Page 6 of Holiday Intercepted
3
Taylor
The last thing in the world that I wanted was to draw attention to myself and away from Cam and Lydia. Then again, in a town like Maple Grove, I should have known better than to think I could slink down into a cocktail party full of old high school friends without gettingbombarded.
Although I started my way down the stairs at seven sharp, I didn’t make it to the bar until 7:20. My mouth watered when I saw my favorite IPA on tap and I signaled to the bartender for apint.
“You made it,” a deep voice said behind me. I grinned before I even turned around. I recognized that raspy son of a bitchanywhere.
I spun, taking my cold beer in hand and grinned at my best friend. “I promised you Iwould.”
Cam’s smile twitched higher. “Yeah. I’ve heard that before,though.”
I knew he meant the jab in a good-natured way, but I winced all the same. “I know. I’m sorry I missed all this the first time around.” I inwardly cringed. Was it in poor taste to mention the groom’s first marriage at his engagement party? I wasn’t good at these things since I was pretty damn sure I was destined to be a bachelor forlife.
Cam grabbed me roughly by the shoulders and tugged me in for a hug. “I’m just giving you a hard time. It’s water under thebridge.”
Steve appeared at our sides and clapped my back. “My brother is way more forgiving than me. If you miss mine and Yvonne’s wedding next year due to some bullshit, I won’t be soforgiving.”
Cam rolled his eyes. “To be fair, it’s now been over a decade, and when Hannah and I married, not a lot of time hadpassed.”
That was true. Cam had gotten married young and it was only a couple years since everything had gonedown.
“Daddy!” A little girl with Cam’s coloring and dark hair came running over and tugged on his pants. “Can I have a ShirleyTemple?”
Cam smiled warmly down at the girl and brushed his fingers down the bridge of her nose. “On a night like this? How can I say no?” He gestured at the bartender then, placed his hands on the girl’s shoulders. “Taylor, you remember my daughter, Maddie,right?”
I dropped my head to the side, eyes wide. “No. There’s no way this young lady is that same little nugget that used to scream while we were trying to have a civilized brunch in Boston.” I dropped to one knee in front of her and glanced up at Cam andSteve.
She laughed and batted her eyelashes at me as Cam handed her the Shirley Temple. Oh boy, I didn’t know if he realized it yet or not, but he had a heartbreaker on his hands. And I sure as shit wasn’t going to be the one to break the news tohim.
A slim woman snuggled up beside Cam, curling into his side. She bent and kissed Maddie on the top of the head and I stood as Cam said, “And this is Lydia, my bride. Lydia, this is Taylor, my best friend from highschool.”
“Hey!” Lydia said, her wide smile revealing a set of brilliantly white teeth. “The Patriots tight end,right?”
I nodded, offering her my hand. “Yet again, my reputation precedesme.”
She shrugged. “Only in passing conversation when these two start in on their crazy stories from high school. The four best friends who met when they were just babies at daycare. But, truthfully, I have a confession to make. I’m a Giants fan.” She gave me a mocked sympathetic smile. “Soooo…”
“So you must enjoy losing,” I countered, smiling and sipping my beer. “We’ve been kicking their ass the last fewyears.”
“We’ll see. These things ebb and flow. They’ll make theircomeback.”
I arched a brow. “Not while I’m playing against them. That’s for damn sure.” I winked ather.
Lydia laughed and rested her head on Cam’s shoulder. “You guys weren’t kidding when you called him Big Biscuit on campus,huh?”
Everyone’s laughter died and I felt my smile wither. Only one of us called me that. Scott. And it all started because I won a biscuit eating contest againsthim.
I cleared my throat, draining the rest of my beer in three chugs and signaled foranother.
“I-I’m sorry,” Lydia said. “Did I say somethingwrong?”
“No, sweetheart,” Cam said and kissed her gently. “The four of us just haven’t been together in a really longtime.”
She didn’t know? How could Cam not have told her? Didn’t couples share everything with each other? I stared at the granite bar top, studying the dark veins running against the light graystone.
I took a deep breath and managed to smile at Lydia. This was hers and Cam’s big night and I sure as hell wasn’t going to ruin their party. “It’s fine,” I said. “Thank God Scott’s out of town this weekend. Gives me a little bit more of buffer time before your wedding to have to confronthim.”
