Page 70 of Blue Hawaiian
She was always the one who ended up getting dumped. But that didn’t mean she wanted to give up on relationships. Or romance. Even if her fling with Connor wouldn’t last, she’d had more fun with him in Maui than she’d had in a long time.
“You need to sober up and get through tonight,” she said. “Gabi and Marc are expecting you to give your tribute to Big Bear.”
“I can’t do it.” He pulled a wad of folded-up index cards out of his pocket. “Here. You can read it for me.”
She took a deep, shuddering breath. “Sure. No problem.” Those Big Bear summers were ingrained in her DNA. But she could barely comprehend Brody’s messy scrawl. “Do you have a copy on your phone? You could email it to me.”
When he shook his head, she decided to call for backup. She texted Connor and told him to meet her at the bar. They needed to get Brody out of sight, in case someone from the wedding party came outside to have a drink before dinner.
Connor arrived, and she filled him in. He patted his cousin on the shoulder. “Sorry, Brody. If Taylor wasn’t going to show, she should have told you ahead of time.”
Brody slammed his head back on the table. “I know. I hate that asshole Pierce. What kind of a name is Pierce, anyway?”
Jess caught Connor’s eye. “Can you help me get him to his room? He needs to sober up and take a shower.”
“Sure.” Connor flagged down the waiter and told him to charge the bill to his room number. Then he slung Brody’s arm around his shoulder and pulled him to his feet. “Come on. We’re heading back to your room.”
Brody looked from Connor to Jess. “You two are fucking, aren’t you?”
She put her head in her hands. “I already told you, when we were at Mt. Haleakala.”
He turned on Connor. “You broke her heart last time!” His voice rose. “Do you know what that feels like? It feels like shit!”
Around them, people were staring. Jess cringed. “It’s okay, Brody. No one’s getting hurt.”
“That’s what they all say,” he muttered. “Someone always gets hurt.”
They eased Brody away from the bar and toward the elevators. Jess tried calling Gabi, but the call went to voicemail. On the chance her sister didn’t check it right away, she sent her a text.Found Brody at the bar. Taylor didn’t show. He’s drunk, but Connor will make sure he comes to dinner. Could he postpone his speech until tomorrow?
No answer.Shit.Jess was at a loss. Gabi wouldn’t appreciate any deviations from her carefully planned schedule. But Brody was a loose cannon.
In the elevator, Connor kept Brody upright. “I’ll make sure he takes a shower and gets dressed. If we’re running late, I’ll text you.”
She handed Connor the index cards. “Here. This is Brody’s speech. I’d offer to read it for him, but his writing’s barely legible. Make sure he doesn’t lose it. And don’t be late.”
“It’ll be fine. I promise.” Connor leaned in to give her a quick kiss. “Now go get dressed, like the sexy maid of honor you are.”
Back in her room, she tried to focus. She didn’t have much time. As she stood in the shower, letting the warm water run over her, the tension ebbed from her body.
She might have gotten off to a rough start as Gabi’s maid of honor, but since then, she’d made every effort to support her sister. She’d trekked up to a volcano, scoured Lahaina for shells, made a kick-ass video montage, and found the runaway best man. All she had to do now was keep things under control until Saturday, and she’d prove herself worthy.
So why did she suspect it wouldn’t be that easy?
Chapter 26
Connor headed for Brody’s hotel room, half dragging, half supporting his cousin. He’d never seen Brody turn to booze before. The last time some girl had dumped him, he’d holed up in his apartment and worked on a coding project for forty-eight hours straight.
He set Brody on the bed, then went into the bathroom and turned on the shower, testing the spray under his fingers until it warmed up. “Time to get into the shower. After that, you need to get ready for dinner.”
“Don’t need a shower. Had one this morning.”
“Come on. You smell like booze. It’ll help you sober up.”
Brody flopped back on the pillows. “Nope.” He closed his eyes. “Not going. Start the party without me.”
“Gabi’s counting on you. So’s Marc.”
“They can have the dinner with or without me. Lemme sleep.”
