Page 128 of Just One of the Groomsmen
The weight of the situation hit him again, and he took a heavy step toward the gathering crowd so they could get this over and done with and he could retreat to his houseboat and drink himself into oblivion.
Shep stopped him with a hand on his chest. “Wait. You’re saying it’s more than foolin’ around?”
“Of course it’s more than fooling around,” Tucker said. “It’salwaysbeen more than that—I never would’ve crossed the line if it wasn’t.”
Shep gaped at him. “Why didn’t you say so before?”
“I don’t know. Because it’d be weird as shit. For one, it involves Addie, and you know how we can get when we talk women—I almost took a swing at Ford for saying she was nice to look at, so tread careful. And two, it’s not like we usually talk about this stuff.”
Three, he didn’t feel like he deserved to defend himself, but he was keeping that to himself—his skin was already too tight after what hehadadmitted.
“Well, buckle in, ’cause we’re gonna talk about it now.” Shep crossed his arms and studied him as if he was getting ready to cross-examine him on the stand. “Do you love her? And I mean in a different way than the rest of us love her.”
He glanced at Addie, felt every inch of physical distance and the emotional ocean between them, and it crashed over him all at once. His brain had whispered it before, but he’d tried to ignore it because he couldn’t already be that far gone, and it would make her moving away and what’d happened between them even more painful.
But now everything in him screamed the truth, no way he could deny it. “I love her. I’minlove with her.”
“Dude.”
His chest tightened, and he tugged at his tie. No amount of loosening would make it easier to breathe, but he needed something to do with his hands anyway. “What good does it do me? The timing’s all off. She’s leaving, and I don’t have enough money saved up to even think of settling down and getting serious.”
“What does that have to do with anything? You can’t tell her you love her because you don’t have enough money?” Shep looked at him like he’d lost his mind. “Have you met Addie? Does she seem like the type of girl who cares?”
“I don’t want to pull her into a life where we don’t know how or if we can pay the bills. I watched it tear apart my parents, and I won’t put Addie in that position.”
“You holding back is what’s tearing you two apart.”
Tucker knew Shep was right, but he also knew things wouldn’t magically work out simply because he wanted them to.
He didn’t want Addie to have to make do. Hell, he didn’t even have enough saved to rent an apartment in Tuscaloosa.
What was he supposed to do? Squat at her place while he struggled to start over yet again? Then she wouldn’t just be making do, she’d have to support him on top of everything else.
“You think love follows rules?” Shep asked. “If it did, there’d be no way Lexi would be marrying me. Look at her, man. She’s pretty and smart and funny, and for some reason, she’s crazy about me. She agreed to have the wedding here, despite her country club parents and their friends. And I warned her the entire town would invite themselves to the rehearsal, and they’re all standing around on the outskirts, and she’s taking it in stride. Which is why I don’t even care that we have fucking crimson as one of our wedding colors.”
“At least there’s some AU blue in there.”
“Exactly! It’s about compromise. It’s about putting the other person first. It’s hard work, but you’d be a fool to walk away from something that’s right, just because of some idea or rule. You dig in your heels and you find a way tomakeit work.”
Lexi came over, a concerned expression on her face. “I don’t want to be a diva bride, but we kind of need to get started. Minus the ‘kind of.’”
“Tucker’s in love with Addie,” Shep said.
“I knew it!”
“Thanks for keeping it in the vault, bro,” Tucker said.
“Are you kidding me? Do you have any clue how much help you need to dig yourself out of this mess? I’ll fully admit I’m not qualified. But my sexy fiancée right here?” Shep wrapped his arm around her shoulders, curled her closer, and kissed her cheek. “If anyone can help you now, it’s her.”
“Okay, but we can figure it out later,” Tucker said. “I don’t want to steal your thunder or mess up your show.”
“Now it’s my turn to ask if you’re kidding me,” Lexi said with far more sass than he’d expected from her. “I can’t watch you two avoid each other all through my wedding tomorrow, knowing I could’ve done something to help. It breaks my heart to see Addie so sad, and the thought of you two walking down the aisle with other people? It’s not right.”
“You didn’t even flinch at the walk-down-the-aisle talk.” Shep clapped him on the back. “Oh yeah, he’s definitely in love.”
“That question has been asked and answered, and while I appreciate the enthusiasm, I can’t even get the girl to have a full conversation with me.”
Lexi tapped a finger to her lips. “Then we’ve got to do something she can’t ignore.” He could see the wheels turning in her head. “We’re going to have to call in reinforcements. I’m thinking all the groomsmen, save the one who needs the convincing.”
