Page 79 of Men in Shorts

Evan stepped behind his chair so she could move in beside him. With a grateful grimace, she scooted past him into the back row, then leaned in to speak as the music crescendoed.

“I’m surprised you’re here,” Maggie said. “Didn’t realize you and Fergus were still friends.”

We’re not.Evan didn’t deserve that friendship. He probably hadn’t even deserved to return to the Warriors, the team he’d once captained, back before…

Before Evan’s job had yanked away the connection between him and Fergus, tearing out their hearts in the process.

The guests sat, and the ceremony began. Rather than listen to the vows of the man he’d once hoped to marry, Evan mentally reviewed the castle’s layout. The fact he could spend a wedding calculating which exit to herd people through in the event of a terrorist attack probably meant he would’ve made a terrible husband.

There was another movement at the rear door. Evan turned to see a slim man in his early twenties, wearing a smart black suit which matched his glasses and hair. The latter was carefully sculpted into a swooping quiff above his forehead. A few strands at his temple had fallen loose, either by design or through the travails of a hard night’s work.

Evan’s “reconnaissance” told him this was Ben Reid, the wedding planner. Fergus had sung his praises at football training sessions, telling the team how Ben had rescued them after their previous planner had overbooked herself and canceled less than three weeks ago.

Ben crept forward over the plush crimson carpet to slide onto the chair opposite Evan on the other side of the aisle. Evan followed his gaze back to Fergus and John, who were now exchanging rings.

“Fergus,” the celebrant said, “please place this ring on John’s finger and repeat after me: ‘I take you for now and for always, for always is always now.’”

Maggie gave a soft snort, then whispered, “What’s that even mean?”

Evan shrugged, then glanced over at Ben to find him mesmerized, his eyes glazed over with bliss. What relief it must be to set aside all his wedding-planning worries and simply enjoy the moment.

Then Ben blinked and furrowed his brow, as though realizing or remembering something. He turned his head to look straight at Evan.

Evan froze. It wasn’t like him—or any spy—to get caught out staring. Usually he was much more subtle.

Ben released a giddy, “Isn’t this brilliant?” grin, the sort one would share with a close mate. Evan couldn’t help smiling back.

Ben blinked rapidly, his eyes nearly crossing. He looked away, shifting in his seat and tugging at his shirt collar. Then he glanced back at Evan and grazed his teeth over his bottom lip.

Evan’s mouth watered. He swallowed hard and looked at the grooms.You can’t flirt with the wedding planner of the man whose heart you crushed—especially not during the ceremony.He was pretty sure that was a rule.

Just then, Maggie leaned into his personal space, trying to see around the tall man sitting in front of her as the grooms had their first kiss. Then she squeezed Evan’s knee—in apology or sympathy, he wasn’t sure.

A glance at Ben showed the wedding planner with his arms crossed and his shoulder angled away. He was no doubt assuming Evan was with Maggie, that he’d been barking up the wrong tree.

Evan couldn’t imagine being anyone’srighttree. Who would want the secrecy and lies of this life? His dad, a fellow spook, had urged Evan to find a nice man within the Service, someone who could hear the wordsI can’t tell youwithout taking it personally. Someone Evan could be “real” with, whatever that meant.

Ben stood and slipped out of the chapel as quietly as he’d slipped in. The Great Hall now seemed strangely bare and cold. Evan wished its enormous hearth was full of flames instead of flowers.

The ceremony ended, none too soon. Evan stood for the recessional, avoiding Fergus’s eyes so he wouldn’t see Fergus avoidinghiseyes.

A soft hand touched his back as the two families filed out. “It was good of you to come,” Maggie said. Then she looked round. “You didn’t bring anyone special?”

“No.” Evan scoured his memory. “What about your partner…Gavin, was it?”

“Och, we broke up ages ago. I can’t believe you remember that prat’s name.” She looked him up and down. “You’re still gay?”

“Utterly.”

Maggie frowned. “Save a dance for me anyway. We can be sad singletons together.” She scurried off to talk to the rest of Fergus’s family.

Evan made his way alone down the spiral stone staircase to the banquet hall, which looked like the set of a medieval film. A pair of iron chandeliers loomed over each end of the hall, filled with electric candles that sent a thousand shimmers over the pale stone walls. The hearth here contained a real fire, contained by a spiky iron grate.

The dour vibe was softened by the towering Christmas tree at one end and the ten-foot-tall wreath hanging on the wall at the other, both accented with white faerie lights and red silk ribbons. The room smelled of pine with a hint of cinnamon.

Though he knew he should mingle, Evan needed to survey the room first for potential threats. With all fifty guests plus staff members and caterers packed onto the small dance floor or around the U-shaped dining table, it was hard to keep track of everyone.

After fetching a drink, he stood near the tree, his back to the wall, surveilling the crowd whilst pretending to be absorbed in his phone.

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