Page 7 of His Best Man's Baby

Jax grabbed Tae’s hand and drew it into his lap. “Let it go,” he murmured under his breath.

Tae frowned at him. “You’ve got to be kidding,” she whispered back while the others were talking. “She didn’t just diss us. She disrespected Daniel. If he’s that boring, why is she marrying him?”

“Tae.” His stern tone was enough to snap her out of her anger, and she shut her mouth so fast her teeth clicked, sending a sharp pain through her jaw.

She opened her purse and pulled out her wallet. “I think I’ve had enough for one evening. I’m going to go back to my room. You all enjoy yourselves. Daniel, this should be enough for my part of the check.”

Daniel leaned across the table and closed her fingers over the money she tried to hand him. A tingle of awareness raced from her fingertips, across her hand, and up her arm. “Don’t insult me offering to pay, and don’t leave. I was thinking we’d all go across to the hotel bar and have a few drinks.”

“I’m really tired,” she lied. “Thanks though. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Tae tugged her hand free of his and stood up. Jax started to rise, but she held him where he was. “Good night. Thank you for dinner, Daniel.”

r />

Before anyone could say more, or for that matter before she could, she hightailed it out of the restaurant. With luck, the rest of the weekend would go better. She would wish Daniel all the happiness in the world and walk away.

* * * *

Tae checked the minifridge in her room and then realized she’d need to go to the ice machine. On the way, she could grab a cola and some chips from the snack machine. Tomorrow, no next week, I’m going to get healthy and start exercising.

She rifled through her purse and found change, but it probably wasn’t enough, so she pealed off a few dollar bills from the thin stack in her wallet.

Standing in front of the vending machine, balancing the ice bucket on her hip, she debated between Cheetos, her favorite, and Doritos, her second best.

“Still a snack junkie, I see.”

Tae jumped, and Daniel squeezed her shoulder. Her heartbeat skidded out of control. “Daniel, I didn’t hear you behind me.”

“Sorry about that.” He smiled, taking her breath away. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“No worries.” She forced her gaze back to the chips, but with him beside her, she didn’t want to buy anything. “Alise not with you? I thought you two were joined at the hip.” The bucket clattered to the floor and she slapped a hand over her lip, bending to retrieve it. “Damn, I didn’t mean—”

“You don’t like her.” His words were a statement, but she heard his disappointment.

“What I think doesn’t matter. Besides, I shouldn’t have said anything. This is your weekend, and I’m not going to get in the way of that.”

He took the crumpled dollars from her clammy fingers, smoothed them, and fed them into the machine. While she said nothing, he made the selection for her, choosing the Cheetos. “You’re my friend, Tae. I care about what you think.”

She took the offered snack and her change, biting her lip. Warning bells went off in her head. Keep your mouth shut, Tae. Wish him well. That’s it. Then get your butt back to your room where it’s safe. “Are you sure about her, Daniel? Marriage is a big commitment, and she doesn’t seem… Well, she seems selfish. Does she love you? Do you love her?”

“Love,” he repeated.

She had said too much. Why couldn’t she mind her own business?

He frowned, his eyes flashing anger. “You talk to me about love, Tae? You turned me down when I asked you to marry me. No, you didn’t just say no or tell me you weren’t ready. You dumped me completely, without warning. Now what are you after? Why are you here? To stop me from being happy? Maybe you want to get back together after all this time.”

She retreated a step. “Excuse me? You invited me!”

He reached for her. “Tae—”

She held up a hand. “I’m sorry. I made a mistake.” She spun on her heel and hurried away, leaving her ice bucket. Let him keep it. Why oh why had she thought this was a good idea? Then to be accused of trying to break Daniel and Alise up because she wanted him back. That was absurd, and she hated knowing he thought that way. His anger was uncalled for, too. He suspected how she felt. Hell, he’d have to be blind and an idiot to think anyone in their right might would like that self-centered bitch he intended to marry.

Tae swiped her key card five times and jiggled the doorknob at her room. Each instance, the stupid light flashed red. She heard steps around the corner, and her heart raced, dread tightening the muscles in her stomach. She didn’t want to face him again and have him see the tears in her eyes. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

She tried the card again and this time threw the Cheetos on the floor along with the cola. Now the stupid drink would explode when she opened it. She sniffed and swiped a hand across her face. The door swung inward, and she pitched forward and banged her mouth on a hard chest. Squeaking in pain, she tried to right herself, when hands came up to her waist to steady her.

“You want to tell me why you’re crying and trying to break into my room, Tae?”

---