“Tell Aaron he needs to get rid of that keypad. It’s so stupid,” I say, walking into the apartment without knocking.
Dayton waves her hand. “Whatever. Liv, disaster. It’s a disaster.”
“What, did the venue burn down or something?”
She shoots an evil look my way at my sarcasm. “Knowing my luck, it probably will. If she weren’t forbidden from any contact with us, I’d put my money on Naomi f**king around with my plans.”
“So what’s the problem?” I sit opposite her at the bar.
“The caterer is going out of business.”
Well, shit. That’s a kick in the balls right there.
“Aaron Stone is paying him to cater for his wedding and he’s going out of business?” I raise my eyebrows.
“I just… Where am I going to find anyone able to cater for us at short notice?”
“Um, it’s not like it’s tomorrow.”
She groans and clicks at her laptop. “No, no, no!” She drops her head to the bar. “Why is this so hard for them to get right? Champagne and ivory are not the same color. The seat sashes are supposed to be champagne, not f**king ivory!”
She is really not having a good day. I pat her shoulder. “There, there, Bridezilla. You have three months still to chew their asses out until they get it right.”
“Liv, with the amount Aaron is paying them to get it right, I shouldn’t have to be chewing asses.” She sits up, sighing heavily. “This is crazy. Why can’t we just elope in some exotic country and get married without all this fancy crap?”
I laugh at the thought. Yes, Dayton would forgo her dream wedding for a small party on a beach somewhere. Sure.
I close her laptop down and stand up. “Okay, babe. Let’s get you a drink. You and I both know you wouldn’t want to have this any other way.”
“I know. I just… It’s three months away and already I’m being bogged down by shit. Why can’t these people just get things right?”
I fill two glasses of wine and put them on the table between us. “Listen to me, Dayton. You will get this fixed. Has Aaron chosen his best man yet?”
Distraction is the best policy. In this case, it’s by wine and a rare instance of Aaron’s incompetence. Here’s hoping she says he has…
“Yes. He had him picked three months ago. He just got his ass in gear and asked him.”
“Who is it? Anyone hot and rich from his company?”
Hey, distraction is the best policy. I could use a good distraction.
I grab her laptop and open her email.
Day snorts. “His cousin. Although, Tyler is hot and rich. And kind of from the company. I mean, he’s a photographer. He’s the guy training me. I don’t know how you two haven’t met yet. Hmm.”
Wait. Did she just say?
Fuck no. This is an awful, awful, coincidence that my best friend’s fiancé happens to have a cousin named Tyler who’s a photographer, right? Seattle is a big place. It’s totally plausible.
Still, I feel my cheeks flush, and Dayton frowns.
“Uh, Liv?”
“Um.” Cue nervous giggle. “Did you say Tyler? A photographer?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Does he happen to be British?”
A beat of silence passes before, “Yes.”
Oh, f**king crap.
3
“I know him already,” I squeak out.
Dayton tilts her head to the side, looking at me blankly. “Well, I suppose that will make everything easier. Maid of honor and best man thing. You guys have to get along.”
“Oh, we do. I can’t say we’ve talked much, but we get along just fine.”
I see the moment it clicks in her head, and her jaw drops. My mouth flattens into a thin line and an awkward silence lingers as neither of us knows what to say.
That’ll teach me to get a last name next time I f**k someone.
Dayton picks up her glass and drinks half of it in one go. “Well, that’s a surprise.”
I snort. “Yeah? Like the fact that he was the guy who photographed me two days ago?”
“I was supposed to go to that one with him. Oh my god.” She covers her mouth with her hand. “Liv! Did you f**k him after your shoot? Oh my god!”
“Um. I plead the Fifth.”
“Ohhhhh, shit.”
“If it makes a difference, we’d already met.”
She closes her eyes. “You f**ked him twice?”
“I know, right? This week is full of great, little surprises,” I joke, trying to make light of it and avoid her next question.
“And you’re…”
“Well I wasn’t planning on getting his last name, but now I’m assuming it’s Stone, so that throws that plan to shit, eh? And no, I’m not. I’m fine.”
So what if he gave my orgasm back and Mr. Jack Rabbit helped me to it last night with the thought of him?
Maybe not totally fine.
“This is bad, Dayton. So, so bad.” I grab my own wine glass and do as she did, drinking half in one go.
Two male voices laugh outside.
“And it’s about to get worse,” Day gasps.
My eyes widen. Oh, hell f**king no. Hell. Fucking. No.
“Hide me!”
Dayton bites her lip, an apologetic glint in her eye, and my heart thuds when I hear his voice.
“Wine already? Isn’t it early, even for you?”
Dayton says nothing, just stares at me.
“What’s going on?” Aaron asks.
I finish my wine.
“Um, Tyler, I’m assuming you met my best friend, Liv.”
I’m gonna kill her. She couldn’t hide me, could she? There’s nothing good about this. Not at all.
I turn around and give him a wry smile. “Surprise.”
Tyler displays no outward signs of shock as his eyes meet mine and send a jolt down my spine. “I like surprises,” he says with a grin.
I like surprises. I like flowers turning up at my door, I like birthday presents, and I like it when my best friend surprises me with a girls’ weekend. I don’t like surprises like this.
Not that Tyler isn’t a nice surprise. He is. He’s very pretty to look at. Okay, he’s f**king incredible to look at. And touch. And taste. And think totally inappropriate thoughts about. He’s a nice surprise when he doesn’t come with an aura of danger and a grin that tugs at my addictive personality.
I mean, really. He has a dimple. Every girl likes to look at a guy with a dimple.