Cursing beneath his breath, he loped to the bathroom, found his clothes and jerked them on, grimacing at the wrinkled, less-than-fresh items.
Daley stood by the door, wrapped in the red blanket. She shoved her hair from her face. “Sorry to throw you out,” she said. “But weddings wait for no man.”
He pressed a quick kiss to her forehead, grabbed his ice bucket—now mostly filled with water—and put a hand on the doorknob. “We’ll talk later,” he promised.
Daley frowned. “No need. It’s going to be a busy day. Now go.”
Fortunately, his room was the closest one to Daley’s. No reason any other guest should be in this corridor. And it was too early for housekeeping.
Even so, he moved quickly, anxious to escape detection. Everything was going great until he rounded the corner and came face-to-face with his baby brother.
Shit...
John’s hair was damp. He carried a duffle bag and had a towel slung around his neck. Clearly, Tristan’s type-A sibling had decided to cope with wedding day stress in the workout room.
John’s eyes rounded. “What are you...”
“You’re up early,” Tristan said, keeping his voice low.
John stopped. Clearly, his brain did the calculations. The only two rooms in the direction from which Tristan had come were the bridal couple’s and Daley’s.
His brother glared. “Oh, you didn’t. Please tell me you didn’t.”
Tristan could BS with the best of them, but his sibling knew him too well. “Don’t tell Tabby.”
Fury reddened the groom’s face. “You’re asking me to lie to my wife? On our wedding day? Son of a bitch.”
“It’s not what you think,” Tristan said. “To be honest, Daley invited me in, not the other way around.”
John’s anger went ballistic. “And you think that matters? Tabby adores her sister. And she knows you’re a player.”
“Hey,” Tristan said. “That’s not fair.”
His brother wiped a hand over his face. “Sorry. But you know this is a bad idea.”
“It was a onetime thing. Nothing to get upset about.”
“You couldn’t go one weekend without sex? Damn, Tristan. I don’t want this to blow up in my face.”
“It’s more than sex,” Tristan said. And then wondered what he meant by that.
“Do explain.” John’s stare was icy.
Tristan shrugged. “We like each other.”
“And you flirted with her.”
“Yeah...” Tristan was beginning to understand that John was seriously upset.
The groom-to-be visibly gathered his emotions and exhaled. “Well, it’s done. But please try to stay away from her today.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes, Tristan. My bride wants her sister to be happy. And it’s my job to make Tabby happy. All of that will be a hell of a lot easier if you keep your distance.”
“Fine,” Tristan said, his jaw tight.
“Tabby worries about Daley. I don’t want Tabby worried on our honeymoon. That’s not too much to ask, is it?”