All The Best Men

But before anyone could say anything, that nosy hyena Stacy jumped in again.

“I’ll do it! I’d love to show you around town,” she said grinning like a hungry wolf. Fuck that. I’d rather endure blue balls for a week before putting myself in Stacy’s hands with their long, red nails.

“Or me!” chimed in Piper, a freckly redhead. “I was born here, I know this place real well.”

That made Stacy grow red in the face, turning on her competition.

“We were all born here, Piper, that’s nothing,” she said dismissively before smiling at us sweetly once again. “I’m available anytime,” she cooed. “Just let me know what you want to see.”

Wow, the devil has two faces huh? There was definitely a Dr. Jekyll- Mr. Hyde thing going on right now. So Mason made some noncommittal noises.

“Naw, we’re looking for something else. Thanks so much though.”

Stacy looked downright offended.

“You know, I don’t work, so it’s fine. I can be your tour guide. Free of charge.”

A giggle escaped Katie then.

“What?” asked Stacy, whirling on the brunette. “You think I don’t know Knox?”

But the brunette just laughed easily again.

“Oh no, you know Knox. It’s just that I recently wrote an article on our tiny little town for the paper last week. You know, budding reporter and all that,” she said, turning our way, cheeks blushing once more. “So I’m up to date on the sights. You boys want a tour guide? I can do it.”

And immediately, the three of us fell all over one another, leaping at the opportunity.

“Yes absolutely,” I growled, looking her in the eye.

“When are you available?” grunted Tyler.

“How soon?” asked Mason.

And Katie laughed lightly then, the sound tinkling in the air.

“Soon enough,” she said easily. “Let me check my schedule and I’ll let you know.”

And suddenly, this post-wedding brunch improved a thousand fold. Because we were gonna get a tour from the smartest, sweetest female for miles. Who knew she was a budding reporter? What kind of job did Katie have now? All these mysteries … and it was time to solve them.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Katie

Much of last night had been spent tossing and turning in anticipation of today. When I woke up I’d planned to wear one outfit, but then spent the morning agonizing over what to put on. There were five outfit changes before leaving the house. Yep, count ‘em, five. Embarrassing right? Usually, I’m so straightforward, but this morning, “mess” was the right word to describe me.

Eventually though, I settled on a blue, button-up blouse and a black pencil skirt. The skirt was a little snug, but at least it wasn’t obscenely tight. And the outfit made me feel a bit more sophisticated than some of my other clothes that screamed small-town country girl, what with the plaid shirts and cut-off jean shorts.

But now, sitting in my car outside the hotel, nerves were getting the better of me once again. Agreeing to be their tour guide yesterday sounded wonderful, but let’s be real. Knox is a tiny town, population one thousand. By contrast, these men were rich and powerful citizens of New York City, population sixteen million. They were gonna be disappointed, I could feel it in my bones.

But it was too late to back-out. Besides, I’m not a quitter. I won’t be, not now. So maybe a stroll in a nearby park would be nice. It was nothing special, but it did have a fancy fountain in the middle that commemorated Korean War veterans. It wasn’t New York’s Central Park for sure, but hey, what’s a girl to do? Hopefully, the greenery wouldn’t bore them out of their minds.

Sitting in my car, I made myself take a deep breath. Why were my nerves so shaky? Mason, Tyler and Kane had already seen everything about me, doing all sorts of dirty things. It was a little late to act the shy, virginal girl.

So turning to the mirror in the sun visor, I scolded myself.

“You wanted this, so stop acting scared!” came my stern voice, brows drawn. And taking a quick inventory, I stared at myself fiercely once more. Curls reasonably neat. Make-up not smeared. Good, we were good to go.

Exhaling a deep breath, I got out of the car and walked into the hotel. It was all going to be fine.

A concierge behind the desk in the lobby greeted me.

“Hello, may I help you?” said the kindly old man.

I smiled weakly before forcing myself to act confident.

“No, I know where I’m going, thank you,” came my authoritative voice. Man, that was impressive! Clearly, I was getting good at this.

After all, the boys were staying in the swankiest hotel in town, and there was no reason to let on that I’d never been here before. Yes, I’m a small town girl, but small town girls can make their way up in the world, right? So taking a deep breath, I got into the elevator, the gold reflective doors sliding shut with a hiss.