Page 15 of Love and Other Trials
“They didn’t ask her?—”
“Not. Your. Problem.” Rob punched the air, his frustration visible in the smashed brows on his wide forehead. “Dammit, Terry woke her husband up and had him sleep in the boys’ cottage. That’s on me since you’re my friend, and this when I’m trying to put my best foot forward with my new in-laws.”
Shit. He hadn’t thought about anyone else needing to mind the boys. The in-laws thing might not be an issue much longer. But one thing at a time. “I didn’t know that would happen. Tiffany said they thought it would be okay with Marshall being thirteen and Ripp?—”
“That’s what I said, only to get my head blown off.” Rob scowled fiercely. “Let’s review. You’re the best man. Your duties are to help Ariel in any way, not get in her pants?—”
“Hey! I resent that.” But theywereattracted to each other, so he couldn’t deny he’d like to go to bed with her. Only it wouldn’t be crude like Rob was suggesting.
“Dammit, Dax, I know you’re the first guy in a crowd to be the gentleman, but keep out of things between Ariel and her sisters. They have a complicated relationship. You’re the sailor in the port, passing through. Remember that.”
“Aye, aye.” He shot his friend a jaunty salute, to which Rob only grunted in response. “Now, are you done?”
“Yeah. Jesus, I’m revved. I hate it when Tiffany is mad at me. It feels worse than having a missile locked on you.”
Another spasm raced through Dax’s stomach. That bad? They hadn’t even talked about his stuff yet. “Can we stop a minute? I need to talk to you.”
Rob halted beside him and put his hands on his hips. “Fuck. You didn’t sleep with Ariel, did you?”
“No.” He scratched an itch in his brow, likely from the headache starting. “What I want to say isn’t about Ariel. It’s about Tiffany, and I need you to listen to me. All the way through.”
Rob rubbed the back of his neck. “You’re already taking sides between Ariel and her sisters? I knew you’d react like this when I heard you’d come in as Knight Valiant and swept her off to your cottage. Dammit, Dax, I can’t have this. I like and respect Ariel—you know how much—but IloveTiffany. I’m marrying her, and you’re my best friend, so you need to?—”
“She came on to me last night.” He couldn’t let Rob go on any longer. “When you were in the head.”
Rob’s entire face tightened, the bones of his face visible in a scary way now. “What the fuck did you just say?”
He set his weight in the sand and fell back into reporting mode like he would with a superior officer. “When you left for the head last night—right before I went to the airport—Tiffany told me she found me handsome. She ran her fingers up my chest before patting me on the butt. I did not at any point invite this or respond favorably.”
“What the fuck, Dax?” Rob shoved him back hard. “This is bullshit! Tiffany loves me. We’re getting married Saturday.”
“I know.” He didn’t flinch from Rob’s dark glare. “As your best friend, I had to tell you. Especially after Erin!”
“Forget Erin!” Another shove drove Dax back a couple steps. “We’re not talking about this. Any of it!”
“Jesus, you know it’s the last thing on earth I want to do. But our bond is stronger than blood. Dammit, Rob, how long have we known each other?”
Rob held up a hand like he was stiff-arming him in football. “You misunderstood. Tiffany is crazy about me. Heck, she’s even?—”
Dax waited while Rob pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose, his mouth grim. “What?”
“Nothing.” Rob’s mouth worked before he shook his head slowly. “Look, you misunderstood. Jesus, this has got to be related to all that wedding curse stuff Tiffany keeps harping about.”
“What?”
“Forget it. Ask Ariel. Wait, weren’t we talking about Ariel when Tiffany came over?”
“We were.” Rob was obviously grasping at straws to explain away his fiancée’s behavior—because a wedding curse? “Ariel thought she might have been jealous?—”
“You told Ariel?” Rob stalked off, the tide coming in and touching his shoes. “Fuck, man, what’s gotten into you?”
Dax followed him. “I was upset. She sensed it. I told her because I didn’t want her to think badly of me. I also needed her to know what I had planned.”
“And what was that?” Rob lashed out, extending his hands wide open. “What, Dax?”
He didn’t flinch, although his insides felt like he was pulling 9 Gs. “I said I was going to tell you and try and stop the wedding.”
“Fuck!” Rob kicked at the sand. “This wedding isn’t going to be anything but brilliant. Like my bride-to-be wants. That’s your mission, Captain. Do you hear me?”
