Page 20 of The Wedding Party

“Say all guys before they become that guy,” I point out.

“True,” he concedes. “But I’m really not that guy.”

“Hey, hey, hey! The life of the party is officially here.”

At the sound of Brody Matthews’s voice, my gaze jerks to Oliver’s. “How is he here?” I demand.

He eyes Josh and arches a brow.

“I might have mentioned the party,” Josh replies. “But it’s time to mend fences. He’s a good friend. You know he’s a good friend, Oliver.”

“He was a good friend, Carrie,” Oliver argues.

“Was,” I emphasize.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Brody says again. “I’m here. Right here behind you.”

Oliver’s jaw sets stubbornly. “I’ll handle this and meet you in the room later.”

He turns and faces Brody. Josh has already done the same. I don’t turn. I reach for my martini and down it, a rush of vodka numbing my senses, and I like it that way. Brody is the good-time guy who lures everyone into trying new things. Sometimes to their own demise. In Oliver’s case, one of those times was a bet that cost him fifty grand. And that’s just one of Brody’s sins in my book.

He’s not the kind of friend a married man needs. He’s not the kind of friend a good man needs, either, and Oliver is a good man.

I do not approve, but this weekend is not the time to push that issue. Brody is here. I’m not going to make him leave. I’m not going to make a scene. But my God, I’m glad I found pineapple martinis. Because Oliver isn’t the only one with a past with Brody. I have one, too.

Chapter Eighteen

ANDI

The one full day Lana and I will be in Estes Park, we spend checking out the cute little town.

We stroll the streets, browsing stores and eating at a local restaurant. Turns out she and Josh have been flirting. I try to remind her she’s rebounding, but like most rebounders, she feels this does not apply to her. They’re both divorced, which according to her washes away the rebound effect.

“Who caused the divorce? Him or her?”

“Not sure,” she replies flippantly. “He’s an attorney at Oliver’s firm, and his ex-wife is in accounting. Maybe working together got to them.”

“That’s weird and sounds like a future love-triangle murder. Be careful. And why is he at the wedding and she is not?”

She shrugs. “Carrie must not like her.”

Our girls’ day is cut short when Lana and Josh decide to meet for drinks.

All this wedding stuff is making me crazy, and I need a drink, too. I settle for a coffee, which is why I swing by the hotel lobby coffee shop. I’m waiting on my white mocha to be made when my gaze catches on a table deep in the attached restaurant. Oliver is sitting in a booth facing me and seems to be arguing with whoever is across from him. That person—I can’t even tell if it’s a man or woman—is sitting with their back to the coffee shop. My order is called and I pick up my cup, only to have one sip reveal my drink is wrong.

Once the barista is remaking my beverage, I glance toward Oliver again. He’s gone, and I don’t know where he went. The person who was with him is still in the booth. I don’t know why I need to know who that person is, but I do. My coffee order is up again, and this time, I grab it and keep my eyes on the table.

That’s when a woman stands up and walks toward an exit on the opposite side of the restaurant, which is how I’m now sure Oliver left. I thank the barista, stick a tip in the jar, and then walk back into the lobby, hurrying to the elevators in hope of catching a glimpse of this woman. I don’t find her.

But from what I did see in the restaurant, her build and frame were smaller than Carrie’s. She’s not Carrie, and I don’t think she’s Oliver’s sister. I frown and punch the elevator call button. Or was she? Maybe, but I don’t think so, which means what? Is she part of Carrie’s wedding party? Why would Oliver be fighting with a member of the wedding party?

The elevator doors open and I step inside the car, chiding myself as I do. Clearly, I don’t understand the words time off. I’m not on duty right now, per my boss. I’m not happy about it, either, but unlike Whit and my father, I follow the rules.

Oliver’s life is Oliver’s life.

His business is not my business.

Chapter Nineteen