Page 27 of Forever and Other Lies

“We’ll take it!” Jayna felt her fingers tingle. “Nick Taylor can come by tomorrow to sign the paperwork.”

“Great, I have an opening at 11 a.m.”

“He’ll be there.” Jayna swiped to end the call and snapped her fingers. “And there you have it, an epic grand gesture.”

“Uh, Jayna?” Nick sat open-mouthed. “What did you just do?”

“I booked the venue for your wedding. Weren’t you listening?” She giggled. “How epic is this? A surprise wedding.”

“It’s stupid, not epic,” Derek scoffed again.

“Shut up, Derek, no one asked you.” Jayna side-eyed him before returning her attention back to Nick. “Don’t you see? You will recreate her perfect wedding and surprise her with it. She said to come back when you meant it. This is how you show her you mean it!”

“Oh, it’s so romantic,” Jessica sighed, louder this time.

“It’s impossible, is what it is,” Nick shook his head adamantly. “How do I plan an entire wedding in under two weeks?”

“We’ll all help,” Jayna said, then frowned. Had she just volunteered herself? Oh, what the hell. Piper was just about the sweetest person she’d ever met. “Jessica, Jamie, me, Derek, and I’m sure Leighton would pitch in as well.”

Her frown increased. Leighton was the last person she wanted to collaborate with, but she was Piper’s best friend.

“Stupid idea,” Derek grumbled.

“Since when has that stopped you?” Jayna taunted and then frowned. Why had she suggested that Derek be involved? “On second thought, maybe you shouldn’t help. You’ll just manage to screw it up. All you know about weddings is how to pick up desperate women.”

“I won’t screw it up,” Derek’s lip curled as he snarled at her.

“Right!”

Jayna didn’t know why she was baiting him. Despite not wanting his help, she hesitated to let him off the hook for helping to plan the wedding. He was Nick’s best friend, and he should pitch in.

“What if she still says no?” Nick sat forward, all the color draining from his face.

“No woman would turn down such a grand romantic gesture.” Jessica fanned her cheeks. “Oh, Nick, you have to do this!”

“Let’s check if Leighton is still at her store and go over this with her. Time is not on my side.” Nick stood and glanced at Derek. “Are you coming or staying?”

“Staying.” Derek held up his full glass of whiskey.

“Later, loser!” Jayna shot him a toothy smile as she grabbed her purse and left with Nick and Jessica.

Chapter 12

Jayna left with Nick and Jessica, and Derek heaved a sigh of relief. The woman was full of herself. Her latest idea was downright ridiculous. A surprise wedding? She hadn’t so much asked but told him that he was helping. This presented him with Problem #1: What did he know about weddings besides the fact that they were great places to pick up women, as Jayna had bluntly pointed out? He really hoped this didn’t blow up in Nick’s face, but that was a very real possibility.

Why did Jayna have to butt into their conversation tonight? He couldn’t stand the woman. And if she had zero faith in his ability not to ruin the event, why was she so insistent on his participation?

Which led him to Problem #2: Jayna was also helping. Insert eye roll here. He chugged the rest of the whiskey in his glass and held it up as the server walked past, ordering another and a pound of medium wings. No way was he going to let Jayna be right. He was going to step up to the task and help Nick create an incredible wedding.

This led to Problem #3: the bar was almost empty, and he had too much to drink. He needed a ride home.

The chair across from him scraped loudly, and he glanced up as his oldest brother Ian sat down.

“Can I please have a beer, Ivy, and a pound of wings as well? But make mine mild,” Ian called over his shoulder.

“Wuss,” Derek taunted.

“I have a delicate stomach and nothing to prove.”

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