Page 56 of Best Man
“Why?”
“It’s like our whole lives led up to this point. We met, we became friends, we fell in love and now—” He choked up and turned to Niko, and sure enough, his eyes were already watering. “See?”
“That’swhat you’re worried about?” Niko clutched at his chest, let out a huge sigh of relief, and enjoyed a hearty laugh. “Whew!”
“Fuck you, man,” Jax snarled, and gave him a shove. “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of—everyone laughing at me—”
“No no no no,” Niko said, rushing back to Jax’s side. “I’m not laughing atyou.I’m laughing because I thought—er, um, I thought—”
Nevermind.
“What’d you think?”Jax asked, his eyes narrowing skeptically.
“N-no, nothing,” Niko stammered. “I’m laughing because I’m relieved. I don’t know what I thought. I thought maybe it was the worst-case scenario, okay?”
“Which is?”
Niko had to think up an alternate worst-case scenario as quickly as he could. “Maybe you had doubts about marrying Piper all of a sudden. Cold feet, you know? Like maybe you were about to strand your bride at the altar.”
“Are you fucking crazy?” Jax huffed. “No way, man. I love that girl. I have absolutely no doubts about marrying her. Just like I told you yesterday.”
Niko smiled. “Then you’ve gotnothingto worry about, my friend.”
“Unless I can’t get through my vows because I’m crying, and look like a complete pansy in front of not only my extended family, but Piper’s, too. And all our friends.”
“Are you serious?!” Niko countered. “That’s nothing to worry about—that’s exactly what people love about weddings! They want to see that—yes, show them the emotion! You know what? Everyone else will be crying, too. Hell,I’llprobably cry. I can’t help it—once I see the girls start crying, it’s over for me! It is inevitable!”
“Theladieswant to see emotion, Niko. The guys are supposed to be stoic and hold their shit together. Everyone knows that.”
“Bullshit,” Niko hissed. “No one cares if the guy sheds a few tears. It just means you love your lady.”
“I’m not worried about shedding a few tears. I’m worried about a full-blown ugly cry. I’m worried I won’t be able to get through my vows, and everyone will snicker behind my back and think Piper’s marrying a pussy.”
“Oh, yes. What a pussy you are, marrying the love of your life. A girl you love so much, you cry tears of happiness. What a bitch!” Niko rolled his eyes. “If someone thought that about you, I woulddarethem to call you a pussy to your face.” At six-six and two-forty, the defenseman was physically imposing, to say the least.
“But you know what?” Niko continued. “No one who thinks that way would ever be at your wedding. Everyone is here because they love you and Piper. And they want to see you two happy.” He crossed his fingers. “Happy and together.”
Jax was starting to see the light. His chest shook with silent laughter. “Yeah?”
“Yeah, man. Trust me. You’ll be fine, no matter what. And at the end of the day, you get to call Piper your wife.”
“Thanks for the pep talk, man. I could’ve used you earlier. I just couldn’t bear to tell the others.” Jax grinned and hung his arm around Niko’s neck. “Best man comin’ through to save the game.”
Niko grinned. “Hey. Happy to help. You feel better now?”
“Yeah, definitely. I think I needed the fresh air, too.”
“Good. You look better already.” Niko peeked at his watch. “Should we head back, then? We should probably start to get ready.”
“Yeah.”
They turned around and traced their steps back to the hotel.
“So how was your night?” Jax asked, changing subjects.
“Good, good,” Niko said, playing it straight.
“Did you and Paulina finish whatever it was you were working on?”
