Page 13 of Best Man Speaking

At the end of last year, I’d decided to sell the house I’d inherited from my gran. A few offers had been made over the years, but with Cade offering to sell me the apartment I rent from him, the time is now. Erica and Julian’s wedding invitation arriving in the mail had simply been a happy coincidence.

Thinking about the property no longer being mine makes my palms sweat, but I need to let go. The house had been rented out to a few families over the last eight years, but it deserves to be more than someone’s pit stop. It deserves to have a foreverfamily, and whether my gran would have approved or not, it’s never going to be me.

This morning, however, the search for a short-term accommodation solution is at the top of my list of things to do. I’d returned last night to a cold and sterile hotel room, its beige walls and lumpy comforter being more than I could take.

Coming back to the city where I grew up and not having a physical residence to come “home” to was something I’d worried about when I was younger. I’d really hoped after all this time, it wouldn’t bother me. But, as it turns out, it does. It left me feeling empty and once again stuck on the outside—not something I needed after that dinner.

Consumed as I am in comparing my top three options, I don’t notice anyone coming toward me until there’s a body filling the chair across from mine, a male body on display in a gray T-shirt defining a set of pectoral muscles in a way I wouldn’t have ever thought I’d find attractive. Slipping off my headphones and putting them on the table, I’m unable to stop the first thought that comes to mind: once again, Marcus has stolen my handbag’s seat.

Actually, that’s an absolute lie.

The first thought that came to mind was along the lines of,I wonder what his nipples look like?The second was,I bet Instagram wouldn’t censor them in a need to protect his delicate sensibilities.And the third was,He moved my handbag onto the floor to take a seat—the bastard.

I’d love to say my thoughts occurred in an obvious list of importance, but that

didn’t seem to be the case.

Unhappy with my thought patterns, I make a conscious effort to remain, at least for appearance’s sake, unimpressed.

I let my eyes meet his and move them slowly from him to the floor, where my bag now sits, and back again.Be smart enoughto read my passive-aggressive behavior, and be stupid enough to challenge me on it. Please.

Sadly, without his little brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law, there’s no need for fake sweetness. There are simply his disdainful gaze and less-than-polite words. “Any chance you’re booking the next flight out?”

I continue to stare him down. “Any chance I’m having a waking nightmare?”

“Doubt it, but I could pinch you to check if you’d like?”

“So I’d have to bathe in bleach afterward? I’d rather not.” I keep my eyes narrowed in the hope he’ll give my bag back its chair and leave.

But if anything, he seems to get more comfortable.

“Are we going to call a truce at any point, or are we just going to keep tearing strips off one another every time we speak?” Marcus asks as he places his phone down on the table. Well, I guess he’s staying, then.

I give myself a second to think about rising above and being the better person, but alas. “It depends, I guess. Do I have much further to go until I do internal damage?”

He rolls his eyes at me as if somehow I’m the one who’s now being irrational in this situation. “Hallie. I’d like to tear all types of things off you, but be good for Julian’s sake. The less time we waste, the less time we have to spend together.”

“Fine.” No matter how smart my ass is, how witty my sarcasm may be, or how hot my fury burns, there’ll always be a part of this that just sucks. I do, however, tuck away his comment about tearing things from me. “What would you like from me today?”

“I’d like to set up a time to go through some of the basics for the bachelor party.”

“And we can’t do it now?” I move my eyes back down to the laptop screen in front of me.

“No, we can’t do it now. I have to go to work. Not all of us are on vacation.”

I can feel his eyes on me, burning through me as I continue to look at my computer. “Yes, because spending my time looking at you is exactly how I’d choose to spend a vacation.”

My laptop snaps shut before Marcus’s large hand drags it back toward him until it sits in the middle of the table.

Plausible distraction now gone, I have no choice but to lift my eyes and make contact with his once more.

“Hallie, I get you’d rather I be naked, but we’re in a public place. You know better than that,” he admonishes in an overly smooth voice. “Now, this conversation was meant to be under the guise of a truce. Would you like me to provide you with the definition, or can we try again? Because I don’t have all day.”

Apparently, my silence is answer enough. He leans forward, both elbows on the table, and I can’t tell if it’s because he’s interested in my answer or in making me uncomfortable.

“Is it weird for us to have seen each other twice in two days after not having seen each other in years?”

The question catches me off guard. It’s not filled with vitriol, and it’s not about the bachelor party, but it’s not exactly neutral ground either. My automatic sarcastic response sits on the tip of my tongue, ready to go. But today, with sunshine blaring through a big window and caffeine strumming through my veins, it’s easy enough to answer.

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