Page 50 of My Best Friend's Mardi Gras Wedding

“There have to be people from back home here, right?”he asked.“Andrew’s friends and family?Surely they know you well enough to know that you weren’t trying to upstage Paisley and that you’d never make a move on a guy who’s engaged.Especially right before the wedding, when you’re here as a bridesmaid.”

She shrugged.“Well, only one guy from high school is coming for the wedding.The rest of the groomsmen are friends from here.”

“His mom and dad are here though, aren’t they?”

“Yeah.”

“And you’ve known them all your life.”

“Yeah.”

He reached down and lifted her chin, making her move her eyes from his collar to meet his gaze.“These people know what kind of person you are.They won’t believe that it was a mistake?”

She sighed.“I’d like to think so.But they don’t reallyknowme,” she said.“I mean, it’s not like we’ve sat around and talked a lot.”

“I thought you and Andrew grew up together?”

“We did.But it was just me and Andrew talking.”

“No family dinners with his parents?Holidays?Barbecues?”

She tipped her head.“Is that what you did with your friends’ families?”

“Sure.And them with us.We hunted and fished.My buddy Garrett’s dad was the one who taught me to pitch baseball.My friend Matthew’s mom taught me to shoot a bow and arrow.I helped Sawyer’s friend, Carter, train hunting dogs for a couple of years.We were all always in each other’s business.”

She seemed to be taking that all in.She gave a soft sigh.“That sounds nice.”

“But you and Andrew weren’t like that?”

“No.When we were little, I always talked him into things that got him muddy or wet, and his mom would get annoyed about him tracking his boots in the house.When we were older, he’d hang out at the farm with me, but his mom thought it was weird that I had so many animals…and stuff…” She swallowed and her eyes went back to the base of his throat where he’d pulled the knot of his tie loose and unbuttoned the top button.“They wanted him to be out for sports and on the debate team and class president and everything.I wasn’t into all of that, so I think she just thought our friendship was strange.And she didn’t really encourage it.”

There was something about that that really bothered Josh.He couldn’t put his finger on it, but it made him like Andrew even less.“What kind of stuff?”he asked.

She looked up.“What?”

“You said she thought it was weird you had so many animals…and stuff.”He gave her a grin that had gotten phone numbers out of more than a few women over the years.“What stuff?You can tell me.”

Tori shook her head.“You don’treallywant to know.”

“Oh”—he reached out and snagged two glasses of champagne, handing her one—“but I do.”

“You’re going to get me drunk so I’ll spill my secrets?”she asked, smiling even as she asked.

“Hey, I’m not driving tonight.We can get totally lit up.As long as we can make it upstairs.”He assumed her room was upstairs.

“Oh, you’re not driving back to Autre tonight?”She asked it with one brow up as she took a sip of champagne.

He grinned and knocked back half the glass at once.“I’m not.I told you—well, and my family—that I intend to stay glued to your side for the next several days.”

She nodded slowly.“Yeah, I guess you did.”

He leaned in and put his lips next to her ear.“And I’m happy to try other methods of persuading you to tell me everything about you.”

He felt the little shiver that went through her and grinned with satisfaction as he leaned back.

“Well, you can give it your best shot.”She tipped her champagne glass back and swallowed the rest of the contents in one gulp.Then she further stole his heart by reaching for two more from the next waiter.

Josh laughed, took a glass, linked his fingers with hers, and tugged her toward the back patio of the house.He wanted some quiet, but they couldn’t get too far out of sight of the party.These people needed to know that Tori was very muchwithsomeone tonight.

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