The man striding beside her fills the doorway he’s stepping through. Charcoal suit, strong chest and build, soft blond curls falling around a face that reads as serious until you notice the eyes. Brown, steady, quietly absorbing everything. His shoulders are wide and his expression more intimidating. My pulse stutters.
He reaches Brody and Corey, and they collide. Not polished handshakes. A rough, physical reunion, grips on shoulders, low voices, Corey shoving his arm, and Brody pulling him in. They know each other?
Katie grabs my arm. “Surprise! I got you a date.”
“Wait, what?” I mutter.
“After our phone call, when you said you were going alone? I couldn’t allow that. So I reached out to ManBaker’s business page and set the whole thing up.” She beams. “You’re welcome.”
I watch the blond man laugh at a thing Brody says, and then I hear Corey’s voice casually say, “Jakob, man, did you just get back today?”
Jakob.
The third packmate with Brody.
I have no words.
“I contacted ManBaker,” Katie explains. “I got to chatting with Jakob, and he’s easy to talk to. He’s their business manager, so we struck up a deal for him to join you at the wedding as your fake date.”
I press my hand over my mouth because I’m going to either laugh or scream, and I genuinely don’t know which.
Katie’s head snaps toward me fast. “Wait. Back up. You already had two dates before I arrived with the third? And they know each other?”
“Pretty much,” I answer.
Her gaze sweeps from Corey to Jakob, then pauses on Brody, her eyes widening. “Oh my God, you’re the ManBaker!”
Brody gives her a small, guilty wave. “Apparently.”
Katie stares at me again, clearly as gobsmacked as me.
“Hold on,” I say, facing the three Alphas. “Did any of you actually talk to each other about this? None of you mentioned a wedding to the others?”
Brody runs a hand through his hair. “I’ve been flat out getting the house set up. Moving boxes, unpacking, arranging the studio. It didn’t come up in the last two days.”
“I was leaving New Zealand, and then I was on a flight from Auckland,” Jakob adds. “Landed earlier, came straight here, as I had a shower and changed on the plane. I planned to mention it afterward.”
“Must be nice,” Katie mutters. “Flying first class, I assume.”
Jakob just grins.
Corey barks a laugh.
“So everyone played a role in this chaos,” I say slowly, “and nobody communicated, and the result is that I now have three fake dates to my friend’s wedding.”
“When you say it out loud, it sounds chaotic,” Corey admits, grinning. “But in practice, it’s efficient. Three Alphas covering all angles. That’s just a good strategy.”
Two young women in short skirts and heels strut past on the path, slow to a stop, and openly stare at the men.
“Well,” one of them says to her friend, loud enough for all of us to hear, “there’s one too many for the two of them. I’d happily take one off their hands.”
Katie flutters a hand in their direction. “Keep walking, ladies. They’re all taken.”
They drift away, whispering, glaring her way. Brody catches Katie’s eye, and they both grin. “I’m Brody,” he says, extending his hand.
“Katie. I know who you are from your videos.” She shakes his hand. “Claire’s best friend and agent.”
“I’m Corey,” he interjects and shakes her hand next. “I’m the best accident here. I got ready in ten minutes. Nearly threw my back out getting into the suit. And I may have skipped a step in the dressing process.”