Page 48 of Begin Again

“It’s like Groundhog’s Day,” Christian said when Liz walked down her arching staircase three weeks later.

“Only this time it’s a black dress. And it’s mine,” she said.

“Sorry that just a few months of dating we are going to our second wedding.”

“Not a problem,” she said. “I haven’t been to that many.”

“Have you been in one before?” he asked.

“Aside from my own?” She was laughing when she said it. Then stopped at the bottom of the stairs.

Her black dress was sleeveless and high on her neck. Like a halter top. The rest of the dress fit her well, hugging her body but not clinging to it either.

It stopped above her knees this time, black open toed wedges on her feet. Her toenails were painted a soft peach and he found it very feminine like the rest of her.

Her long brown hair was down and straight. He knew Abby had done it in waves last time, but it appeared Liz got ready by herself today.

“Yes,” he said.

“Then no,” she said. “I’ve gone to a few of my ex’s coworkers and friends. None of my friends. I didn’t live here or couldn’t come home for them. How about you?”

“I was the best man at Evan’s wedding. The rest of my family has had small weddings, but there have been a lot of them. Then the extended families like this.”

“And this is Cash’s sister that is getting married, right? From the last wedding we went to?”

“Yes,” he said.

“That’s a lot for their family to go through,” she said.

“Sometimes it’s better to get them all over with at once,” he said.

Not him though. He was the last one standing in his family between his siblings and his first cousins.

He didn’t mind it earlier on, but now he was starting to wonder if his time was coming.

It didn’t feel as if he could say anything about it to her either. Not when he knew she didn’t have a good marriage.

For a guy that seemed to blow with the wind so much, he found that he was putting roots down and maybe it wasn’t what Liz wanted.

“Only if you aren’t the one paying for them,” she said. “And I like this suit on you. Is it new?”

“It is,” he said. “I’ve worn my black and dark gray one enough. I thought this was a bit more fashionable.”

“Very,” she said. It was dark blue, not navy, but he wasn’t sure what color he’d call it either. He kept it simple with a cream-colored shirt, blue-and-cream-colored tie and tan shoes.

She was adjusting his tie even though he knew there was nothing wrong with it.

“We look hot, don’t you think?”

She laughed and kissed him on the lips. “I think you look hot. I just look like a girl in a black dress that is dying to get out of it.”

Shit. He wished he could have blown this off, but he couldn’t.

Marcus and Addison were like family.

Addison’s family had done business with Butler Construction for years. Marcus was Evan’s brother-in-law. So yeah, family of sorts to him too.

“I’ll get you out of it the minute we are in the door,” he said.

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