“I knew you were in love with her. What I didn’t know is that you’d gone and married her without telling me.”
“It was spontaneous.”
“You flew to DC in the middle of the Christmas party. That’s a military operation.”
“A spontaneous military operation,” I joke.
He doesn’t laugh, which means he’s genuinely hurt.
“You’re my best friend,” he says, and the simplicity of it makes my chest tight. “I’ve had your back through every stupid thing you’ve ever done. I sat with you on a bench in Vegas while you told me you couldn’t fuck a stranger because you were in love. I covered for you at the Christmas party. I lied to the boys for you. And you didn’t tell me you got married.”
When he puts it like that. “I know.”
“That hurt.”
“I’m sorry. You deserved to know. You deserved to be there.” I take another sip. “I was going to tell you when we got back from Christmas. Then I was going to tell you after New Year’s. Butthen the Emmett thing happened, and everything exploded, and I just kept pushing it back because I was scared.”
“Scared of what?”
“Scared of it blowing up,” I confess.
“It kind of did.”
He’s right. It did, not as bad as Cap and Jo had it, though. “I was scared that if it came down to it, Collette would have chosen her family over me.”
Evan refills both glasses. “That’s the most emotionally intelligent thing you’ve ever said.”
“Don’t get used to it.” I chuckle.
“I won’t.” He takes a sip. “For the record, I would have been happy for you.”
“I know that, which makes it worse.”
We drink in silence for a minute.
“I need to ask you something,” I say.
“If it’s about my skincare routine, I’ve told you, it’s genetic.”
“It’s not about your skincare routine.” I take a breath. “Collette and I are going to have a proper wedding in the summer. The real thing. Family, friends, the whole deal. She deserves that, and so do our moms. Oh shit, I haven’t told my mom yet.”
“Fucking hell,” Evan curses.
“Anyway, we have nothing planned just yet, but I’m going to need a best man.”
Evan goes still, his glass is halfway to his mouth, and those dark eyes lock on mine.
“I can’t think of anyone else I’d want standing next to me,” I say. “You’ve been there for every part of this. The good parts and the stupid parts. Especially the stupid parts. You’ve been my best friend since the day I got drafted and you told me my hair was offensive.”
“It was offensive. You had frosted tips.” He shudders.
“The point is, you’re my person. After Collette, you’re the person I trust most in this world. And I want you beside me when I marry her again.”
He doesn’t say anything for a long moment. “You’re an idiot,” he says.
“Is that a yes?”
“Of course, it’s a yes.” His voice is thick in a way I’ve never heard from Evan. He clears his throat. “Someone has to make sure you don’t do something stupid at the altar.”