My eyes keep scanning the email, refusing to believe what I’m reading.

Hey, bud, Nicole’s due to arrive in Venice today. Could you please make sure she gets there and settled into the hotel alright? I’ll be there as soon as I can, kinda got held up (wink, wink, nudge, nudge). Thanks, bud.

Held up, my ass. Does that prick even realize that he FaceTimed me earlier? That he put his ugly fucking hairy ass on display and that I can’t ever unsee that? You want to talk about a travesty…

He invites me to Venice to attend his fucking wedding and then has the audacity to prance around with another chick in Rome while his gorgeous bride-to-be is here, unsuspecting?

There’s low and there’s low.

And then there’s Ryan. Right at the bottom of the fucking cesspool.

That fucking asshole.

I’m in the right frame of mind to email him back and tell him to come handle this shit himself. This isn’t what I signed up for, and I don’t want any part of—

My thoughts are cut short as the door jingles. Allison and Nicole walk into the bar, and my heart damn near stops in my chest.

Nicole is a vision of fucking perfection. Her long legs are on display in a tight black mini dress that ought to be outlawed. Her perky tits sit high and proud, and her hourglass shape is the stuff that dreams are made of.

I’m more convinced than ever that the moment I lay eyes on Ryan, I’m gonna lay him flat out. Best friend or no, you don’t fucking do this shit. There’s a limit to how much of a sleazebag you can truly be, and he’s reached the max level.

The angst is eating me up inside, and as the girls make their way over, I keep debating whether or not I should tell Nicole.

On one hand, I really want her to know what type of person Ryan is. The type that will lie to your fucking face and bang a chick in a city mere hours away instead of being by his fiancé’s side.

I mean, she should know, shouldn’t she? If you marry someone, you should know what sort of asshole they are before you sign the contract.

On the other hand, though, I want nothing more than to protect this blazing brunette in front of me, to make her mine…maybe even my bride.

Woaaah, wait a minute there, stud. My bride? Just how much have I had to drink?

I wave to the beauties, flagging them over to the counter before we find a high-top to sit at.

“How’s it going, ladies? What are we drinking?”

“Sex on the Beach,” Allison winks in my direction.

I can’t help but chuckle. Anyone with eyes could tell she’s interested in me.

If I had met her under different circumstances, I might have—no, I definitely wouldn’t have taken her to bed. She pales into insignificance against Nicole.

Either way, I’ve got other things on my mind.

Namely, Nicole and how fucking amazing she looks.

“And for you, my lady?”

“Champagne. After all, we do have a lot to celebrate. And I can’t believe how beautiful Venice is!”

Nicole’s excitement is clearly getting the best of her, and Allison is obviously at a loss because she smiles at me apologetically.

“First time, you know…”

I smile back. I get it.

The Floating City is enough to take anyone’s breath away the first time you see it. Hell, this isn’t the first time I’ve been here, and I’m still amazed by all it has to offer.

“Oh, stop, just because you’ve seen it all before, Allison, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it again and again,” Nicole pushes Allison’s shoulder, laughing.

“That’s what she said!”

The animated chatter between the girls continues as I head to the bar to place our drink orders and arrange for them to be delivered to the table.

“So, have you decided on your costumes yet?” I ask the girls, sitting back down at the table.

Nicole must be a bit chilly because her nipples are standing at attention.

They’ve certainly got mine—that’s for damn sure.

I wonder what kind of face she’d make if I ripped her dress down and took her nipples in my mouth. The image is so clear in my mind that my cock is beginning to stir.

Down, boy—she’s Ryan’s.

Ugh, Ryan. That fucking douchebag.

“No, we haven’t.” Nicole and Allison shake their heads.

“Well, you definitely need to get married in a costume and mask, that’s how it’s done. There’s a really good shop at Calle del Scaleter, top-notch stuff.”

I give them directions before deciding it’s safer if I go with them. “Come to think of it, I better go with you. Tourist crime is up, after all, and I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you beautiful ladies.”

A pensive look crosses Nicole’s face.

“If you’re worried about the cost, don’t. I’ve got it covered. Consider it my wedding gift to you two.”

“No, it’s not that,” Nicole states, chewing on her bottom lip.

Could she be any sexier?

“I doubt Ryan would agree to the whole costume idea. He was never keen on it when I mentioned it.”

I watch her fingers entwine. How would they feel around my—stop it.

I rouse on myself again. This woman is bewitching me.

Sounds like typical selfish Ryan, alright. Would it kill him to do something to make his bride happy?

“Leave Ryan to me. I’ve already changed his mind; he’ll be there decked out in full costume, you better believe it.”

She still looks skeptical, but I can tell she’s coming around.

As the afternoon wears on, we’re all chatting away and doing a damn good job of getting tipsy.

Nicole is certainly more than what I expected. She’s beautiful, yes, but she’s smart, too. Her laugh sounds like angels singing and the way her tits bounce each time she giggles is almost more than I can bear.

I’m still wracking my brain to figure out just how to approach this situation.

Do I tell her what an ass Ryan is, or do I let her find out for herself?

This should be a question for an ethics class, I decide. It’s too late to get a second opinion, and there’s no way I can phone a friend. The only friend I could phone would be asshole Ryan, and I know what he’d say.

Fucking moral dilemma the bastard has put me into. I swear next time someone asks me to be best man at their wedding, I’ll flat out refuse.

My eyes are drawn to Nicole. Again.

The one thing I can honestly say, though, just from this brief encounter, is that Nicole is far too good for Ryan. He doesn’t deserve a minute of her time.

The only thing he’s good at is hurting women, and unfortunately, I don’t see any other ending than him hurting Nicole.

I’ll be damned if I let that fucking happen.

She’d be much better off with someone else.

Someone like me, perhaps.