Page 24 of The First Best Man

Lifting my drink to my lips, I toss it back, downing the entire thing in one long gulp that burns its way down my throat. I squeeze my eyes closed and breathethrough the heat, and when I open them, Blaine has sidled over to me, standing a little too close for comfort.

“Hey, J.T.,” she purrs. “Can I get you another drink?”

“No, I’m good. Thanks,” I say, offering her a bland smile that I hope discourages her efforts to get close to me.

“You can have some of mine, if you want,” she says, holding up a highball with red lipstick smeared along the edge.

“I’m good,” I repeat, my mind already formulating a plan to escape before she offers me something else.

“Blaine, leave J.T. alone,” Logan says, his voice echoing off the walls around us while silencing all other conversations.

Color stains Blaine’s cheeks, but she only frowns and flips her brother the middle finger before flouncing out of the room. I meet Logan’s eyes and give him a nod of thanks, and he returns the gesture.

Feeling another pair of eyes on me, I look over to see Kate watching my exchange with Logan, a broad smile on her face. I can’t help but smile back, but my grin has the opposite effect of what I was hoping for. She seems to retreat into herself, looking from left to right before spinning to focus all of her attention on Sam.

What is that all about?

Before I can figure it out, Penny announces that dinner has arrived. I follow the others into the dining room, my eyes taking in the seating arrangements before I make my own decision. Penny takes the seat at the head of the table, and Logan slides into the chair on her left. Kate sits on Penny’s right.

Moving quickly, I slide into the chair next to Kate and discreetly motion Sam into the chair at the opposite end of the table from Penny. He smiles and obliges, leaving the only free chair between him and Logan, across the table from me.

It feels a bit childish, scrambling to make sure Blaine can’t sit next to me when she comes back from wherever she flitted off to, but hell, I only want to enjoy the Italian dinner Logan and Penny had catered for us tonight.

I hear a little snicker next to me, and when I look over at Kate, her dark eyes are dancing with mischief.

“Nice move,” she whispers before nodding at the empty chair across from me.

I shake my head and exhale through loose lips, and she laughs at my obvious exasperation as Blaine walks into the room. That one doesn’t even look at me as she slides into her chair, a fresh cocktail in her hand that she sips from while Penny stands and thanks us again for being here to celebrate with them this week.

The catering service comes with two servers, a man and a woman in white button-down shirts and black aprons who load our plates up with creamy pasta and garlic bread. Much to my surprise, Blaine doesn’t complain once about the number of carbs on her plate. She just sips her drink while we wait for everyone to be served.

“Dig in, everyone,” Penny exclaims, and we all start to eat.

The conversation is lively as we recount the day. Sam and Blaine are given some much deserved praise for their creation while the servers fill our wineglasses.Kate razzes Penny and Logan for making out more than working on their sandcastle, and they kiss to reaffirm the point, laughing when the rest of us cheer and tap our forks against our long-stemmed glasses.

Which are quickly refilled again by the efficient servers.

When Penny starts teasing Kate and me about our pitiful creation, Kate holds up a hand to gain the entire table’s attention.

“Don’t mind the bride’s chippy attitude, everyone. She’s just pissed that in a few days, her name’s going to bePenny McKenney.”

“Shut up,” Penny growls, then playfully shoves at Kate’s shoulder.

The wine must’ve already gone to Kate’s head, though, because she completely loses her balance and falls into me. My arm instinctively snaps around her, steadying her before she falls to the floor. Her body goes stiff, and she hisses through her teeth before quickly pulling away and resettling in her own chair.

Shit.Did I mess up again?

“Sorry,” I murmur in her direction, and she shakes her head without meeting my eyes.

“Thank you for saving me,” she whispers from the corner of her mouth before plastering on an obviously fake smile.

I’m at a loss, and when I glance around the table to see if anyone else caught that tense interaction, I find Blaine’s gaze centered on me. She looks like her mind is spinning, then she glances from me to Kate, and one corner of her mouth hikes up.

Shit. That can’t be good, can it?

The conversation turns lively again, and though I pretend to be paying attention to it as I eat, my real focus is solely on Kate. Tension radiates off her, and I’m at a loss as to why.

Should I have just let her fall on her ass?

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