1
Mark
“You're really doing this, huh?”
“Doing what?” Ryder asks me as if he has no clue what I'm talking about.
Smirking, I glance all around and hold my arms out. “This. Getting married. Tying the knot. Locking on the old ball and chain.”
Ryder chuckles as he buttons the cuff on his sleeve. “When you say it like that, it really makes me wonder why I'm still friends with you.” Running his hands loosely down his arms, he straightens the collar and adjusts the flower pinned to his lapel.
“I don't. I know exactly why, it's because you're a dick and no one else wants to be your friend.” Grinning, he gives me a playful punch in the arm. “Ouch, douche. You know I'm only kidding. I'm happy for you two, I really am. I think you guys are going to make it.”
I mean what I say. They work beautifully together. Jenna levels him out, and he does the same for her. He's her stability, and she's his voice of reason. Even as kids, I could see the way he looked at her and how it was different from any of the other girls. And when she left, she was all he ever talked about, no matter how much he denied it when I pointed it out.
Eventually, as the years went on, he spoke about her less frequently, but the look in his eyes when her name came up, that never disappeared completely. Jenna leaving town changed him, and now that spark he had when we were kids is back.
It's a spark I've never felt before. I thought it might come along at some point, but it never has. I've had plenty of girlfriends, but it seems like they all want to change me, and I'm not changing for anyone.
I can't lie and pretend I don’t feel a bit of jealousy, faint as a dying candle. It’s there. Ryder has the farm, and he has the girl. When I watch them together, the way they finish each other’s sentences, and I see the love they have for each other, it makes me second guess this whole bachelor lifestyle I'm living.
I'm a bachelor by design.
My job keeps me pretty busy, so there isn't much time for dating. I'm the only guy around who knows a tractor inside and out. I never intended for this to become my full time job, but the more people spread my name around, the busier I seem to get.
It's at the point now that I'm getting phone calls from customers two or three towns over. People need a reliable mechanic who isn't going to price gouge or up sell them. That's me.
The thought of getting married doesn't even cross my mind. But seeing Ryder and Jenna together is making me rethink what I thought I wanted in life.
“Thanks man,” Ryder says. He takes a step back and looks himself over in the mirror. “I really do make this suit look good, don't I?”
“Full of yourself much?”
“You're just jealous I can rock this suit and you can't.”
“What are you talking about? Look at me.” Stretching out my arms, I spin in a circle.
He looks me up and down, dipping one brow hard. “Exactly my point.” Tossing him a flat look, he laughs. “So,” Ryder says, “are you ready?”
“Me? I was born ready.” Flipping my collar, I straighten my tie. “But it ain't my funeral.”
“Is this what I'm going to get all day? You busting my balls?” He opens the door, and we head out to the garden on the farm.
“Would you expect anything less?”
“Nope.” Squinting his eyes as the sun hits his face, Ryder looks around, and waves his hand, calling someone over to us. “Let me introduce to someone. Mark, this is Siobhan. You two are walking down the aisle together.”
To my left, there's a short brunette peering up at me with big, bright blue eyes. She smiles with plump full lips and holds out her hand. “Hi,” she says. “It's nice to meet you.”
I'm blown away. She's gorgeous. In a tight blue dress that hits just below her knees, it hugs her hips perfectly. Her lips shine with a thin layer of pink gloss, and her long lashes fan her eyes like butterfly wings.