Page 60 of Best Man
She refused to believe she was falling for Sasha—she’d promised herself she wouldn’t. But he wassohandsome and sweet. Really, he was everything she’d ever wanted and looked for in a guy—the fact that he was a pro athlete was just icing on the cake.
Icing, she reminded herself, that made him ultimately unattainable. Because he could get gorgeous women from all over the world.So don’t let yourself fall for him.
Still. She liked feeling everyone’s eyes on them as they walked to the altar. No, this event wasn’t for them, but it was easy to delude yourself for a moment and justimagineif it was. It felt right—and that, Paulina knew, was a sign that she’d better take a step back and be careful.
Do not get attached.
He is a rebound.
Rebound.
Unlike their practice rehearsal, Sasha didn’t lean in and whisper a naughty nothing. Part of her wanted him to—not because she wanted or needed him to flirt, no, but because it would beeasierif he were like the dozens of other thoughtless fuck boys she’d ever known, who were only ever interested in her for one thing—sex.
But no. Sasha was a perfect gentleman as he escorted her down the aisle, as if he understood how important all of this was.
Their paths forked at the altar. Paulina took her place at the head of the bridesmaids. Katerina touched her back and whispered, “Great job! You two looked amazing!”
Pachelbel’s Canon came to an end. Before the string quartet could begin the wedding march, Sasha took a step forward and began to dig around in his trousers, wrestling with the hugeness in his pocket.
Oh, right—his gag!Paulina thought, watching with interest.
Sasha fished a lint roller out of his pocket. He held it up, displaying it to the crowd, who chuckled with a mix of confusion and amusement. Sasha stepped forward and began preening Jax’s suit, rolling over his arms and legs, until the audience was rolling with laughter.
Jax hung his head and laughed, soaking up the audience’s glee—because what was a best man for, if not to poke fun at the groom? Paulina saw that even Veronica had cracked the smallest smile—before her stern face returned, anyway, and it was back to business.
Once the laughs subsided, the string quartet began to play Here Comes the Bride, and all heads turned around to watch Dad escort Piper down the aisle. Poor Daddy choked back tears as he handed his daughter over to Jax.
“Dear friends and family,” the reverend began, “we are gathered here today . . .”
***
Jax had been afraid of crying, but he would’ve been in good company if he had—there wasn’t a dry eye to be found once the ceremony concluded and the newlyweds left the altar as man and wife. Jax definitely sounded emotional when he delivered his heartfelt and powerful vows, and his voice might have cracked once or twice, but he definitely held it together better than everyone else. Especially better than Paulina, who was the first member of the wedding party to start sobbing, which kick-started everyone else’s waterworks.
“Congratulations! That was so gorgeous!” Paulina said, greeting the newlyweds with hugs.
While the rest of the wedding guests went to the barn to kick off the reception, the newlyweds were whisked away by the photographers for pictures with the members of the wedding party in the flower garden.
“Welcome to the fam, Jax,” she said, bopping her new brother-in-law in the tummy.
“Thanks, Paulie.”
Paulina was reunited with Sasha when the photographers wanted pictures of the best man and maid of honor together. Sasha put his arm around her shoulder and the camera shutters wentsnap-snap-snap.She felt so comfortable with his arm wrapped around her—it was too bad they had to keep it hidden for the rest of the night.
“Your gag was hilarious, by the way,” she whispered as they posed for more photos.
“Yeah? You liked that?”
“Loved it. What gave you the idea?”
He shrugged. “When we were all getting ready in his suite, we lint rolled each other to make sure our suits looked perfect, and I just thought—wouldn’t it be funny if I did this during the ceremony?”
“Well, it worked. I was dying.” She chuckled again. “I’m surprised Veronica didn’t try to kill you, you know.”
“Do you think I’m crazy?” he asked. “Shewouldhave killed me if I didn’t tell her I was going to do it first.”
“Aaaah.” Paulina wagged her finger. “So you cleared it with her ahead of time. That explains it. Smart man. What’d she say when you told her?”
“She sort of sighed and rolled her eyes. But hey, she didn’t tell me no.”
