Page 14 of The Fake Date (Brides of Beaufort 4)

Like I always did.

And if the Fates were too concentrated on weaving all the crappy conditions of life into my destiny that they didn’t have time to cut any strings for my friends, I’d gladly stay on their radar if they’d just leave Aria and her baby alone.

Lyndi was watching me carefully, and a tight knot within me begged for release. Just like before, the only thing I could think of to relieve it was to prompt a conversation with her.

“So, let’s see. Baby Paxton’ll be a week old when your sister’s wedding comes around,” I said. “Since we know they’re gonna be fine, do you think they’ll bring the baby?”

My teasing worked, and she rewarded me with a laugh. “Uh, no. I’m new at this honorary auntie gig, but something tells me she won’t want to bring her week-old baby to a packed event like a wedding.”

“Ah, fair. Are you excited about it, though? Your always-a-bridesmaid sister is finally tying the knot herself.”

“I’m very excited. Zac and Layla are amazing together. And with Grayson, they make the perfect little family. I couldn’t be happier for them.”

I nodded in agreement, detecting nothing but sincerity in her tone. Even if it was laced with something a little wistful. Something she probably hadn’t intended for me to pick up on.

“Same here. And I have to say, going to this wedding as the best man instead of somebody’s hired date is gonna be a refreshing change.”

Though, ifshewanted to hire me, I wouldn’t say no.

Her head tilted down as she stared at the space between us, then she lifted her chin. Before she could get a word out, she jumped like she’d been poked in the back. I watched as she reached into her back pocket and pulled out her phone with a laugh.

“Sorry, one sec,” she said as she gestured with the phone. “Gotta take this.”

I flicked my wrist like it was totally fine, turning to pace while I waited for her to finish.

“Beau?”

Pivoting, I quirked a brow at the way she stood there with the phone halfway to her ear. “Yeah?”

“Don’t go anywhere, okay?”

Time slowed as I examined her. Her bottom lip quivered slightly before she caught it with her teeth, and there was something urgent and pleading in her eyes that hit me like a scream and a whisper at exactly the same time.

Throat too tight to speak, I simply dipped my chin in acknowledgment. And for the entire five minutes that she was on the phone, I focused on literally anything and everything except the way those four little words made me feel.

The color of the leaves on a nearby cypress tree.

The pregnant woman in a wheelchair being escorted into the maternity wing.

The sound of the birds flitting about on the ground near a discarded Frito-Lay bag.

Anything but,“Don’t go anywhere, okay?”

Lyndi cleared her throat as she walked up behind me, putting the phone back in her pocket. “Sorry about that.”

“No worries. Everything all right?”

“Yeah. Well, no. But it’s nothing compared to what Aria’s going through, so I should just get over it.”

I tucked my hands in the pockets of my jeans and turned toward her. “You’re allowed to have feelings, you know.”

She snorted—loudly—then hid her mouth behind one hand. “Sorry.”

“Why is that funny?”

“It’s not that it’s funny… it’s just that, well, trust me, I have feelings. Probably too many of them.”

“Oh yeah?” I moved behind her, circling until I came back to my original position. “Where are they?”