“Babe.” I examined her left hand, which was irritatingly void of jewelry. “Where’s your ring?”
That seemed to pull her out of her daze. “I—my—oh! Um, I didn’t want to, um, steal Megan’s thunder.”
“Oh, please.” Laney’s friend, a woman in a carnation-pink dress, stepped forward, grinning as she gave me a wink. “Like I would care about that, Laney. I told you that yourhusbandwasmore than welcome this weekend. Ronan, good to see you again. Megan, remember? The bride?”
Damn. Laney was terrible at lying, but her friend didn’t miss a beat.
I nodded as I leaned forward to trade air kisses with her. “You too, Megan. Congratulations, by the way.”
“Kev, look. Ronan made it after all.”
An affable-looking fellow next to her blinked at me until Megan shoved him lightly in the side, then shook his head as he figured out his line and held out a hand for a shake. “What? Oh, yeah. Hey, man, glad you could come.”
“Thanks. Glad to be here.” I returned it without letting go of Laney, then turned to take on a few more introductions.
The rest of the bridal party was easy, though I hadn’t met so many girls named after dead presidents since I was in prep school. Sly compliments and wicked smiles elicited giggles from the three bridesmaids. Their matching groomsmen were taken in with firm handshakes and knowing glances that in guy-speak meant I recognized our common sexual prowess the same way dogs of the same species knew each other at the park.
People were so fucking predictable.
Except for the one who was still gaping at me with my left arm draped around her shoulders.
“You must be Derek.” I turned to the final member of the group, the smug-faced fucker who looked like a Dollar-Store JFK Jr. “Ronan Black.”
With only a little hesitation, we traded a white-knuckled handshake that lasted a little too long. He pulled away first, flexing his fingers. I smirked as I hugged Laney a little tighter. Two small gestures with big, obvious meanings:Fuck youandshe’s mine.
Laney, meanwhile, was still staring at me like I was a ghost.
I grinned down at her. “Ari. Stop looking at me like that unless you want me to throw you over my shoulder. I doubt Megan here would be too happy if I went caveman on her maid of honor.”
The bridesmaids burst into giggles.
“Nah. Laney knows she always has a free get-out-of-the-rehearsal-dinner-for-mind-blowing-sex card,” Megan put in with an enormous grin.
That finally pulled Laney out of her adorable little trance on a choke. “Christ, Megs.”
I had to laugh. Yeah, I liked Laney’s best friend a lot.
“Don’t worry,” I told her. “I can keep my hands to myself until the dessert course as long as this one can make a little conversation.”
Megan grinned even more. “Well, if you need a quick getaway, there’s an emergency exit next to the bathrooms that leads out to a private back alley. After all, you are newlyweds.”
The best part of the conversation was the way Derek looked more and more like a teapot about to shriek with every passing moment.
“Your husband?” he snapped, gaze bouncing between us like we were a ping-pong match. “Laney, is this guy for real? Did you actually get married?”
“Pretty sure we covered that a few minutes ago.” I held up my left hand. “I didn’t get the memo about the no-rings night, but she’s got a matching one at home.”
Okay, so I said it like her home was mine. I also ignored the way it felt completely and entirely natural.
“I—we—” Laney still hadn’t quite recovered her ability to speak. For some reason, the fact that she seemed utterly incapable of guile made me like her even more.
“Ah, babe?” Kevin, the groom, looked a bit confused. “It’s a sit-down dinner. They planned for a specific number, and?—”
“Oh, like we would care about that,” Megan cut in. “The more the merrier, especially when it comes to Laney’s new husband.” She turned and gestured toward a harried-looking woman carrying a clipboard. “Darla? Can you ask the restaurant to bring out another chair for one more guest?”
Darla seemed less than pleased. “It’s a prix-fix menu, Megan. I’ll see if they have enough, but we rented out half the restaurant.”
“I’m happy to compensate fairly for the extra effort.” I pulled a business card from my pocket and slipped it to the planner.