Page 75 of Forever to Fall
CHAPTER 24
“What has gotten intoyou, man?” Evan asked, hands thrust onto his hips in frustration. “You’ve been acting weird all day, and all I’m trying to do is get our tuxedos.”
Beckett knew what was bothering him—or at least part of it—but he was not going to dissect his feelings now. Not when his best friend was standing in front of a three-way mirror while a tailor worked on his wedding day tux, the smile on his lips so infectious it could make the world’s biggest skeptic believe in love.
And that was the thing, Beckett did believe in love. He had for years, decades even. He believed as soon as he put that ring on Mallory’s finger in his grandparent’s farm. He believed the first time they kissed, all bumbling and awkward. He believed it when he took Mallory to the prom, felt her pulse racing as he held her hand and spun her around the dance floor. He believed at the beginning of the summer when she dropped her gossip magazines in the parking lot, her defense of the rags written all over her lovely face. He believed when she helped him clean up the farm house, her patient gaze never leaving his while he cried and cried for the parents that felt like strangers, for the life he wasn’t sure he wanted.
“I’m fine,” he said, not quite meeting Evan’s eye. “I just think that—”
“Think what?” Evan turned to snag his gaze, the tailor tsking as he stabbed Evan with a straight pin. “Ow.”
The tailor gave a long-suffering sigh and harrumphed. “Please try not to be so animated, sir.”
Beckett thought back to last night, watching CeCe fiddle with the ring, her admission that it wasn’t really her style but meant so much to Evan. He knew in his heart of hearts that if Evan suspected CeCe wasn’t in love with that ring he’d tear it from her finger and buy her the Hope Diamond. But he promised CeCe he wouldn’t betray her confidence, even though Mallory could benefit from the honesty.
“Foxy, you’re scaring me. What happened last night?”
Beckett toyed with the hem of his own jacket, suddenly very interested in the mother-of-pearl buttons. If only Evan knew howeverythinghappened last night. Yet again, he’d hurt Mallory in his attempts to please his best friend, and he was sick to death of this merry-go-round. He wanted off the ride, he was tired of the games.
“Nothing but good food and friends happened last night.”
Evan didn’t look satisfied, but he did as the tailor asked and faced forward. Beckett thought he was out of the woods until Evan shimmied out of the tuxedo and handed it to the attendant, hands trembling slightly. As he pulled his T-shirt back on, he hesitated and gasped. Spinning on his heel, he stalked forward and shoved Beckett on the shoulder.
“What the hell, Lawless?” Beckett accused, shocked by the outburst. In their decades of friendship, Evan had never shown anything but a grin and easy-going nature.
Evan frowned, his blue eyes turning dark. “You don’t like CeCe.” The statement knocked Beckett back on his heels.
“What?”
“I saw you speaking in the pub, man. She looked a little upset, but later said it was just all the chaos of the day.”
Beckett’s head spun with a myriad of excuses, but he came up blank. “She was tired. There were like a million people there, and she showed up that other chef.”
Evan scoffed. “There were twenty people there, and she shows up other chefs all the time. You’re the only one she was upset with. What did you say?”
Beckett had to hand it to Evan. He’d never seen a man get this angry while still not wearing pants. Throw in the fact that Evan stalked the dressing room in his Spider-Man boxers and the scene was almost too much. He made a mental note to tell Mallory about it.
Mallory. Just thinking about her gave him the resolve to end the madness. True, it wasn’t his story to tell, but there were two distressed women in this situation, and he’d be damned if he didn’t say something.
“I don’t hate your fiancée, you idiot.”
Evan ran a hand through his hair, the blond waves landing haphazard across his forehead. Even on the sunny side of thirty, his buddy looked as young and vulnerable as their first day of school. “Then what the hell is going on?”
Beckett took a deep breath and readied himself for the wrath of Evan. “CeCe hates her engagement ring. Okay? I found her upset because it kept getting snagged on her dress.” The color drained from Evan’s face, leaving him as white as his undershirt. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to say anything, because it’s between the two of you.” And him and Mallory if Beckett were being honest. He would do anything to see that ring on her finger, but first needed to be a good friend and clean up this mess.
Evan eased himself down on the nearest chair, his knees shaking. “She hates the ring?”
Beckett grimaced. “Hateis a strong word. I just think it isn’t her style, and she didn’t want to hurt your feelings.”
“She said she loved it,” Evan said to no one in particular. His sightless gaze roamed the dressing room until Beckett couldn’t stand it. He strode over to the stack of Evan’s clothes and handed him his jeans and sneakers.
“Get dressed. This conversation is best served over beer and greasy pizza. My place is only two blocks away.”
