Page 109 of The Spider & the Storm

“Lots of people are from Connecticut,” I grumbled.

“I'mfrom Connecticut,” she said, as if this common ground somehow meant something, and she said it as though she couldn't believe I'd kept it from her after she told me at Blake's party.

But things had been different then. I hadn't wanted her to know anything about me in those moments in his backyard. Hell, I wasn't sure I wanted her to know now, but this time, it had nothing to do with her and keeping my distance.

Now, all I wanted was to not scare her away.

“I do hope you'll come,” Ivan said, his eyes on the card in Stormy's hands. “I understand if you can't, but if you do decide to, I'd be honored if you'd also be my best man.”

My heart leaped into my throat as my gut plummeted straight to my feet. “Best man? You don't want to ask someone—”

“There is no one else, Chuck,” he gently interrupted, offering an embarrassed smile, his dark eyes jumping toward Stormy.

She took the hint that maybe this was a private moment between us, and she asked for the keys to the truck. I only turned my attention from Ivan to watch her walk away, that enormous sweatshirt hanging from her frame in a way that would've made anyone else look ridiculous, but she managed to pull it off effortlessly. When she got in and closed the door behind her, I looked back at my friend, not at all surprised to find a wistful little smile on his face.

“Don't say anything,” I warned, but I had never known Ivan to heed my warnings.

“She's good for you, Chuck.”

“You have no idea what you're talking about.”

He tapped one finger against his temple and nodded. “Oh, but I do, my friend. My devotion to my Lyla might be new, butthe roots of my love for her feel like they've been growing since the beginning of time.”

I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest, guarding my most battered organ from whatever he was going to say. “You talk like a crazy person sometimes—you know that?”

“And you're not as cold-blooded as you pretend to be. I see the way you look at her. She puts a light in your eyes I haven't seen in all the years I've known you, and I gotta say, Chuck, it looks good on you.”

I glanced toward the truck to catch her swaying along to something on the radio, her lips moving to the song's lyrics, and one corner of my mouth twitched into an involuntary smile. Ivan caught this, of course, and wagged his finger at me.

“Like I said,” he said as I shot him a sidelong glare, “she's good for you.”

He was right, of course. I knew it more than he ever could, but I was too stubborn to satisfy him with my agreement.

So, as per usual, I said nothing.

He nodded anyway, as if he could read my mind and hear the truth in every beat of my heart, and he turned to head back to his car.

“Come to the wedding, Chuck,” he said over his shoulder. “Bring your Stormy. Be my best man because you're my best friend.”

Best friend. I had never had a best friend before, nobody outside of my family, and the declaration brought an ache to my chest I hadn't expected. Suddenly, I found it hard to breathe, and the backs of my eyes pricked with a humiliating rush of emotion.

“Yeah,” I replied, clearing my throat. “I'll, um … I'll think about it.”

“Well, don't think too long,” Ivan called over the engine of a passing car as he walked away. “I'm getting married in three and a half weeks, you know!”

I kept a watchful eye over him, making sure he got into his car safely before I headed back to the truck. Stormy's eyes grabbed mine as I rounded the hood, and her face lit up brighter than a thousand flames, like she hadn't expected I'd come back.

Is that what I look like when I look at her?I thought, hardly able to believe someone could be that happy to see me.

I opened the door, and Nirvana's “Heart-Shaped Box” poured out as I climbed into the cab to find Ivan's invitation on her lap.

“Are you gonna go?” she asked point-blank.

“I don't know,” I replied honestly, starting the engine.

“You should.”

I scrubbed a hand over my chin as I drove toward the maintenance shed. “I'll think about it.”

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