Page 32 of And the Best Man Ran Away With the Groom

“Too gay?” I ask dryly.

He lets out a breath of laughter. “Nah, not that at all. It’s just…girls are all soft, and they’re smaller, y’know? I didn’t realise cuddling a guy would be this comfy.”

I shift onto my side, propping myself up on my elbow and resting my head in my palm as I consider him closely. “You really just take it all in stride, don’t you?” I say with a soft smile. “Isn’t there anything that ever fazes you?”

He shrugs. “I guess there are some things. But I’m not really one for getting all twisted up over stuff. Especially not things that are this awesome,” he adds with a grin, leaning forward to brush his lips to mine.

“God, you belong onSesame Street,”I joke. “You’d fit right in with Elmo.”

He quirks an eyebrow at me. “I could say the same about you, Oscar the Grouch.”

I chuckle. “Touché. But seriously, aren’t youeverin a bad mood? Surely there’s something you get pissed off about from time to time—it can’t be possible toalwayssee the good side in everything.”

“Of course I get in bad moods,” he says wryly. “I’m not actually a kids TV character. I just don’t like to linger in them for too long. Life’s too short to always be dwelling on the negative.”

“I’m not sure I’m going to believe you without an example,” I quip.

He sighs. “Alright. I wasn’t exactly a ray of sunshine when my dad died.”

I wince, feeling like I’ve just been punched in the stomach. God, I’m a dick; I can’t believe how tactless I just was. “Fuck, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t—”

Trent cuts me off with a soft smile, his hand reaching up to brush over my cheek. “It’s okay. It was a long time ago. Nearly fifteen years now. But, yeah…” he lets out a ragged sigh, glancing away. “It was rough.”

I move a little closer, sliding my hand over his chest in what I’m hoping is a comforting gesture. “Sudden?”

He nods. “Heart attack. He was really fit and healthy, so it was completely unexpected.”

“I’m so sorry. I guess you guys were close?”

“Yeah,” he says softly, lifting a hand to brush over his face. “He was pretty much the best man I’ve ever known.” His eyes shift to me, uncharacteristic moroseness swimming in their depths. “To be honest, I didn’t handle it well at all.”

“That’s understandable.”

“Maybe,” he allows. “But I still feel ashamed whenever I think about how I let him down back then. I should have been helping Mum and Alicia out…supporting them through it. Instead, I was off getting high all the time, bombing all my uni classes and just making everything more difficult for everyone.”

I just barely manage not to show signs of my surprise at this revelation. But honestly—Trent as a wayward bad boy? I can’t picture it at all. He’s so steady and bankable. I guess it shows just how much his father’s death affected him.

“Thank god for Jack,” Trent continues, the corner of his mouth quirking upward. “I know he’s not known for being the most reliable person in the world, but he’s always had my back when I’ve needed him. I’m honestly not sure how we would have come out the other side without him.”

“I’m glad,” I say with a soft smile. “And I’m sorry.”

Trent gazes at me, appreciation in his eyes. “You don’t have to be sorry. But thanks.”

“I never knew my real parents,” I blurt out, before correcting myself, “I mean—shit, that sounds horrible…of course Mum and Dad are myrealparents. I meant I never knew my birth parents.”

“I didn’t know you were adopted,” Trent says curiously.

I nod and give a casual shrug of my shoulder. “It’s not a big secret or anything. It’s just not something I make a big deal about. Mum and Dad brought me home when I was about three months old, so I’ve never known anything different.”

“So, you never met them?”

I sigh. “My birth mother died not long after having me—that’s why I was in the children’s home that Mum and Dad adopted me from. I have no idea about my father. There wasn’t anyone named on my birth certificate so clearly he wasn’t in the picture. It’s possible even that my birth mother didn’t know who the father was.”

“There are ways to find out these days,” Trent ventures. “If you wanted to…”

I shake my head. “I don’t want to. I have two pretty awesome parents already. They’re bat-shit crazy most of the time, but they’re mine…I don’t need anyone else.”

Trent smiles and reaches out to draw my face toward him for a kiss. I sink into it, putting an end to the sombre discussion.

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