Page 11 of Best Man
“Curious?” Paulina shot her a skeptical look. “I’ve never met him before, so yeah, I guess Iama little curious. Should I not be?”
Mom showed her palms. “Sorry if I offended you, sweetie. It just sounded like you might be atinybit interested in him.”
“Interested?” She shirked the accusation with a laugh. “I’ve never even met him. I was only asking about him because Piper brought him up first. And because he’s Jax’s best man.That’s all. Besides, he’s got a girlfriend—didn’t you hear?”
“Mm.” Mom made that little throaty mumble she always makes when she’s not buying what you’re selling. “Doesn’t sound like that means much.”
Paulina groaned. “Mom! I’m not interested in him. Get real.”
“All I’m saying is, it’s okay if you are. He’s a very handsome man.”
“Even I were interested in him—which I’mnot—and even if he were single—whichhe’snot—you heard what Piper said. He only dates amazingly beautiful, exotic looking girls.”
Mom gasped as if the implication hurt her. “Don’t talk like that, Paulina. You’re a very beautiful girl.”
Paulina resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Thanks, Mom.” Of course Mom would say that—she practicallyhadto. “But let’s face it, I’m not exactly supermodel material.”
“Well, no. You don’t have the height,” Mom said, completely serious, as if Paulina’sheightwas the only thing holding her back from the runway.
All this boy talk was making Dad look uncomfortable. He growled, “I’m already losing one of my girls this weekend. Isn’t that enough?”
Paulina tittered. “See, Mom? You’re upsetting Dad.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll stop,” Mom sang, still smiling to herself.
Paulina and her parents kept the assembly line going, churning out one bouquet after another while they listened to the chatter of the radio.
While she worked, Paulina kept wondering about what her mom had been implying. Normally, Mom had a good nose for this kind of thing—guys she might be interested in—butthistime? She couldn’t have been more wrong. Yeah, sure, Paulina was excited to meet Niko; no one could deny he was an interesting character. But her excitement made perfect sense if you thought about it in context to the wedding. They shared similar honors, after all:hewas the best man, andshewas the maid of honor.
So why wouldn’t I be a little curious about him?she wondered. It had nothing to do with romantic interest. Again, she had no delusions about dating a pro athlete. She’d gotten a glimpse of what that was like through Piper’s eyes, and she already knew she didn’t have the patience for it.
An hour later, the last bouquet was finally done. They hurried to move every last arrangement into the walk-in cooler in the barn, where the flowers would stay fresh until tomorrow. Right when they finished, Jax rolled past the barn in his truck, gravel crunching beneath his tires. A party shuttle followed him up to the house, loud music blasting out its open windows.
“Looks like the party’s arrived,” Mom said.
Paulina and her parents stepped outside the barn, where their paths forked. Mom and Dad were going to the big house to greet everybody, but Paulina was headed in the other direction to the old property.
“Aren’t you coming with us, Paulie?” Dad asked, his thumb bent in the direction of the new house.
“I need to take a quick rinse and change, but I’ll meet you over there in a bit.”
5
Niko
A twenty minute drive was enough to leave civilization behind and enter the countryside. Beneath the bright blue sky, green hills rolled against the mountain backdrop. Niko had never been to Montana, but he already thought it was one of the most beautiful states in America.
“So this is where our property begins,” Jax said as he turned off the paved road and onto a gravel road. The shuttle bus followed them, staying just far enough behind to avoid the cloud of dust Jax’s truck kicked up.
“Wait.Allof this is yours?” Niko asked, pointing at the land that stretched almost as far as he could see.
Jax nodded. “Yup. Originally, Piper’s parents had about fifteen acres to themselves. But we bought the neighbors off their plot, which was about five-hundred acres.”
Niko gulped. That was a hell of a lot of land, especially for a kid who grew up in a too-small apartment building in Moscow. “Wow.”
Jax nodded. “Yeah. Some guys don’t know what they’ll do after retirement, but I’ve definitely got my work cut out for me.”
“Retirement?” Niko scoffed. Jax was five years older than he was, but the defenseman was just entering his prime—he had atleastfive good years of hockey left, if not ten. “You’re way too young to be thinking about retirement.”
