Page 106 of Always a Bridesmaid
“Is he gone?” Addie asked.
“Yeah,” Ford said. “But he wants you to call him after you calm down.”
Fire flared through her eyes, and her voice came out at the same pitch as his dog whistle. “Calm down?Like I’m just overreacting?”
Ford held up his hands. “Don’t shoot the messenger.” He sat on the arm of the couch, since Lexi was seated on Addie’s other side. “Maybe let him in on what’s going on, though.”
More tears welled in her eyes. “Tucker and I were talking about our future—about plans for the house we’re building and our yard—and then he says he’s always wanted asonto play catch with.”
Lexi frowned while Ford racked his brain for what the hell was wrong with that. He’d thought the very same thing when he’d been at the baseball field with Dylan.
“So I said, ‘what if we have a daughter? You can play catch with a girl, too.’ And he…” Addie sniffed. “He said it’s not the same. Can you believe that?”
Ford brought up his shoulders in case he needed to block one of Murph’s jabs. “Um, don’t kill me, but I’m lost. I think every guy dreams of playing catch with his son.”
Despite his request that she not kill him, Addie glared like she was considering how to tear him limb from limb. “Seriously? You both grew up playing catch with me. Are you sayin’ it wasn’t fun enough? That I can’t throw as far and hard as either of you?”
Ah, hell. Because Addie was a girl. Sometimes he…well, not exactly forgot. Just didn’t take her gender into consideration. “No. Which is why every time I was team captain for our football matches, I picked you first. Not only can you throw, you’re fast as shit.”
“Oh, don’t patronize me, McGuire.”
Now he was regretting not fleeing the scene with Tucker. What had happened to his best friend, and who was this irrational woman in her place? “I’m not. I wouldn’t dare.”
“You say that, but once we reached junior high, you were protective of me. Not as bad as Tucker, but sometimes you left your route to block for me.”
“Did I tell a few guys that if they hurt you, I’d put my foot so far up their ass they’d taste the gator shit on my shoe? Sure. Never had to follow through. Mostly because of the speed I mentioned.”
“Then, wouldn’t it be only natural to assume that my daughter would be equally as good? At catching and running and doing everything my son could do?”
“Yeah, to a point,” Ford said. “Once people get to a certain age, the muscle mass and weight class—”
Both women glared, so he switched tactics.
“Would you be disappointed if you had a daughter who hated playing ball? A daughter who wore frilly dresses and threw tea parties?”
Addie fiddled with the diamond ring on her finger, spinning it round and round, and he fought back a wheeze as the last of his breath left his lungs.No thinking about marriage or how much Violet wants it—gotta focus on one disaster at a time.
“No. I mean, I might be sad I can’t share football with her, but…” Her frown deepened. “That’s not the point.”
Whatisthe point?he wanted to ask but knew better. “All’s I’m saying is that Tucker adores you. You’re arguing over a what-if. Aren’t there enough things to argue about in the present?”
“Yeah, like how he told his mom we could add a few dances because she insisted on a mother-son dance, even though I made it clear I didn’t want to dance at my wedding.” Addie’s mouth pulled to one side as she glanced at Lexi. “No offense, Lex.”
“None taken.” Lexi twisted in her seat and smoothed her hands down her skirt. She was a girly girl, and if the tension in the air wasn’t so thick and perplexing, he might point out that Addie got on great with her, fancy clothes and total lack of throwing skills notwithstanding.
“Look, I’ve been in your shoes.” Lexi’s gaze dipped to Murph’s sneakers. “Well, in your place, since you and I have very different footwear preferences and that’s okay.” She patted Addie’s thigh. “Differences are what keeps the world from being one big snoozefest. Planning a wedding is stressful. Both families are tugging at you, and that leads to everyone feeling overwhelmed. Which means small fights blow up into big ones.
“Tell you what…” Lexi popped to her high-heeled feet. “I’m going to grab the carton of ice cream I stashed in your freezer, along with your bottle of Jack. Then we’ll banish all talk of weddings and unwind. Things will be right as rain come tomorrow morning—that or we’ll be too hungover to care.”
Addie’s snort-laugh was capped off with a sob. “I used to brag about how cool I was under pressure and how I rarely got emotional. I don’t even know who I am anymore.”
Ford slipped into the spot Lexi had abandoned and slung his arm around Addie. “You’re the girl with a killer right hook; the girl who pranked teachers and outswam me. The girl in just about every single one of my memories.”
And the girl who had changed the instant she’d gotten engaged.
The thought hit him, and regardless of his resolve to lock it away in his brain and never dare utter the words, it didn’t change the facts.
With two of his closest friends hurting, Dad’s warning about relationships—and how they always brought on fights—drifted up to haunt him.
