Page 6 of Always a Bridesmaid
“For the bridesmaid dresses, I’m thinking super-low-cut tops with short skirts,” Ford said as he flopped on his couch for the first wedding-planning meeting of what he’d been informed would be many. “Not short enough that I’ve gotta tuck my junk, but I want to show off the muscular thighs my firefighter training has given me.”
Addie, one of his very best friends and the bride-to-be, giggled.
Lexi blushed.
The three German shepherd puppies that’d been delivered to him earlier this week ran amok.
A lot of life-changing events had happened within his tight-knit group of friends last fall. His buddy Shep—Will Shepherd to most everyone else—had married Lexi, the blond debutante currently tilting her head at Ford. Then, in the middle of all the pre-wedding activities, two of his other closest friends had gone and fallen in love.
At first, Ford had hated the idea of Tucker and Addie. But once he’d seen how hard Tucker worked to win over the girl beside him, how good they were together, and—most importantly—realized the group wasn’t going to be split by their merger, he got on board.
Now they were soon to be hitched.
When Murph, known as Addison Murphy to the rest of the town, had asked him to be her bridesdude/man of honor, of course he’d said yes. He’d do most anything for his friends.
Lexi, one of the other bridesmaids—along with Addie’s sister, Alexandria, who was lucky enough to get out of wedding planning on account of living the next state over—withdrew a giant binder and a few thick magazines from her bag. She tossed them on his coffee table next to the dog toys and the remotes, where they starkly contrasted the pile ofAlabama Outdoor News.
“This should get us started,” she said, notebook and a pen at the ready.
“Started?” Addie blinked at the stack. “Are we startin’ a fire? ’Cause that’s what that pile of nonsense makes me wanna do.”
Lexi sighed and crossed one leg over another, the skirt of her red dress flaring with the motion.
Like he said, he’d do anything for Murph, who’d always been one of the guys, but wedding planning tiptoed mighty close to the line. Her brown eyes were as wide as he assumed his were, though, and they’d sworn long ago to never leave a man behind.
Since he was the best dude and Addie didn’t know the first thing about being a girly girl, Lexi was the only one experienced in everything a wedding entailed, so here they were.
Staring at a color-coded binder.
Addie reached for the six-pack of Naked Pig Pale Ale beer. After taking a large glug from her bottle, she hesitantly lifted the binder off the table.
Give him a fire to fight, a lost hiker to find, or a destructive force of nature to contend with, and he’d jump right in, no fear. But wedding to-do lists filled with line upon line of gibberish? Well, he was about to cry for his mommy.
Time to nut up. Unfortunately, he needed to put the puppies through search and rescue training after this meeting, so he’d be getting through it sober.
Ford grabbed a non-alcoholic beer and cracked it open.
Murph flipped to the section markedtablesand blinked at the contents. “Um, I guess we’ll start with…table decorations?” She glanced at him, as if he had any idea what kind of decorations would go on tables. Wasn’t that what plates and food were for? Everything else just got in the way of eating.
The leather of his couch creaked as he shifted closer and peered over Addie’s shoulder. “Sure. Those tablecloths look nice,” he said, gesturing to the rows of multicolored fabric.
Lexi frowned. “Those aren’t for tables; they’re for the chairs.”
“Chairs need tablecloths?” he asked, and Lexi sighed.
Addie nudged him with her elbow. “Yeah, didn’t you know that, Ford? That way, instead of using the tablecloth as a napkin, you’ve got one on your chair, too.”
“Smart.”
They laughed. Lexi pursed her lips.
Over the course of being one of Shep’s “groomsmen,” Addie had grown close to Lexi, but moments like this brought out how different they were. If it were up to Addie and Tucker, they’d keep the ceremony small. Around here, though, weddings were as much for family members and townsfolk as the couple, and it was easier to go with the flow than catch flack the rest of their lives.
The puppies barked as they began play fighting, yelps and growls filling the air. Pyro, Ford’s trusty black German shepherd, lifted his head from his bed by the fireplace. While his dog was over the extra company already, Pyro couldn’t help but help. It was why he was the best rescue dog in all of Alabama.
That and because Ford, who trained K-9 units for search and rescue missions, had trained Pyro himself, from the time he was a bouncy puppy.
Lexi glanced at the dogs. “I’m not denying your new litter is ridiculously cute, but we can’t plan a wedding like this. They’re so noisy.”
