I STEPPED INSIDE, Ben’s hand on my shoulder, propelling me in and keeping me close. The room was filled with guys, six of them, and they all turned.

“This is Trey,” Ben said simply. “My best friend, back from the dead.”

“Thought I was your best friend,” said one guy, taller and bigger than Ben. He came forward to shake my hand.

“No. You’re a dick. This is Matt,” Ben told me as I reached for the guy’s hand. I shook and squeezed, then immediately loosened my grip when the guy’s face contorted. I thought I’d crushed him, but he just stepped back, nodding a little, avoiding my eye.

“Back from the Army?” he said.

“Yeah.” Simple replies were best. Uncomfortable, but best.

He stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Iraq?”

“Afghanistan.”

“My brother’s heading over there in a few weeks.”

“Oh yeah?” What was I supposed to say to that? Poor bastard? Hope he doesn’t get blown up?

He looked me up and down. I knew how I appeared to this frat boy. Probably the same way I felt. Hard. Scarred. Tired.

“You look like you’ve seen some action,” he said.

“How’s that?” I asked, probably coldly.

Fuck, dude. Chill out, I coached myself.

He blinked. “Just like you’ve probably been over there a while.”

I smiled a little. “Awhile.”

“Any words of wisdom? My brother’s getting nervous. Called me up drunk last week saying he didn’t want to kill anybody.”

His gaze was intent and close. I knew what he wanted to ask. It was what everyone wanted to ask: Did you kill anyone? What was it like?

I smashed my lips into a thin line and didn’t reply.

“Matt.” Ben’s voice was low and warning, and the guy looked into my eyes and blinked, then backed up. “Sure, sure. Sorry.”

Being a Ranger could make you stand out in pleasant company.

Or maybe it was just me.

Ben introduced me to the others—I knew none of them—and we all did the polite thing. I shook hands and lightened my grip and searched their faces and their eyes, finding nothing to fear and nothing to interest, and thought again there was no going home.

What was I doing here, where I didn’t belong? All this money, all these people who thought a bad day on the stock market counted as ‘brutal,’ who thought they could ask me about killing the way you ask about dessert.

The hotel room was high up, penthouse level, and the sun shone in, but even though the room was bright, everything seemed dark.

Then I thought about Cassidy downstairs, with her flushed cheeks and high ponytail and that red dress skimming her curves, reintroducing herself to me.

Looking like she wanted me.

Ben took my shoulder again. “We’ll be back,” he said to the others, and guided me to a huge bedroom and shut the door.

We considered each other in silence for a minute, then he smiled. “Matt was right. You look like you’ve seen some action. And not the good, female kind. You’re like an action hero, coming in here.”

I smiled. “You scared, Ben?”

“Only of what you might convince me to do.”

I shook my head. “Never convinced you to do anything you didn’t already want to do. But I always got the blame.”

“Good point. You deserved it.”

We smiled at each other then he waved a hand at the room, inviting me to sit as he dropped into one of the plush chairs by the window.

I hadn’t been around many plush chairs recently. I knew how they operated, I just wasn’t comfortable in them, so I set down my bag and kept standing.

His eyes met mine. “You came.”

“You asked.”

He wiped his hand over his face, then sat forward, elbows on his thighs. “You okay?”

“Sure.” Not really. But enough about me. “Congratulations, man. You’re getting married.”

He nodded, his eyes searching like Cass’s had been. “I could say the same thing to you. Silver Star?”

I shrugged. I didn’t want to talk about the circumstances of my Silver Star award. It was a star, not a life.

Ben looked me over a second longer, then nodded and sat back. “You out now?”

“Full out. Discharged last week.”

“And?”

“And…yeah. I’m all set. I’m good.”

Good and hitting the road. Going to a town out west called Destiny Falls, which was a stupid name, but my brother Finn was there, and it was as good a place to restart as anywhere. Mountains and trees and not a lot of people.

“Be in the wedding,” Ben said decisively.

My attention snapped back to him. “What?”

“Be in the wedding. Be my best man.”

I laughed and looked down at myself, wearing jeans. “Seriously?”

“You brought a suit, right?”

“Well, yeah…”

“Wear that.” His eyes were close on mine. “I don’t care what you wear. Wear a towel if you want.”

“In the snow? You’re cruel, man.”

He smiled. “Wear my tux.”

I raised an eyebrow. “I’m way bigger than you.”

“Like hell you are.”

“My dick is.”

We both were grinning now. His faded a little, but stayed in place. “Just…be my best man. You’re here. I can’t fucking believe you’re here. I can’t fucking believe you didn’t tell me you were coming.”

“I wasn’t sure I could make it.”

Literally. I hadn’t been sure I could handle all the people and chit-chat and meaningless shit. Even though all I wanted was meaningless shit. I wanted sitcoms and Big Macs. I wanted them to do something to me. Click a switch and turn me around. Make me fit again. But I’d clogged my arteries over the past week with the shit, and it was still just that: shit.

And I was still just me: a little broken and not knowing how to get back in the groove.

“Well, you’re here now. That’s all that matters.”

“Yeah?” I said quietly. “And what’s your current best man going to say? Is it Matt?”

He gave a short laugh and shook his head. “He’s not mine. He’s Amber’s brother.”

“Look,” I said, as decisively as he had. “It’s fine. I don’t need to be in the wedding. I don’t need anything. If you have anything else I can do to help out, let me know, but—”

“Gift guard.”

“What?”

“Amber’s mom’s going to be collecting the gifts, but if you want to keep your eye on them before the wedding starts…”

“Done.”

He eyed me a second. “And if you need anything…”

“Nothing.”

“If you did, I’d do it.” His words were quiet and intense. “Anything. Whatever you need, I’m there.”

I gave a shrug and shook my head. Whatever I needed, Ben didn’t have.

I thought again of Cassidy. She probably didn’t have it either. But it had sure felt good, getting hugged by her.

Probably the tits and ass, I reasoned. And the smile. And the way she reintroduced herself, knowing she didn’t know me anymore.

“Stick close to Cassidy,” Ben said abruptly, like he was reading my mind.

I jerked my gaze over. “Serious? You warned me off her pretty hard one time.”

He got to his feet. “That was the night you took her to get a tattoo.”

I snorted. “Better than it would have been without me there. You should have seen the one she wanted to get.”

He grimaced. “I’ll bet. But back then she was a kid and had a killer crush on you and you were a bad-ass troublemaker.”

“Maybe I’m still a bad-ass troublemaker.”

He arched a brow. “Dude, I’m not telling you to take her in a dark room and have your way with her. But she’s…good energy. Easy to be with. And…” He paused. “She likes you. And she doesn’t really fit in here either.”

“Too nice?”

“Way. Let me put it this way: look out for her, okay? If you won’t be in the wedding, devote yourself to Cass. Will you do that for me?”

Aww…shit.

I started thinking of all the ways I’d like to devote myself to Cassidy’s cause.

“Mr. Devotion,” I muttered. “That’s me.” I reached for my duffle bag. “Can I get changed?”