Page 12 of The First Best Man

“Hey, Sam,” I say, offering him a genuine smile. “Are you ready for the festivities this week?”

His eyes dart toward Blaine and tense for an instant before his familiar smile takes over and he rubs his palms together. “Sure am. Should be fun.”

I look back over at Blaine and Tucker, and she’s in the process of scooting toward him, determined not to let him have the space he so obviously desires. He looks distinctly uncomfortable while Blaine looks a littletoocomfortable.

Like being close to him is something she’s all too familiar with, and she wants more.

Have they ever…?

Penny clears her throat, snagging my attention before I can finish the thought. Everyone else looks her way, too, and though the sound she made was for me, alone, she recovers quickly, offering the whole group a wide smile.

“Welcome to our wedding week, everyone,” she says without missing a beat while sliding her hand into Logan’s. “We have a lot of fun and games planned for the week, and the business owners of Bush Monkey have donated some awesome prizes for the winners. We’ll be competing in teams.”

“I want to be––” Blaine starts, but Penny cuts her off before she can finish.

“The teams are me and Logan, of course, and Kate’swith J.T., leaving Blaine and Sam.”

“Great,” Sam murmurs under his breath, and I fight to keep a straight face.

I feel the stinging heat of a thousand suns against my cheek, and I glance over to see Blaine glaring at me. I swear to God, her blue eyes flash green for a moment. Tucker, who was looking at me, too, must see something in my face, because he whips his head toward Blaine. The blonde’s expression morphs into a serene smile so fast, there’s no way Tucker caught the glare she was drilling into me.

And, oh shit,she’sjealous ofme.

This is an unexpected turn of events.

Am I a bad person that I don’t hate it? No one has ever been jealous of me. Not that I’m aware of, anyway. It feels…good.

That’s it. Iama terrible person.

Hell, maybe I should suggest trading. Sam is a good guy, we get along well, and we’d have fun this week together. Letting Blaine have Tucker as her partner would keep her happy, too, and a happy Blaine is a less dramatic one.

I sneak a peek at Tucker, and he’s staring a warning at me like he’s read my thoughts. A slight shake of his head proves it, and I give him a shallow nod. And then I proceed to ignore the heat of joy streaking through me as he slowly scoots away from Blaine and closer to me.

“Today’s game is a scavenger hunt,” Logan says. “The staff at the Grill came up with lists of objects to find and typed up pages of clues. Each team gets a different list so we’re not all looking for the same objects. We’ll take pictures of each item, and whichevercouple completes the list first wins a free dinner at Miguel’s Cantina tonight––donated by Miguel, himself––while the other two couples have to serenade them karaoke-style.”

A chorus of groans rings around the room at that last bit, making me smile. The karaoke part was my idea. Free dinner is great, but free entertainment courtesy of embarrassing cover songs?

Classic.

I chance a glance at Tucker, and his determined grin sends a thrill shooting through me. I knew he was competitive after ourJeopardy!war last night. He might even be as competitive asme.

Perfect.

Let’s do this.

CHAPTER FIVE

Tucker

God smiled downon me today, giving Logan and Penny the foresight to pair me up with Kate for the wedding games. Not Blaine.

Thank you, sweet baby Jesus in the manger.

It’s not that I don’t like Blaine. I mean, I don’t necessarilylikeher, but I don’t dislike her, either. As far as she’s concerned, I’m indifferent. Apathetic.

I can’t deny, she’s beautiful. Many men would gnaw off their right arm for a shred of her attention. But disregarding the fact that she’s Logan’s sister, and I wouldnevergo there, she’s honestly not my type. Physically nor personality-wise. There’s nothing there that attracts me.

The one sitting next to me, driving this golf cart like she was born to do it, however, is most definitely the type of woman I crave. Beautiful, funny, smart. Curves for days.

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