Page 133 of Just One of the Groomsmen
Everyone turned to Addie, and she pulled out hergo-to-hellglare. “Tell you what, I’ll trade you. I’ll wear the tie; you wear the dress and heels.”
The gang quickly returned to working on their ties, and Addie tugged him off to the side. “Hey, so I know we got distracted with other things last night…” Her cheeks flushed, and he was reliving carrying her into her bedroom and making up for two weeks without her.
Thankfully, Ford had been willing to go puppysit Flash so that Tucker could stay the night. Waking up with Addie in his arms was something he could definitely get used to—and he planned to.
“Anyway, about Bama,” she said.
“Boo,”Easton said. The guy must have bat hearing.
“I’ll ask for all y’all’s opinion in a few minutes, but for now, shut it.” She hooked her thumbs in the top of her dress and tugged, and for a second he got distracted watching the way it emphasized her cleavage. “They’ve officially offered me the job.”
He’d prepared himself for that.
He couldn’t believe how sad he was to leave a practice that’d started on a fluke, all because the woman across from him had a grandmother as stubborn as she was. He found he liked how different one case was from the next, even though it was a challenge and took a lot of brushing up on laws he wasn’t familiar with—and some he’d never even heard of before.
The boat business would never be a big money maker but a good side hobby, and he’d hoped…
But he could find a firm to work for in Tuscaloosa. The other option was straining his relationship with Addie with too much distance, and he wasn’t willing to risk it. “I’m not surprised. They’d be crazy not to want you. I’m just warning you that I plan to be super protective, and to go down to the stadium all the time to remind the guys that you’re already taken.”
“I don’t so much mind the letting everyone know I’m yours and you’re mine, but if you plan on going overboard with the overprotective thing, I hope you also plan to get into a lot of fights about it.”
“Hell yeah. That’ll be half the fun.”
She tried to fight back her smile, and he grinned and dragged his thumb over her jawline, teasing it out of her. “I suppose, though, that we could just as easily have that fight in Auburn. It’d cut out those extra hours driving home to see our family and friends, and a good group of guys for poker night is hard to find.”
“Wait. Are you saying…?” Tucker schooled his expression, too afraid to let the glimmer of hope that’d flashed before his eyes get the best of him. “What exactly are you saying?”
“I think she’s saying that Auburn University also offered her a job,” Shep said, coming over and slapping Tucker on the back before reaching for his cologne.
Addie rolled her eyes. “Oh my gosh, you guys are the biggest eavesdroppers ever.”
“Hey, this involves us, too,” Ford said, moving closer instead of pretending not to be listening. “Like you said, poker night is at stake. Plus, we kinda like you.”
Addie glanced at Easton. “You wanna throw in your two cents?”
“Mine’s worth ten, and I’d like to sound all selfless and tell you that I’ll support whatever you want. Which is true. But it’d make it a hell of a lot easier to support you if I actually got to see you once in a while.”
“You wouldn’t feel like you were giving up your dream?” Tucker asked Addie, needing to be sure it was whatshewanted.
“Are you kiddin’ me? I have a sexy boyfriend—”
“Blech,”Ford said. “You guys are so mushy. I’m not sure if I can be around this much longer.”
“And a big burly friend who does search and rescue—”
Ford grinned. “Now you’re talkin’.”
“And a cop who can get me out of speeding tickets—”
“I hope you don’t mean me,” Easton said with a laugh.
Addie turned to Shep. “And a friend who’s stood up for me time and time again, who’s also marrying this awesome girl who likes me enough to let the aforementioned boyfriend overtake her rehearsal in order to help get us back together. All that, plus getting to be a sports therapist for the team who shouts ‘War Eagle’? I don’t think it gets any better than that. It’s like whatever the level past wildest dreams is.”
“Then I say AU, baby.” It was the first time he’d tried a pet name, and he liked it more than he thought he would.
A squeal escaped her lips a few seconds before they were on his, and just when the guys were backing away to give them space, Addie reached out and blindly tugged on suit jackets. “A group hug is happening right now. I suggest just going with it.”
If anyone but Addie had suggested it, he had a feeling the guys would balk.
