Page 24 of Until You

Oh. God. It was just like Britt’s friend had warned him. Britt was playing matchmaker. He eyed the distance to the street where his car was parked. Could he make a break for it?

But Kevin had just appeared at the edge of the group, and while Tyler initially felt relieved to see him, his friend now caught Tyler’s attention and held his gaze. Kevin knew him well, and the message was clear. Tyler wasn’t going anywhere.

“But,” Randy said as he scanned the group with a big grin, “that only applies to you single people.”

Everyone laughed, but Rowdy didn’t laugh as much as the others, and Tyler wondered if it was because he and his wife were having marital problems—not that he was supposed to know. Randy had let it slip the week before at the office.

“Kevin’s back with the insect repellant,” Holly said, giving her husband a look of relief. “So we’ll get everyone covered first.”

Kevin walked through the group, handing out cans of repellant. Celesta ran over and snatched one from him and began spraying a cloud so thick it gagged Tyler from ten feet away.

“You look like you’re waiting for your walk to the gallows,” Kevin teased as he came up beside Tyler.

“You know I’m allergic to weddings.” He glanced over at his friend. “All of this reminds me that I never thanked you for getting married without any of us around. I’m not sure I could have handled being in two weddings within three months.”

“If you can’t handle being in a wedding, how are you going to handle your own wedding someday?”

Tyler snorted. “I’m never getting married. I thought I’d made that pretty clear.”

Kevin crossed his arms and scanned the group.

His nonresponse was a response of its own, which rankled Tyler even more. “Watch out for the blonde bridesmaid. I suspect she has a thing for heroes.”

“Looks like she only has eyes for you.” Kevin chuckled. “She’s drooling like you’re an ice cream cone on a hot summer day.”

“She’s liable to turn her attention to you when she realizes you’ve saved her from a mosquito attack.”

Kevin chuckled again and shook his head. “Ha! Holly would put a stop to that.”

“Sweet little Holly?” Tyler asked.

“Never underestimate a woman in love, my friend.”

Memories of his crazy Nina flooded Tyler’s head. If that’s what love did to women, he wanted no part of it.

“She wasn’t in love with you,” Kevin said quietly. “She was obsessed. There’s a difference.”

Tyler whipped his head around in surprise.

“I could see it on your face.” Kevin paused. “You know, the Bachelor Brotherhood seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I’m not so sure.”

Tyler snorted. “Says the man who lasted one fucking day.”

A wicked grin lit up Kevin’s eyes. “Which maybe proves my point even more. The thing is, you and I are a lot alike. We’ve spent most of our dating life going after the easy catch. It was when I took a risk that it worked out for me. When Holly and I met, for the first time in my life, I had no idea how it would turn out. Did she want me? Did she even like me? I actually had to work for it.”

Tyler shook his head, becoming irritated with this conversation, mostly because Britt’s friend from the shower kept popping into his head. The image of her in the coffee shop, with her open shirt and the pale blue bra, had quickly taken over. Where did she fit into Kevin’s theory? Did it even matter? “Don’t you have better things to do on a Saturday night? I thought your fake wedding-planner-assistant job only applied to the actual weddings.”

Kevin laughed. “And miss out on the chance to watch you suffer in the ninety-degree heat in a monkey suit? No way. Besides, the pay is crap—but the benefits are totally worth it.”

Tyler cringed, then changed the subject. He didn’t want to hear about his best friend’s sex life. “Since your wife has the list pairing the bridal party, please tell me that I’m not stuck with that nightmare.”

“Which one?” Kevin teased.

“Oh, God. There’s more than one?”

“I hear Britt’s cousin is a firecracker.”

“She obviously can’t be bothered to show up on time.” Tyler looked over at Celesta, who continued eyeing him with undisguised interest. His anxiety grew when he realized that Holly had already announced a groomsman and a bridesmaid, pairing Rowdy and some other woman, before she got interrupted by the photographer. That left Kevin and one other groomsman and the very interested Celesta. And the missing firecracker cousin.

---