Defending Hayden (Second Chances #7)(55)

“Care to tell me what you’re thinking about?” I asked her.

Smiling, she grabbed my hand and squeezed. “I’m thinking about how sexy you look in that tux.”

“As much as I want to believe that, I know you’re lying. What’s really going on?”

She averted her gaze to the window. “I just can’t get over it, Derek. I didn’t do anything wrong. Finding another job will be almost impossible unless I can prove it wasn’t me who cross-contaminated. And that’s going to be hard to do now.”

“Have you talked to any of the nurses?”

Shaking her head, she met my gaze. “I’ll do that on Monday. Today is special for your friends, and I don’t want to sour your mood with my drama. So for the rest of the day, I’ll keep a smile on my face.” Her eyes twinkled. “But you really do look sexy in that tux. I wasn’t lying about that.”

I kissed her hand. “You’re looking pretty hot yourself. Do me a favor, though, make sure Chris keeps his filthy hands off of you during the wedding.”

She burst out laughing. “I’ll try, but you know how he is. He’ll do it just to mess with you.” Since I was going to be standing at the front with Evan as one of his best men, I had to make sure Hayden had someone to sit with so she wouldn’t be alone. Chris was first in line for that position.

When we arrived at Stowe Manor, the guys were all out front, drinking beers and laughing. “Are you going to drink with them?” Hayden asked.

I’d gone so long without it, I didn’t even crave it anymore. “Nah, I’m good.”

“Are you afraid you won’t be able to control yourself with it?”

I looked at her and smiled. “That’s not it at all. I feel in more control of myself than I’ve ever felt. I just don’t need it to have fun.”

She unbuckled her seat belt and leaned over to kiss me. I held her to me and deepened it, not caring if any of the guys saw. “You’ve come a long way, Derek. I’m so proud of you.”

Chris knocked on Hayden’s window and opened her door. “Stop kissing on my date, McLaughlin. For the next two hours, she’s mine.”

“Keep it up, Waters.” I chuckled. “You’ll be finding your balls shoved down your throat if you don’t watch it.”

Chris helped Hayden out and flipped me off. “You don’t scare me.” Then he turned to Hayden, wrapping her arm around his. “All right, darling, let’s go for a walk. You’ll love the gardens.”

Giggling, she held on to him. “Lead the way.” She glanced back at me and winked. “See ya in a bit.” Once she and Chris were gone, I joined the guys. It was just Evan, Cooper, and Evan’s best friend, Luke Collins. The last time I’d really talked to Luke had been that night at the bar before the accident that took Brianna’s life. She had talked to him privately there, and to this day, I didn’t know what she’d said to him. I never got the chance to ask her.

Cooper slapped my shoulder and gave me a hug, and so did Evan. “It’s the big day,” I said to Evan. “You nervous?”

“Not at all, brother. I’ve been ready for this for a long time now. I see you and Hayden are doing well.”

I nodded. “We are. She’s an amazing woman.”

Cooper chuckled. “Well, I know the guys on the team are happy you found someone. Most of them were terrified of you ripping their heads off.”

“It’s good for them to be scared,” I said with a laugh.

Luke caught my eye and held out his hand. “What’s up, D?”

“Nothing much, man. What’s up with you?”

We shook hands and then he finished off his beer. “Just getting ready to watch my best friend tie the knot. Although I probably need twenty more of these,” he said, setting the beer bottle down.

“Why is that?”

Evan snickered. “He’s walking with Lara down the aisle. Everyone knows she hates him.”

Eyes wide, I turned to him. “You haven’t gotten her back yet? It’s been months.”

Luke’s jaw tensed. “She’s with someone else now. No matter what I do, I can’t get her to listen to me.”

“Maybe you’re not trying hard enough.”

He snorted. “What am I supposed to do, apologize on TV, like you did with your girl?”

I shrugged. “It’s a start. Humiliation is part of the step. I did something stupid to Hayden, and I paid the price for it. I had to show her I was willing to do anything to get her back.”

“What did you do to her?” he asked.

The guys averted their gazes and I cleared my throat. “Let’s just say it was almost as bad as what you did to Lara. I’m just lucky enough to have a valid reason for why I did it.”

Evan nudged Luke with an elbow. “I kept trying to tell you not to give up. Now it’s harder on me because she’s dating a guy who could actually be considered my brother-in-law.”

Cooper and I both whistled. “That’s not good at all,” I said.

Luke rolled his eyes and huffed. “Now do you see what kind of shit I’m in?” Cars started to pull into the parking lot, so we walked inside the manor while the guests signed in and picked their seats. It was almost time for the ceremony, but I grabbed Luke’s shoulder and pulled him to the side. “Do you mind if I ask you a question?”