Chapter 8

Grayson

On Wednesday evening, John and his wife, Deborah, hosted a dinner for the engaged couple. I was invited because I was a guest in the house, and they couldn’t exactly kick me out, although I wondered if they wanted to. John and Deborah wanted to get to know Abigail, their soon-to-be daughter-in-law.

I didn’t feel like a sit-down dinner with stiff conversation and pointless small talk, but until the day of the wedding, I was stuck here in Austin, so I had to take what was coming my way.

John and Deborah had the perfect entertainment house. It was one of the good things that had come from their move to Austin. The house was laid out in a horseshoe shape with all the entertainment areas on one side and the living quarters on the other. It was a two-story house with great views, and since the moment John and Deborah had arrived, it seemed they had made the most of it. They always had people over. I was a guest in their house until the wedding, and it still felt like a second home to me, even though it was in a new place. I knew as soon as I left to go back home after the wedding, it would be like losing my family. With John and Deborah here and Carter staying with Abigail in Austin, I was going home empty-handed. So I tried to soak up every last moment we had together. I was saying goodbye all over again.

Which was only one more reason to hate this wedding. And it was a reason for me to dread the night with Abigail and see her as a new addition to the family. I couldn’t find it in me to be happy for the couple.

When Abigail arrived, Callie was with her.

“Why did you invite the wedding planner?” I asked John when I saw her.

“Because she’s Abigail’s best friend, her support system who’s making this magical day happen for Carter. Also, Carter tells me she’s down-to-earth.” Right, a down-to-earth pain in my ass. “Come on, man. Lighten up.”

John was straightforward, and I couldn’t argue with his choice of guests. I wished I had known Callie was going to come. I would have made plans to be somewhere else instead.

I watched as Abigail politely greeted John and Deborah and commented on their beautiful home. She had brought a bottle of wine, the perfect guest. She had met them once before, so she was nervous. I could tell. Callie stayed close by her side, a true friend in need. When she was introduced, she shook hands with both John and Deborah, and she was all smiles. She was the type of woman everyone liked.

I could see why. And I hated it. I didn’t like that even though she was a pain in the ass, she was so damn likable.

Callie barely greeted me, only briefly making eye contact, and when she did so, she wasn’t rude.

John had grilled steaks. Deborah had made her famous balsamic potatoes and a few different sides to choose from. I loved her food. When I thought about home-cooked meals, it was Deborah’s food that came to mind, not my own mother’s.

“This is a meal fit for a king, my darling,” John said when he sat down. He rubbed his hands together, happy at the prospect of food. I had to admit, it was a good meal. I looked at Abigail who had taken something of everything except the steak.

“Don’t you eat meat?” I asked her.

Abigail blushed and shook her head. “I’m a vegetarian.”

Great. Not only was the wedding happening way too soon, but she was one of those. I couldn’t stand people who rejected what they were. I glanced over at Callie who had dished herself a beautiful piece of steak. God, I loved a woman who could eat properly. I hated women who were all about having only a salad because they were watching their waistlines, or worse, they were humanitarians. I was trying very hard to like Abigail for Carter’s sake and was failing.

The table was large enough to fit eight guests, and there were only six of us. The two seats at the head of the table were open, and I was seated across from Callie. I looked at her, staring at her for a while, and realized she was trying to avoid eye contact.

Interesting. She had been very eager to do what we had done at the club. She hadn’t exactly avoided me then. Did she regret it? She had run from me. And now that she was trying to avoid me, it only made me want to make it harder for her. I was full of shit, and I knew it, and I did it with pride.

Callie didn’t make eye contact with me once. Which meant that I kept asking her for things like to pass the salt or the potatoes or if she wanted me to fetch her a glass of water from the kitchen. It was cute to see how uncomfortable she became when I asked her. I was amused by it.

After dinner, Callie offered to help clear the table, and we all jumped in, carrying plates and dishes to the kitchen. I stepped in front of Callie three times, and every time, she was forced to look up at me. The third time, I didn’t move, and she had to speak to me.

“Excuse me,” she said

“Oh, sorry,” I said and stepped out of the way. Callie shook her head, and I thought I heard her whisper “asshole” under her breath. It was a hoot. She was so set on avoiding me. I loved it.

And I hated it. Because, goddamn, she was hot. She wore jeans so tight, they looked painted on, showing off her perfect curves, and her flowy top traced her breasts so I could almost feel them in my hands again. Her hair was tied up, and her neck was beautiful and smooth. I wanted to nibble on it.

We sat down with coffee after supper and talked about our plans for the coming week.

“Have you found a caterer yet?” Deborah asked when the conversation turned to the wedding. I sighed, sick of this shit. The wedding was all anyone ever talked about.

“We’re going to try out a couple of places tomorrow,” Abigail said. I groaned, and everyone fell quiet and looked at me. I glanced at Callie who was glaring at me. At least she wasn’t avoiding eye contact now.

“The wedding is in just under a month,” Callie said. “There’s a lot to say about the topic.”

“Don’t mind Grayson. He’s not always aware of what his mouth is doing when his mind is switched off.”

“Gee, thanks, John,” I said. He was talking against me, and even though his little jabs were jokes, this one stung. It was in front of the women, and it made me look like a fool. I kept my mouth shut tight to stop from saying something inappropriate. I was not happy.

After a moment, conversation resumed, but there was tension in the air that hadn’t been there before. I shrugged it off. I wasn’t going to change how I felt about it, no matter how upset the family got. I had accepted the role of best man, and as far as I was concerned, I was the best man. But I wasn’t in the mood to talk about weddings twenty-four-seven, but everyone else seemed to think the topic would never be exhausted. It wasn’t even a wedding I approved of. The only reason I had agreed to be a part of it at all was that I had thought I could stop Carter from making the biggest mistake of his life.

I had never thought I would be saying this. Once upon a time, everything had been perfect. But shit happened, and it seemed to keep happening.

Finally, the women left to have a walk around the garden and I could go back to my room and sulk without John calling me out on it. He was a father figure in every sense, both with advice and expecting me to behave properly. The former I appreciated. The latter frustrated me like I was a teenager and my dad was grounding me. I was stupid to see it that way, but it was how it felt.

I was in my room when Carter knocked on the door and walked in. He sat down in the chair by the desk. I lounged on my bed.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“I should ask you that,” Carter said. “What was wrong with you tonight? You’re really pushing this whole wedding issue.”

I shrugged.

“What’s your problem?” Carter asked again.

“I don’t have one,” I said. “I just don’t want to talk about weddings around every turn, you know? I know that’s what we’re here for, but I want to spend time with you. I know I’m losing you once you get married, but it feels like I’ve already lost you, and we still have four weeks to go.”

Carter shook his head. “You’re not losing me. I’m getting married, not moving overseas.”

“No, but you are moving here. And you’re so caught up in Abigail, which I guess is normal. I get it. But I never get to spend time with you anymore because she’s everywhere, and when I’m with everyone because that’s all I’ll get, the wedding is all we talk about.”

Carter sighed. “I get it,” he said. “But the wedding is very soon. There’s no way around it. And it’s a big deal to Abigail.”

I noticed Carter didn’t say it was a big deal to him, and I wondered if it was because it wasn’t a big deal or if he didn’t want to admit it. What bugged me more than the wedding talk was that Carter was changing himself so much for this woman. That wasn’t right. He’d never had to change himself before.

“Just try to bear with us, okay?” Carter said. “I’ll try to make some time where it’s just us bros, hanging out.”

I nodded. I couldn’t argue with that. Carter was trying, but I had to accept that his priorities were somewhere else now, that he wouldn’t ever be the Carter I’d had until the moment he’d met Abigail.

This was the end of an era. But I didn’t want to mourn it, I wanted to fight it.

“I’m going to bed. We have a long day tomorrow.”

I nodded, and Carter left the room. He pulled my door closed, and I was shut in with my own emotions. It was understandable that Carter was upset with my attitude. I had to admit, it stank. But I was upset that Carter didn’t seem to know why the whole wedding and losing Carter to Abigail was bothering me. He was my best friend, and after everything we had been through together, I felt like he should have known exactly what was bothering me.

But Carter acted like I was being strange by acting out, like he didn’t understand it. And in turn, I didn’t understand that. When I had lost my sister, I had thought at least I still had Carter. I was starting to think I might have lost him already, that it had happened a lot longer ago than I had thought.

And that was damn sad.