Page 74 of My Best Friend's Mardi Gras Wedding

“But you care what Andrew thinks ofyou.”

She took a deep breath.“Of course I do.”

“So him not wanting you to be up here with me, matters to you.”

Tori hesitated over that.“Andrew is just looking out for me.But once he makes me think, if I still go ahead with something, he doesn’t try to stop me.”

“Maybe not when it comes to cow shit and prom dresses,” Josh said.“But I’m thinking with another guy it might be different.”

Tori felt a little knot form in her gut.“He’s got Paisley.”

“But you make him homesick.”

“There’s nothing between me and Andrew.Like that.”

Josh didn’t reply right away.

Tori licked her lips.“Andrew feels the need to protect me.”

“From guys?”

“From myself.”

“What’s that mean?”

“I tend to be…embarrassing.”

Josh blew out a disgusted breath.“Defending animals and taking care of ones that need extra help should not embarrass you.”

She shrugged even though it was dark and he couldn’t see her.“I don’t embarrassme.”At least, not exactly.

“I think it’s only right you embarrass a girl who’s willing to sell her dog for a prom dress.”

Tori couldn’t help but smile.“Yeah, maybe her a little, but mostly my dad.And Andrew.”

She could practically hear Josh’s scowl.“Really?”

“Yeah.But Andrew sticks around.For some reason, he decided to try to save me from myself rather than ignoring me or not being my friend.”She paused.She didn’t know if it was okay to be spilling things about Andrew to Josh.But she still went on.“I’ve always thought maybe my dad asked him to…be there for me.To look out for me.”

“Your dad thought you needed that?”

“My dad isn’t into making a big deal of things.”She hesitated again.Could she also tell Josh stuff about her dad?Her dad and Andrew were the most important men in her life, and it felt a little like she was telling their secrets.Except, they weren’t really secrets.People in Elton definitely knew that her dad and Andrew were often embarrassed by her and that they made apologies for her.“When I was little, my dad was the one telling me when things were inappropriate or pulling me back.But when I got older and was at school all day, someone else had to be there reminding me that acting emotionally was not always the answer.That I needed to think and try to keep my cool.”

“And that was Andrew.”

“It was.I don’t know if Dad actually asked him to watch out for me or if Andrew just took it on, but yeah, he was good at reading me.He could tell when I was getting pissed off or upset and always seemed to know what to say.”She sighed.“Andrew and my dad are a lot alike.It’s possible Andrew just decided he needed to be my guardian.”

“So he kept you from doing things like the cow-poop-prom-dress bit sometimes?”Josh asked.

She couldn’t help the little huff of laughter that escaped.“Oh yeah.There would have been incidents like that.And just…arguments and things.I was always kind of…”

“Feisty.Passionate.Loving.Empathetic.”

Josh’s words made Tori suck in a little breath.Wow, he was something.“Thank you,” she said softly.“But I definitely let my emotions get the best of me, and I would debate almost anyone about anything I felt strongly about.”

“Animals?”

“Definitely.But other stuff too.I would debate about anything from the best Supreme Court Justice to the best superhero.”

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