The answer was a resounding no.
“Regan.”
She jumped when Christine nudged her, looking up to realize Julie and Logan were already most of the way down the aisle, and Reed was watching her with an unreadable expression on his face.
Shit. She forced a smile. “My bad. I was gathering wood.”
“Wool.”
“What?”
Reed shook his head. “The expression is ‘gathering wool.’” He offered his arm. “Shall we?”
God, she was destined to embarrass herself time and time again at this wedding. “Sure.” She slipped her hand into his arm and walked down the aisle, and she could swear she felt Brock’s gaze on her the entire way.
They gathered outside the door, a great group of milling people. Regan turned to find Brock to say… She didn’t know what she was going to say, but it didn’t matter because he found her first. His dark eyes held none of the humor she’d come to associate with him as he leaned in. “Laugh.”
She frowned. “Excuse me?”
“We wouldn’t want you to miss another opportunity to catch Logan’s eye, darlin’. You aren’t going to get a better one than right now.”
She stared at him, completely at a loss for words. He still thought she was chasing down Logan. And why wouldn’t he? It wasn’t like she’d told him that things inside her had been shifting in his direction over the last few days, or that the last thing on her mind right now was talking to Logan. It was Brock she wanted to sit down and have a discussion with.
But he wasn’t waiting around for her to tell him exactly that. Brock grabbed her arm in a grasp that was just shy of painful, and towed her through the group to Logan. “Hey, man.”
“Hey.” Logan didn’t look like he’d had much sleep since the dance lesson. There were circles under his eyes, and he had a distracted air about him that Regan could understand only too well. He nodded at them, but it was painfully obvious his attention was elsewhere.
“So, has Regan told you how much she loathes the outdoors?”
It was like watching a train wreck in slow motion. She opened her mouth, but once again, no sound came out. It wasn’t like she cared if Logan knew she hated the woods with a fiery passion usually reserved for New York drivers and things that went bump in the night, but having Brock trot it out left her feeling sick to her stomach.
Logan finally focused on them, a small smile pulling at the edges of his lips. “I believe she hasn’t had the opportunity.”
She finally found her voice, cutting in before Brock could say anything else. “Not much to tell.”
“She can barely take two steps into the woods without having a panic attack. It’s a real shame.”
She elbowed Brock, but it was like driving her elbow into a brick wall. “He’s exaggerating.” She couldn’t care less if Logan thought she was a scared city girl, but she couldn’t stay silent while her fears were being paraded in front of him.
Logan’s gaze jumped from her to Brock and back again. “They can be frightening when you’re not familiar with them.”
“You ever read The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon? That’s where my head’s at when I’m surrounded by trees.” She laughed, though the first shivers of fear worked their way through her at the memory of the book.
“Gotta love Stephen King, but no, I haven’t had the pleasure.” He frowned and added, “Seems like contracts, marketing plans, and financial reports are all I ever read these days.”
Well, this couldn’t get much more awkward. “That’s a shame.” She elbowed Brock one more time for good measure and beamed at Logan. It wasn’t his fault he’d gotten dragged into this awkward conversation. “You should definitely check it out at some point. I have to go. I think I hear Julie looking for me.” And with that less-than-graceful exit, she stepped on Brock’s foot and walked away from them as quickly as she could without actually running.
…
As he watched her walk away, Brock felt like a complete asshole. He shouldn’t have manhandled her like that, but he was still so off-center after she’d run from him. Again. All he’d wanted to do was shove the truth in her face and force her to acknowledge it—she and Logan were never going to work. Hell, the man had barely taken his eyes off Sophie the entire time they’d been talking. But all that was an excuse, and standing here in front of Logan, he couldn’t ignore that.
“The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, huh?”
Brock shrugged. “It’s not one of his best ones, but it’s pretty good.” And Regan comparing her experience to that made him feel even more like a dick. He knew she’d been afraid, but that was a truly nightmarish experience.
“I’ll have to check it out at some point. I have a book suggestion for you, too. It’s called, If You Want to Get the Girl, Try Not Being a Complete Asshole.”
They stood there for a second longer, sizing each other up. Brock could barely look at him without seeing Caine’s face imposed over his. They didn’t look much alike—beyond the superficial dark coloring he and Caine shared—but the way he carried himself was identical. Caine would have been just at home in this gathering as Logan seemed to be.
“I’ll consider that.” He couldn’t even bring himself to hate the man, no matter how much he wanted to. This was what Regan wanted. A man at home with whatever the world threw at him. A man who had everything going for him. A man who didn’t have a boatload of issues riding him.
“Do that.”
“Good talking to you.” He turned on his heel and walked away, not caring if he looked like an ass while doing it.
Though he wanted to talk to Regan, he moved away from her, too. What the hell could he say, anyway? Everything had already been said. She wanted Logan. She might have fun with Brock, but that’s all it was.
Disgusted with himself for chasing a woman who so blatantly didn’t want to be caught, he brushed past Reed and Colton and left the room. They’d do just fine without him, and he wasn’t good company right now anyway.
What he needed was some peace and quiet to get his head on straight.
Chapter Fourteen
Brock knew camping out in his room tonight of all nights meant he failed as a best friend. But he couldn’t deal with seeing Regan cozy up to Logan, no matter the cause. It was just another reminder of the ways he didn’t measure up, and he wasn’t in the mood to have it rubbed in his face.
What was he saying? Christ, he sounded like a spoiled little brat, throwing a fit because some kid had taken his toys. Hadn’t he learned a long time ago that anything worth having was worth fighting for? And what was Regan, if not something worth having?
What had started out as a challenge had turned into something else altogether. She challenged him, and made him want to live up to being a better man. He loved bantering with her and seeing glimpses of the woman beneath the fearless mask she wore. She was beautiful and engaging and he refused to roll over and play dead so she could keep chasing a man who wouldn’t make her happy.
Not like Brock would.
He picked up his phone, thumbing through the contacts until he found Colton. He’d have Regan’s number—or would be with Kady, who would. It was time to put a stop to all the circling and games and man up. As his finger hovered over the send button, someone banged on his door.
Shit. It was probably Reed or Julie or someone from the wedding party sent to bring him back downstairs. He pulled a shirt on, working on what excuse he’d make to avoid leaving the room. Saying he had a headache was weak, but it was the best he’d come up with by the time he opened the door…to the last person he expected to find. This time she didn’t barrel into his room. In fact, Regan looked downright uncomfortable. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
She held up the six-pack with a sheepish smile. “I brought a peace offering.”
The surprises just kept on coming. If he’d been a betting man, he would have laid money on her still chatting up Logan downstairs without so much as a thought for him. Brock had never been so happy to
be wrong.
He stepped back and let her walk into the room, using the opportunity to drink her in. She wore the same blue dress from the rehearsal, and it wound around her in a way that made him think it would be a whole hell of a lot of fun to unwrap, along with the same pink shoes she’d had on the first night they were together. Regan took a deep breath that made her breasts strain against her dress. “I’m sorry.”
Surprise number three. He crossed his arms over his chest, buying himself a moment to recover from the shock of hearing those two little words coming out of her mouth. “Sorry for what?”
“I haven’t exactly given you an easy time of it. I saw the surface and decided that was all there was to you, and that mistake is on me. Also, for using you to get Logan’s attention.” She shifted from side to side. “And I’m only a little sorry for doing some digging on you.”
She never did anything halfway. That was for damn sure. He fought down the smile threatening as the truth hit him. She was here, with him. Not Logan. Not some other CEO type. Brock. “You’re only a little sorry?”