Page 21 of Surprise Baby for Daddy's Best Friend

I didn't let it slip that she was excited about a full day at the beach. If we ended up relaxing on the beach later and she got some sand on her, I'd remind her about what she said today. She needed to learn to relax when she wanted something and not overstress herself and lie about what she wanted. Not exactly something I was good at either.

We made our way to a small patch of beach next to the shoreline. The smell of saltwater pulled me into a sense of relaxation I hadn't realized was missing all week. Our section was tied off with ropes that stretched to the back of the beach where the parking lot met the sand. The altar where the bride and groom would get married wasn't up yet. Instead, there was a large stick standing straight up out of the sand to symbolize its placement.

"Ok ladies," Amanda's mom called out again. "The boys should be here any minute, so let's make sure we're ready because you know they won't sit still and wait for us to be ready."

"Who is coming here?" Mandi asked.

Amanda's mom shrugged. "They didn't say. If you mean, is your dad going to be here, he probably will. I asked Carl not to let him feel left out during all of this. Even if he's not involved in the rehearsal, he should be here to enjoy some time with us."

My breath caught in my chest. I wasn't expecting Jared to be here today. I thought today was going to be an entire day I could force myself not to think of him. Instead, we were going to be placed in the most dangerous position possible. I had to figure out the best way to acknowledge him. There was no way I could behave coldly toward him without arousing suspicion, but I also couldn't be too friendly and have people wonder what was happening when we had only met for a few minutes the day before.

"Are you feeling alright?" Mandi asked, wrapping her arm around mine. "You look a bit pale."

I shook my head, "No, I'm just..." I needed to think of a good lie. "I'm just nervous for everyone is all. It's a big day and we're expected to remember everything after a few practice rounds. It's intimidating, you know?"

In truth, I wasn't worried about the rehearsal. Almost every wedding was the same. The groom walked out with his groomsmen, and a flower girl sometimes came in with the bridesmaids and the bride followed close behind. Then they had a ring bearer that came in whenever the couple wished him to enter if he did enter. I didn't need to worry about what everyone else was doing. I just needed to memorize what I had to do and if everyone else did the same, the whole ceremony would unfold without a problem.

"Take a deep breath, I'm here for you if you need some water or to sit down somewhere."

I smiled and patted Mandi's hand. I was lucky to have her here. Even if we hadn’t been close friends in school, I almost wished we were. She was a good friend and Amanda obviously saw the same qualities in her, that I did.

Another white van pulled in next to ours and the men poured out as if it was a clown car with never-ending riders inside. Jared and Maurice were the first to come out. Both of them were filled with smiles and laughter. I turned to look away from them and took a deep breath. I needed to keep my cool. It was now or never.

"Sorry sweetheart," Carl called out to Amanda. "Things got a little crazy with traffic on our way out here. We're not too late, are we?"

"No, you're fine," Amanda replied. They hugged each other and gave a quick peck. "We need to finish though. I'm sure the city won't wait for us to finish if we take too much time."

Amanda's mom led everyone toward the back of the beach and lined everyone up, one after the other. She slid a foot through the sand to portray a wall that would be set up here tomorrow. Both parties wouldn't be able to see the other side to give the illusion of separate rooms.

Jared sat on a stone block by the parking lot and watched from afar. I tried not to pay him too much attention. It wouldn’t be out of the ordinary either to not focus on him since we were all trying to keep in step with one another. The saltwater mixed with being around so many people I cared about made the moment much more relaxing. I could see why Amanda wanted to have her wedding on the beach.

Unlike other weddings I had attended, the groomsmen and bridesmaids all walked down the aisle at the same time. Each of us had a partner to walk with hand in hand. I didn't know the groomsmen I was partnered with, that well. It was one of Carl's friends, but I had only met him once or twice before.

I wrapped my arm around his and we walked in sync with one another down the aisle. He placed his other hand on mine and gave it a quick squeeze.

"You ok?" he whispered.

I nodded, "Doing just fine." I sucked in a deep breath. "Just trying not to mess up."

"Totally get that. Want to grab a drink later?"

"No, thank you. I'm good."

We parted ways before he could push it further. I wasn't interested in him in the slightest. He was completely the opposite of my type. He was too baby-faced, and if he was anything like Carl, he was probably more interested in video games than anything I could latch onto, as a shared interest.

As we stood on either side of the altar, pretending we were holding onto flowers, I glanced down at Jared who was staring hard at the groomsman whom I had walked down the aisle with. I wanted to groan at the jealousy he was showing but kept it inside. He could have his jealousy if he wanted. It didn't change how the wedding would be performed.

"You were all perfect," her mom said with a sigh. "Oh, I wish I could be in your shoes. You will look so beautiful during the ceremony."

We all relaxed as soon as she gave the sign that we were done. The staff was already moving the ropes away and people were slowly getting closer to us now that the area wasn't closed off. We didn't have time to have another run out here. Whatever form we were in, that was what it would look like on the day of.

"Let's all grab some dinner tonight and celebrate a job well done."

She said it like we should be surprised about the engagement meal, but we played along with it. It made her happy and made Amanda happy too. Jared joined us now that we were done and gave a side-eyed look of malice toward my groomsman partner, before looking over at me and smiling. Mandi gave him a wave which gave me a chance to pretend he was smiling at her. Staying close to Mandi would give me another reason to hide any looks he threw my way, and let the others confuse his friendliness with him being nice to a friend of his daughter.

8

JARED

---