Just A Kiss (Angel Sands 4)

“I’m really sorry to hear that. Can’t you join them there?”

She shook her head. “I don’t get enough time off. Only a couple of days and then it’s back to school.”

“Oh right. I’d forgotten you were a teacher.”

“Yeah, it’s one of the pitfalls. On the plus side we get a lot of time off in the summer. It almost makes up for it.” She smiled. “And Lucas’s mom has invited me to Thanksgiving which is nice, so I won’t be on my own.”

Breck bit down his dismay. “Oh right. She’s invited us, too.”

“She has?” Rachel’s face lit up. “That’s great. I’ll see you there.” She took a sip of her cappuccino. “I was scared I was going to be the only single person there. It’ll be much easier if you’re there, too.”

“I think Caitie’s coming in. She’s single,” Breck pointed out.

“Oh yeah. So she is.” Rachel pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. “I was going to ask you something, actually.”

“You were?” Breck glanced over her shoulder to see if Lucas had finished talking to Nate yet, but they were still deep in conversation. He shifted in his seat to get comfortable.

“I don’t know if Lucas and Ember have officially decided who’s walking down the aisle with who, but I was hoping you’d escort me. With us both being single and all.” She tipped her head to the side. “We could do each other a favor.”

Breck felt cornered. “Griff and Jack are groomsmen, too,” he said, trying to find a way of letting her down gently. “I’m not sure what any of us are doing yet.”

“Griff can walk Caitie down,” Rachel said, shrugging. “And Jack can escort Ember’s mom, since her dad isn’t around any more.” She gave him another smile. “Come on, it’ll be fun. I promise not to trip over my dress.”

Why did his throat feel dry at the thought of his friend walking Caitie down the aisle? It didn’t matter who went with who. It didn’t mean anything – weddings were just rituals, after all.

“I…”

“Who’s tripping over a dress?” Ember asked, joining them back at the table. “Not me I hope.”

Rachel shook her head. “I was asking Breck if he’d be my escort at your wedding. I know him better than Jack and Griff, after all.”

Ember beamed, oblivious to Breck’s discomfort. “Oh that would be lovely. Thanks, guys. That gives me one less thing to sort out.”

“See?” Rachel said to him. “It’s meant to be. We’ll need to get together to talk about the first dance, though.” She glanced at Ember. “Have you chosen it yet?”

“God Only Knows by the Beach Boys.” Ember raised her eyebrows. “It was Lucas’s idea.”

“I love that one. It’s the perfect beat to dance to, don’t you think, Breck?” Rachel leaned forward, catching his eye.

About three years ago when he was working on a hotel in the Catskills, Breck had been driving home one night down the dark, winding roads, when his headlamps had caught a deer standing right in the middle of the b

lacktop. The deer had frozen still, unable to save itself from the incoming truck. He’d had to swerve to avoid it.

Right now he knew exactly how that deer felt. Rachel and Ember were staring at him, their expressions as bright as those headlamps. And he had no idea how to get out of this.

“Yeah.” He let out a lungful of air. “It’s all good.”

Rachel grinned. “Great! Maybe we can get together and talk about it some time. I’ll call you. There’s a place in the hills that serves a great lunch. We could go there.”

“Okay.” His chest tightened. “That would be fine.”

It was only for one day, right? Two if you counted lunch. He could do it for his friend, the way he knew Lucas would do it for him.

It wasn’t as though Rachel was an ogre. She was a perfectly nice woman who was friendly, kind, and full of bubbly energy. So what if she didn’t make him feel the way Caitie did. Maybe that was a good thing, because god knows he didn’t like feeling so out of control.

Like he said, it would be fine.

So why wouldn’t the knot in his stomach go away?