink.”

“Anytime.”

The screen door clicks softly behind her. Just like that, she’s gone and I’m short of breath.

What the ever-loving hell is this woman doing to me?

The wine stirs in its teal bottle. I pop the cork in and take it inside.

12

Notes From the Dalton/West File

The weddings colors involve the following pallet inspirations: fall/autumn, rustic tones, sunset.

This includes notes of burnt umber orange, rose petal pink, strands of silver, and mahogany brown.

Colors will be threaded through in the following ways:

Gradients in the flower arrangements.

Pastel oranges, silvers, lilac, blue-greys for the bridesmaid dresses.

Rose gold text on the invitations.

Lilacs in Cora’s bridal bouquet.

Matching lilac in Ray’s pocket square.

Note: Cora and Ray should echo and mirror each other constantly throughout the night. They should always be able to look at one another and see the thread that connects them—even if it’s as simple as a shared splash of color.

13

Susie

Sleep is for the weak. That’s what I tell myself the next morning when my eyelids feel puffy, my vision blurs, and my fingers cramp from scribbling notes into my yellow legal pad. I’ve called in a couple of hundred favors, edited and reedited the week’s schedule, and the wedding day still feels so far out of reach. If I’m going to pull this off, it’s going to be by the skin of my teeth.

No, Not if. When.

Loafers click down the staircase and pull my focus. I’ve been zoned out, staring blankly at the vibrating blue lines on the page. When I glance up, Braxton stands before me. He’s in a black turtleneck sweater and dust-grey pants cinched off by a brown leather belt. He pushes up his sleeves as he observes me. I am weak for the hair on his forearms.

“Have you been up all night?” he asks. There’s an accusatory note to his voice.

“No,” I lie. No need to worry Daddy Braxton. I sip my fourth cup of coffee. “There’s a warm pot on the stove if you want some coffee.”

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