I shut down Tin Anchor for this.
I won’t lose time more time with Katie for it.
“You’re itching to leave.” Zeke elbows me. “Isn’t the best man supposed to have more fun than the groom at a party like this?”
“I don’t have a rule book.” I pat the empty back pocket of my jeans. “I’m winging it.”
“You’ve done good.” He points a finger at Myles who is barely managing to keep himself upright on a chair. “He won’t remember a thing tomorrow.”
I laugh. “I wouldn’t bet against you on that.”
“What’s his bride’s name again?” Zeke runs the bar towel in his hand over a wineglass.
“Annalise.”
“That’s a far cry from Karen.”
I know where this is headed. I heard Myles mention his ex once or twice tonight. I tried to get him back on track by talking about how excited Annalise is for the big day.
We’re three weeks out from the wedding.
“If you did have that rule book,” Zeke starts before he turns to face me. “On page nine, paragraph three you’d find that it’s the best man’s duty to have a talk with the groom about the ex he’s still in love with before he takes a vow to honor another woman for eternity.”
My brows pop up. “Is that so?”
“Would you want your sister marrying a guy who is hung up on someone else?”
“I don’t have a sister,” I point out a fact that Zeke knows all too well.
“I do,” he counters. “I have two and I can tell you that I would step into the middle of it before any shit hit the fan.”
“It’s already hit, wouldn’t you say?” I jerk a thumb in Myles’s direction.
Zeke looks over to catch the groom-to-be sobbing over his empty beer glass.
I tug my phone out of my pocket so I can send Katie a text telling her I’m on my way soon. “I’ll have a sit-down with Myles in a day or two. I can’t stand next to him when he marries Annalise if Karen is still carting his heart around town.”
Zeke pats my shoulder. “Myles knew what he was doing when he picked you to be his best man.”
“Get him an Uber and a coffee to go.” I pull up Katie’s contact information even though I’ve got her number saved to memory. “Let’s clear this place out. There’s somewhere I need to be.”
***
The beauty in this vision could drop me to my knees and keep me there for eternity.
Katie in a white tank top and white lace panties with a just woken glow about her is angelic.
I storm past her and slam the door to her apartment shut.
I take her in my arms. The warmth radiating from her body permeates my skin. The scent of her is intoxicating.
Jesus, I love this woman with every part of my soul.
“I fell asleep after you texted me,” she whispers into my neck. “I was dreaming about you.”
I walk backward down her hallway, tugging her along with me. “Tell me about that dream.”
“We were on the sailboat.” She sighs. “It was windy. Not crazy windy but just the right kind of windy. You know what I mean.”