Page 57 of Hopeless Romantic
He wasn’t ready to go all girl on Gray and play the besties card, but he and Emmitt were old-time bros. Had been since elementary school. If anyone was planning the bachelor party, it should be him!
“Vegas. Palms Resort. Secret suite on floor 54. Thirty-six hours Bro-athalon. That’s the party you handed over to mama’s boy here?” When neither guy looked properly concerned, Levi snapped his fingers at Gray. “First thing that comes to mind. Vanna White. Go.”
“Wheel of Fortune.”
“Wrong,” Levi said, enjoying the sight of Emmitt’s shit-eating grin fading into abject horror.
“What?” Gray asked. “She’s onWheel of Fortune.”
“Said every high school virgin ever,” Levi responded. “The correct answer is . . .” Levi pointed to Emmitt.
“Cover ofPlayboy. May of ’87.” Emmitt rattled off her stats like any hot-blooded teenage guy who hadn’t been too much of a golden boy to search out his dad’s stash.
Gray’s fingers slid over his phone’s screen; then he held up an image of the vintage magazine cover. “Says right here, ‘BeforeWheel of Fortune.’”
“Sorry, no points for remembering the fucking article names,” Levi pointed out.
“I have to agree, man,” Emmitt said. “Promise me I didn’t make a mistake asking you?”
Gray shoved Emmitt. “It’s not like I was your first choice. You asked me because you felt bad. It was a pity pick.”
“Pity pick? No way,” Levi argued. “And for the record, I didn’t need anyone’s help with Beckett. I was doing just fine on my own. I didn’t need you throwing me a bone by putting us in each other’s path. And if you want him to plan your party, by all means.”
Emmitt snorted. “Before you get your panties in a bunch, I asked last week at bowling. I asked Gray because he doesn’t leave me hanging. If you can’t keep bowling night straight, I don’t want to run the risk of you getting the date wrong and us spending it at the Holiday Inn down the street with a llama for a stripper. And since I didn’t want to end up at the Ice Capades, I was going to ask you to co-plan it tonight.”
“I wouldn’t take us to Ice Capades,” Gray said, and they both glared at him. “Different situation. It was my birthday. And for the record, I bought those tickets for Michelle, Paisley, and me.”
“Even Michelle knew Aquaman on Ice is lame. Frozen on Ice is the way to go,” Levi said, managing to still sound like a guy who knew all about Vanna White.
“So do I need to get down on a knee, or will you be the co-host?” Emmitt asked.
“If G does all the legwork, I’ll oversee to make sure it’s a bring-your-man-card kind of place,” Levi said. He and Emmitt bumped fists.
“Just remember there’s an actual bride in the equation this time.”
“Don’t worry, Wally.” Levi clapped Emmitt’s shoulder. “The Beav’s afraid of Annie, too. Which is why we will scratch any destination that requires a thousand dollars in singles. But seriously, don’t worry. Anything too crazy is out, because work is crazy.”
And because strippers had lost their appeal when Levi became an uncle. Even lingering second glances at women who hadn’t made the first move wasn’t his idea of fun. Which was why he was taking cues from Beckett. With Beckett, he’d had to modify the rules. She’d never make the first move, but he paid close attention to her body language to know when to push a little and when to back off and let her get used to the idea of a relationship.
Only she’d showed him a few new sides of her in his truck earlier. Flirty being the most surprising. He’d never anticipated a goodnight walk to the door so much.
“What are we talking?” Emmitt asked. “A long weekend?”
Levi choked. “I was thinking an overnight. Some upcoming Monday between now and the wedding,” Levi said.
“The rest of the world works Monday through Friday,” Gray pointed out. “So unless you think an arcade is bro enough, it’s going to have to be a weekend.”
Levi let out a tired sigh. “Let me see if I can get Gus to cover the bar for a night.”
“What happened to the new bartender you were training last week?”
“He’s not working out.”
“Dude,” Emmitt said. “Stop firing the kids for not getting it right day one. I get that this is your dad’s bar, and you can’t stand to see anyone but him behind it. But if you’re going to make this trip of yours, you need to keep someone around longer than three hours.”
“If I’m leaving for six months, it can’t be just some kid. It has to be the right kid.”
“I guess that’s one way of seeing if the kid can handle it.”
