Ward’s bachelor party was about as sedate and dull as any bachelor party could be. I’d been to more lively funerals. Cole wouldn’t let me plan anything. He was taking his best man thing extremely seriously. As a result, the party was doomed to lameness before it ever even began. Although the party barge on the lake was cool, a party can only be rightly called a party if there are women present. Otherwise it was just a sausage-fest.

“Are you planning on being a pain in the ass the entire time Lucas?” Cole asked me, dropping down in the deck chair next to me. “You haven’t even gotten in the water. You’re just sitting here sulking.”

“I’m not sulking. I’m enjoying this lovely evening,” I told him, waving a hand at the expansive view in front of us over the deck of the boat.

“You don’t look like you’re enjoying anything.” Cole’s dark eyes narrowed as he took me in. Although I was not the life of the party—that was Ward, even when the party wasn’t for him, I knew I was being more reserved than usual. I had a lot on my mind. And I wasn’t ready to confess it all to Cole. I wasn’t even ready to confess it all to myself.

“I’m really enjoying this beer. I’m working up to jumping in the water,” I told him, lifting my bottle as evidence. Cole raised an incredulous eyebrow and shook his head at me. There was a small graveyard of empties accumulating at my side. I’d been working up for a while now.

“What’s gotten into you lately?” His eyes examined me with skepticism. “You’ve been weird for the last few weeks. I mean, weirder than usual. Quiet. You’re never quiet. I don’t see you at the bar as much either.”

I shrugged. “I’ve been around.” I stared out at the calm, blue lake water and the watercolor sunset above. It was pretty, but I was sulking, despite what I’d told Cole. “How’re the dealerships?” I asked. “Do you still like your new venture?”

Cole was adapting to life post-NFL. His professional football career probably could have lasted a bit longer, but too many head injuries convinced him that he’d rather have his health. He’d invested most of his money in a number of BMW dealerships in central Texas and was learning how to run them. Predictably, talking about business distracted him.

“I’m ridiculously busy, but that’s only the half of it. I also now know more about women’s underthings than I ever wanted to…” he trailed off with a thousand yard stare.

I smirked. “Does that mean Kate’s store is doing well?”

Cole’s girlfriend, Kate Williams, was Ward’s younger sister. She had recently quit the bar to open her own boutique. I’d not been to see it, as it was entirely devoted to women’s underwear. The name of Kate’s store? Teddy Bare. Because, of course it was.

Cole grinned proudly despite his trauma. “Yeah, she’s doing incredibly well.” He shook his head in disbelief. “I’m happy for her, but all those corsets and stuff need unpacking and stocking and somehow I keep getting conned into it. She just bats her big eyes at me and the next thing I know, I’m hanging up fancy panties and putting hang tags on them.”

Rae would look good in some fancy lingerie. Something white or maybe baby pink. She never wears light colors. It must be the New Yorker in her. The thought came out of nowhere and I shook my head to dispel it. Why couldn’t I stop thinking about her? I didn’t even want to think about her, but every time I closed my eyes, I saw her. The fact that we went a full week without seeing one another did nothing to help banish her from my thoughts. If anything, absence was actually making the heart grow fonder. I’d always thought that was a myth.

I arched an eyebrow at Cole before he realized I was lost in a fantasy. “I bet you’re a great stock boy.” My voice was teasing.

“I’m a fantastic stock boy,” Cole replied proudly.

Seeing Cole and Kate get together made me happy, but also jealous of their happiness. They were a good match, but it hadn’t been easy for them. Between Kate’s stubbornness, Ward’s over-protective nature, and Cole’s tenacity, they were a perfect storm. It all worked out in the end. The two were engaged now, and they had Ward’s full support.

“Have you two set a date for the wedding yet?” I asked, keeping my voice low. Cole was keeping his engagement a secret from Ward. Not because he didn’t want him to know, but because he and Kate didn’t want Emma, Ward’s fiancée and Kate’s best friend, to feel like her day wouldn’t be hers. It was all too much for me.

“I’m hoping for some time in April, but Kate doesn’t think she’ll have enough time to plan.” He shook his head with a bemused expression. “Kate’s got ideas about this wedding. Big ideas.”

“Sounds very expensive.” I couldn’t imagine how that could be a good investment of money. Flowers last, what, maybe a week? And the bride only wears the dress once.

“I’m sure it will be extremely expensive.” Cole didn’t look like he cared. I supposed if he had the money, it didn’t matter.

“Emma managed to plan her wedding pretty quickly,” I argued. How long did it take to plan a wedding? You need some flowers, a dress, a couple of tuxes. I guess food and drink, but Kate’s brother owned a bar. That part would be easy. I shrugged. Weddings weren’t really my thing.

“Emma’s a girlygirl, but she’s actually a lot more lowkey than Kate.” Cole wasn’t wrong. Kate had a flair for the dramatic.

“Well good luck man.”

“Thanks.” Cole looked genuinely excited about the prospect of planning a wedding. “I’m looking forward to it.”

This is why I didn’t hang out with Cole as much anymore. He was too damn happy all the time. He and Ward were both happily in love and it made me feel worse just to see it. And me? What exactly was I even up to? I was sulking and coming up with ill-conceived secret plots to win Victoria back.

“Kate said that she heard from Emma that you were spotted with someone new the other day,” Cole ventured. “I heard there was even some photographic evidence online of you leaving the house with a woman.” I grimaced.

“Do we have to have this conversation?” I was being a real pain-in-the-ass tonight. I knew it was true, but I couldn’t seem to avoid it. “I really don’t know that I’m up to it.”

“I just want you to know that I’m glad you’re moving on from Victoria.”

“What makes you think that I am?”

“Well, Emma knows what Victoria looks like.”

I shook my head. “I think we should talk about something else.”

There was no way in hell that good-natured, honest Cole would approve of my plan to deceive Victoria into jealousy and loving me again. He didn’t like Victoria any better than Ward did, either.

If I was being entirely truthful with myself, which wasn’t something I was great at doing at the best of times, but I was having serious reservations about my plan to win Victoria.

“Alright. How’s your acquisition going? You found a firm that’s interested in buying your app, right?”

I nodded. “Yes. They’re in the middle of the due diligence investigation right now. A team comes down from New York for three or four days at a time and they look at all my stuff. Hopefully they make an offer soon.”

“Then what?”

I blinked. “What do you mean? Then I have a bunch of money.”

Cole raised an eyebrow. “I mean, then what are you going to do with all that money?”

“Oh, I don’t know yet. I’d like to go on a vacation. Somewhere relaxing and sunny.”

Maybe I’ll take Victoria somewhere she’s never been before. It could be the start of our second chance.

Cole nodded. “That sounds fun. Kate and I want to go to Hawaii for our honeymoon…”

As I listened to Cole drone on about all the fun things he and Kate wanted to do in Hawaii, I kept trying to picture myself and Victoria in their place. But it wasn’t working. Something just didn’t feel right.

I took another sip of my beer and tried to find that feeling that I used to have for Victoria, the feeling that my heart would burst, and the entire world would grind to a halt if I couldn’t see her, touch her, and love her again. The miserable feeling had been with me for eighteen months, and it had become a weirdly comfortable companion. Now that my cloak of misery had gone missing, I felt raw. I convinced myself that it was Rae’s fault, and she was just distracting me. I just needed to be more committed to my plan. Once Victoria and I were back together again, everything would be right.

“So, are you bringing a date to the wedding?” Cole finally asked.

I nodded. “Yes. I am.”

“Great!” He looked even happier than usual. “I’m really looking forward to meeting this mystery woman. She must really be something.”