Page 5 of Connected By Stars
“I’m notjustin the wedding party. I have the most important part being best man and all.” I grin at Noah and take a seat next to Bell. Her vanilla shampoo hits my senses, and I take a deep breath.
“I see that my mom’s enchiladas lured you to us tonight,” Bell says, sipping her margarita.
“They did. How did the clips turn out.?” I look into her blue eyes and ignore the way my stomach starts to feel funny.
“I got some really good ones. I’ll show you after dinner. You’re going to love them. Is that the new hats?” She points to the hat I’m holding.
I look down and realize I’m still holding it. “Yeah, they came in yesterday. This one is for you. I know you love to wear them while you film. I thought you would love the new design.” I hand it to her.
“Thanks. I love it. These are going to go fast on social media. I’ll have to take some pictures and post them later this week to promote it.” She puts the hat on and turns to me. “How does it look?”
My mouth goes dry, and my stomach does that damn little flip again, seeing her in a hat with my logo design. What the hell is wrong with me today? “It, uh, looks good. It suits you.”
Bell could wear a garbage bag and still look amazing. I take a sip of my drink to try and alleviate the dryness. She looks at me with those ocean blues like she’s trying to figure out what I’m thinking. I break eye contact with her and see Emma looking at us with a smile on her face. Feeling uncomfortable, I take another sip. At this rate, I’ll be drunk by the time we play cards.
“So, before you arrived, Maverick, we were discussing the wedding party. We have you and Skye as the best man and maid of honor, and then Noah has Cole and his cousin James as the other two groomsmen. I have Bella and Sophia as my two bridesmaids.”
Emma pauses to take a sip of her drink. “At the wedding, we’ll do the traditional order where you will walk back down the aisle with Skye once the ceremony is done, but I wanted to switch it up at the reception for the bridal party dance.Skye and Cole will be dancing, James and Sophia, and then I’m having you and Bella dance together.” She smiles at Bell and I.
“Okay,” I say slowly. I look at her, grinning at me, and try to figure out what is going on in that head of hers. “It’s your wedding, so just tell me what to do. I guess it makes sense because Skye and Cole are married.” I look over at Bell, and she’s studying Emma as well. It’s not just me, then. She feels something is up, too.
“Exactly. It’s because they’re married.” She beams at the both of us. “Have you guys thought about your dates? Will you be bringing anyone?” Shit, I guess with all the wedding planning and work, I haven’t thought about me having to find a date.
“Are you asking Alex, Bella? He seems like a nice guy and is very into you?” Her mom asks her.
I hear Bell sigh next to me. “No, he wanted more, and I’m just not feeling it. I wouldn’t want to lead him on.”
“So Alex finally got too boring for you?” I can’t help but smile. “Never saw that one coming.” Amusement fills my eyes as she turns to look at me.
“At least he had more than two brain cells, which is more than you usually end up with.”
“Oh, they definitely have more than two brain cells. They choose me, don’t they?” I laugh as she rolls her eyes at me.
“That’s debatable,” she mumbles, causing me to laugh harder. She turns to look at Emma. “I’ll find a date before the wedding. I’m not going alone, that’s for sure.”
A knot forms in my gut about putting up with some random guy oogling Bell all night. “I’ll find one, too, I guess.” Weddings can be tricky. I’ll have to find the right girl who won’t get all sappy and clingy with me. I don’t want her to get crazy ideas in her head and start envisioning our wedding. I shudder, remembering Haley from my cousin James’ wedding.
“You’re thinking about Haley, aren’t you?” I look over at Bell, and she’s trying not to laugh.
“I still have nightmares about that reception. It didn’t help that she caught the bouquet. It was like I had a second shadow draped over me all night long. I could barely take a piss without her wanting to come in the bathroom with me.”
Bell’s laughter rings out, and I can’t help but laugh too. “Yeah, my date was no better that night. He got wasted and couldn’t keep his hands off of me. I finally called him an Uber and left him on the sidewalk to fend for himself.”
“I remember. Who do you think shoved his drunk ass in the car? He might have hit his head rather hard going in. Oops.”
“You didn’t.” Her eyes go wide as she covers her mouth to stifle her laugh.
“He was an asshole and deserved it.” I shrug my shoulders. I don’t know what upset me more that night, the fact that this guy thought it was okay to put his hands on Bell like that or the fact that she didn’t see what an asshole he was from the very beginning. She’s always been too nice and tries to see the good in everyone, but I know ninety percent of the guys only want one thing from her. I lose my mind when I see her with guys and can smell their bullshit a mile away.
“You said something to him, too, didn’t you?” She tilts her head and peers at me from beneath her long lashes.
I look around and see everyone talking in small groups, not paying attention to Bell and I’s conversation. I know she gets pretty upset with me when I interfere, and I’m debating on telling her the truth. I don’t want her getting mad at me again in front of everyone. I look at her and gauge her mood. She doesn’t seem angry. She seems more… grateful or surprised? I can never tell what she’s thinking. She hides her emotions too well from me.
“I might have said something along the lines ofIf you evercontact Bell again, that bump on the head that you’re moaning about will be the least of your worries.”
She giggles, and it’s the best sound ever. I release the breath I was holding, knowing she’s not mad at me. “Now it all makes sense why he never contacted me again. Just so you know, I would have handled him again if he did reach out.” She lifts her eyebrows at me.
“I have no doubt about that.” I lift my hands up and grin.
