Page 56 of The Backup Groom

I polished off the rest of my margarita, the slurping sound loud enough to catch the attention of the table of six seated across from us.

Unbelievably, Scotty wasn’t done yet. “And there’s something else you should know . . .”

I held up my hand, applying the brakes on this impromptu guacamole confessional. “Hang on, if you don’t mind.”

It was like the floodgates had opened up, and Scotty was telling me all of his dark secrets. Not that I didn’t have a desire to know what was on his mind, but I wanted a moment to catch my breath and absorb it, then figure out how I needed to proceed with my own confession.

Surprisingly, there was suddenly something else I felt I needed.

I waved Pablo over. “Can I get another one of those tequila shots, please?”

“You got it,” he said.

“Make it two,” Scotty said, his eyes not leaving mine.

He must have felt the same way as me, betrayed by his own mouth, shocked at the way things were flying out of it without his consent. Then there was our chemistry that was sizzling like the fajitas platter that passed by our table on a waiter’s tray. Why did I love it so much that Scotty admitted I was his weakness? And why did I love that he hadn’t taken his eyes off me from the moment he’d sat down at the table? I had more important things to think about, so I shouldn’t have been noticing those things. Yet, I was. It was like I suddenly realized just how much I’d needed a relationship with Scotty.

If swooning were against the law, I would have already been in jail.

Pablo returned with the two shots and set them on the table in front of us. “Enjoy.”

“Thank you.” I clinked Scotty’s shot glass with mine.

“Cheers,” we said together, immediately diving into an encore performance of our synchronized tequila-shooting routine.

Things were about to get very interesting.

Especially since I was going to tell Scotty everything.

ChapterTwelve

Scotty

As I bit into the lime wedge, I realized that I hadn’t fully appreciated the song “Life is a Highway.” You never really know where life is going to take you, with its detours, surprises, and bumps in the road. The best thing you can do is keep an open mind, strap yourself in, and enjoy the ride. Because one minute you could have plans to stop by a new Mexican restaurant to try their carnitas tacos, and the next thing you know you’re skipping the meal to do tequila shots with the woman of your dreams.

If this is indeed a dream, I’m going to be pissed off when I wake up.

I needed to enjoy the moment while it lasted because I was certain another Ryan Scott was going to walk through that door and zap the energy from my body.

The ball was in my court.

I needed to decide how I was going to play this.

Amber already knew she was my weakness. She also knew I was jealous when I saw her with that man at Starbucks. What else could I say to convince her to stop dating these guys while I waited for that divorce decree from the court? Something epic needed to be said, there was no delaying it any longer.

“You’re like the sugar in my coffee.” The ridiculous words slithered out of me like sap from a dying tree.

I regretted saying it immediately.

That was epic?

Epic failure, maybe.

You’re like the sugar in my coffee.

There was so much cheese in that line I could have made a pizza.

The only thing worse would have been, “You complete me.”