Page 45 of My Best Friend's Mardi Gras Wedding

“Victoria Kramer,” he said.

Courtney’s eyes widened.“Seriously?”

He nodded.“Yep.Why?”

“She’s…” Courtney shook her head.“Do you know she kissed the groom last night?”

He laughed.“I heard.Bigmistake.She thought he was me.”

Courtney stepped back and looked him up and down.Slowly.Then she nodded.“Yeah, okay, with a mask on, in the dark, with a few drinks in me, I can maybe see it.”

Josh grinned.“I promise you, I’m gonna be surethatdoesn’t happen again.”

“So…you’re real.”

“Completely.”

“Well, this is going to be interesting,” she said.

“Is it?”

She smiled, but this time it looked more sly than flirtatious.“Everyone thinks she made you up.”

“Definitely didn’t make me up.I’m real, and I’m here,” he said.

“Well, come on then.I’ll show you where she is.”

“Oh thanks,” he said sincerely.

She shot him another of those sly smiles.“No thanks necessary.I’m happy to have a front row seat for this.”

“For what?”Josh asked, following her down a short hallway toward the back of the house.

“You’ll see,” she said.

Josh frowned, but turned the corner after the blonde.And came up short.

There was a little alcove behind the staircase just before the kitchen door.Josh guessed there was a closet under the stairs based on the door that Tori was pressed up against.But all of his attention was on her.Well, and the tall man with dark hair and a short beard who was standingveryclose to her.They were talking in hushed voices, oblivious to anything around them.

Josh had been absolutely right.She looked stunningly beautiful in the sparkly crimson cocktail dress that hugged her body and showed the scantest hint of cleavage.It had short sleeves and ended just above her knees, showing off her tanned, toned arms and legs.She wore heels, too, that accentuated the muscles of her calves and the sexy arch of her foot.

He loved the heels.She looked sexy as hell.But, strangely, Josh thought he preferred the shorts and tennis shoes from earlier.That seemed more her.Though he wasn’t sure he knew her well enough to judge that.

“That’s Andrew,” Courtney whispered to him.“The groom.”

The way Andrew and Tori were standing close and talking softly definitely made the whispering seem appropriate.They gave off all kinds of this-is-private-don’t-interrupt vibes.

“I figured,” he said dryly.

Every male instinct in him made him want to stomp up and grab her away from the guy.But this was more than the groom.Even more than the guy she’d kissed—accidentally—last night.This was her best friend.

Her best friend who had just reached up and tucked a stray curl behind her ear.

Josh felt his fist tighten at his side and he made himself relax.

If anyone was an outsider here, it was him.

What the hell was he supposed to do here?

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