Page 28

Chapter 28

Nolan

Tonight and tomorrow, I told myself on the way into the church.

I just have to get through tonight and tomorrow.

Tomorrow would be the worst of it. Tonight would be, ironically, a rehearsal of that as much as it was a rehearsal of the wedding itself. The reception—well, I’d just stick close to Riley and hopefully avoid Leann as much as our roles as best man and matron of honor allowed.

At least we only had to walk up and down the aisle together, and then into the reception together. After that, I’d be sitting next to my brother while Leann sat beside Sophia. I’d rather be sitting next to Riley, but there was only so much space at the head table, and as long as I didn’t have to be right next to Leann, I wouldn’t bitch.

In the foyer outside the sanctuary, the other bridesmaids and groomsmen were milling around, chatting and checking their phones. Both sets of parents were there, along with Sophia’s grandma. Sophia, Matt, and the woman I assumed was the wedding coordinator were by the open door to the sanctuary, the couple nodding along as the woman spoke and gestured.

I looked around, and my heart dropped as soon as I saw Leann. It always did, but this time—fuck me, she was drunk. All the bridesmaids were a little tipsy by the looks of it, and they were still passing around a bottle of wine to top off their plastic cups.

Fuck my life. Leann was insufferable anyway. When she was drunk, she definitely wasn’t on her best behavior.

Great.

Riley appeared beside me and slid a hand over the small of my back. That gentle contact was more soothing than it had any right to be, and I released a breath before I turned to him.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah.” I laughed nervously. “Just need to get through the rehearsal, and then I can put some space between her and me at dinner.”

He scowled. “You know, some comic book mutant superpowers would be really handy right about now.”

I cocked me head. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I could like use my mind”—he put two fingers against his temple and furrowed his brow like he was in deep concentration—“and make her shit herself or something.”

I barked a laugh that probably turned a few heads. Riley grinned in a way that made me think that was the effect he was going for.

“Thanks,” I said under my breath.

The response to that was a wink.

Moments later, the wedding coordinator announced we were getting started.

“First, we’re going to practice the processional,” she said. “I need the bridesmaids and groomsmen as well as the happy couple, please.”

I’d held out hope for a little while that this would be one of those weddings with the groom and best man just stepped up to the altar and waited for the rest of the processional. No such luck—aside from Matt, Sophia wanted the whole bridal party walking up in pairs.

At the beginning of the aisle, the wedding coordinator arranged us all and gave us instructions. I sort of vaguely heard it? Mostly, I was focused on the woman beside me who’d soon be walking—or staggering—with her hand tucked into my elbow.

The gist of it was that the lady wanted us to practice the processional a few times to make sure we had the spacing and timing correct. Simple enough; I’d practiced enough military ceremonies to know how easy it was to fuck it up without a few run-throughs.

Fine. I’d just focus the way I did during those practices. Count my steps. Repeat the instructions in my head. Be where I was supposed to be when I was supposed to be there. Easy enough.

Easy. Right. Because that was the word I’d used to describe anything that required me to be in the same room as Leann.

Walking arm in arm with her? Fuck me.

I distantly remembered being a little boy on a playground, scared of girl cooties just like the girls were scared of boy cooties. What I wouldn’t have given for that to be the issue now. I wasn’t disgusted by women. I wasn’t attracted to them the way straight guys were, but I loved the women in my life, and there was nothing repulsive about them.

Except for this one.

At the beginning of the aisle, behind the four pairs who’d walk in ahead of us, I swallowed bile and stared straight ahead as I offered Leann my elbow.

Her hand sliding into the crook of my arm made my spine prickle. I’d have been less uncomfortable if I looked down and saw, instead of her hand, one of the venomous Habu we were always told to watch out for on Okinawa.

The couple in front of us started walking. Four, five, six steps—our turn.

We started… and we made it about three and a half steps before Leann stumbled. She crashed into me and dropped to her knee, still holding on to my arm like the Habu gripping its prey.

Gritting my teeth, I let her use me for support as she got back to her feet. “You all right?” I asked flatly.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” She laughed and patted my chest. “Thank you, Nolan.”

The impulse was almost irresistible to bat her hand away like a giant spider. “No problem.”

“All right, everyone.” The wedding coordinator gestured for the other pairs to come back. “Let’s try it from the top.”

Really? We couldn’t just start from—ugh, fine.

We started over. Again, Leann fucked up. The third time, she was actually all right, but the wedding coordinator decided we were all moving too fast and started over yet again. Considering we’d only taken two steps that time, I didn’t think it had been Leann’s intention to behave; she just hadn’t had a chance to make an ass of herself.

The next time, we made it almost to the end of the aisle, and I had the briefest glimmer of hope that the shenanigans were done.

Then Leann yelped, stumbled, and staggered into me. I had to catch her to keep us both from toppling into a pew, but she lost her balance again, and I lost mine.

I landed awkwardly on the pew and Leann—the woman of my nightmares whose touch was snakes and spiders—came down hard on top of me.

“Oh my God.” Leann laughed drunkenly, making a half-assed and clumsy effort to get up. “I should not have had that last glass of wine.”

And I didn’t think it was an accident when her knee brushed high up on the inside of my thigh.

It took every bit of self-control I possessed not to let anger and disgust take over and heave her off me. I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of pissing me off or getting under my skin, so I just kept my expression neutral while my soon-to-be sister-in-aw helped another bridesmaid haul Leann off me.

“You going to be okay for this, Lee?” Sophia asked through gritted teeth.

“I’ll be fine,” Leann insisted, still laughing.

Sophia’s jaw worked. Then she turned to her mom. “Do you mind putting away the wine? I think we’ve all had enough.”

Her mom nodded and left the sanctuary, probably to collect the wine bottles in the foyer. Thank God.

Facing us again, the bride asked, “Are you ready? Or should we take a break?”

“I’m good, let’s go!” Leann exclaimed.

I nodded because like hell was I going to draw any attention to this. My skin crawled beneath my clothes. As we headed back to the beginning of the aisle to begin the processional again , I reminded myself she wouldn’t do it during the actual wedding. She’d be sober (I assumed), so she’d be better behaved (I hoped).

Before we started again, Sophia gave Leann an impatient look. Then, through a smile that screamed I’m pissed off but trying not to be a bridezilla, she said, “Come on. We need to finish this so we can get to the restaurant in time for our reservation.”

“Okay, okay.” Leann waved a hand. “I’ve got it. I’m good.”

Sophia’s lips thinned. With a sigh, she turned a look on me that was half apologetic, half pleading. “You good?”

I forced a smile. “I’m good.”

“All right.” She sighed and headed back to the foyer, all of us in the bridal party trailing behind.

I caught Riley’s eye, and though he was making a valiant effort to hold a neutral expression, the worry and anger came through in his eyes. He glared at her, but when he realized I was watching him, he smiled. Then he touched his temple with two fingers and made that face of intense concentration again, and I bit back a laugh.

How would I have stayed sane through any of this without him here?

Forget dinner. Could he and I just bow out after the rehearsal so I could take him back to the room and get him naked?

Well, that thought would carry me through the rest of this fuckery.

Or maybe not.

A third of the way down the aisle behind the other bridesmaid and groomsman pairings, Leann swayed again. This time, she staggered and managed to get her foot right in front of mine. I stumbled, windmilling a little as I tried to stay on my feet, especially while she kept a grip on my arm.

“Jesus, Gumby.” She smirked. “Learning to walk?”

How I held on to my temper in that moment, I’ll never know.

I stepped back, put my hands up, and declared, “I need a break. I’ll be back.”

Then I stalked out of the sanctuary, my heart pounding so hard I almost missed Leann’s snide, “Dude, we’re going to be late to dinner!”

Fuck dinner. Fuck this rehearsal. Fuck the matron of honor who was obviously determined to troll me tonight. Fuck the phantom snakes and spiders crawling all over me.

I stormed across the foyer and into the men’s room. For a moment, I thought I might have come to the right place because hurling was absolutely on the table.

Instead, I went to one of the sinks, leaned over my hands on it, and hung my head as I tried to collect myself, same as I had at the strip club.

I can’t escape her. I cannot… fucking… escape her.

I didn’t know what her endgame was when she did shit like this. If she just liked making me squirm. If she wanted me to blow up at her. If she… I didn’t even know. Truthfully, I didn’t care—I just hated it, and I’d hit my limit.

What the hell do I do now?