Best Man with Benefits (Wedding Dare, #4, McCade Brothers, #3)(8)
For a long time she’d worried he’d never change his mind and open himself to the idea of love, marriage, and family. But somehow, miraculously, Kady had changed all that. For her, he’d managed to push the fear and cynicism out of his heart and take a chance on happiness. And he’d found it. The thought had Sophie blinking back tears until another photo caught her eye. She nearly choked on her own tongue.
Oh, good God. It was a picture of Colt and her, at Colt’s college graduation. There he stood, tall and proud in his cap and gown. There she stood, short and dumpy, wearing one of the bulky sweatshirts that had been her trademark since eighth grade, when nature had suddenly “blessed” her with the biggest boobs anybody in her middle school had ever seen. Shiny red cheeks, a constellation of zits on her forehead, and a botched home perm completed the catastrophe. She’d hoped the curls would make her look like Keri Russell. Her Mom had taken one look and pronounced her a dead ringer for “the frizzy-haired girl from Harry Potter.” Sadly, Mom was always right about that kind of stuff.
She forced her attention away from the horror and her gaze landed on a picture of Colt and Logan at Yosemite. She registered Bridalveil Fall in the background despite never taking her eyes off Logan. Twenty-something, shirtless Logan. Twenty-something, sweaty, shirtless Logan, smiling into the camera and giving off the same glow she’d basked in all evening and longed to bask in all night—if she could somehow talk him into it.
While she tried to get her heart to stop racing at the prospect of luring Logan back to her room, she let her eyes scan the other montage. Big mistake. The Kady collection included photos of the lovely bride-to-be, in college, surrounded by her equally lovely sorority sisters. There was one of Kady and the girls on the beach in Mexico, looking like Sports Illustrated swimsuit models. A younger but no less authoritative Tyler stood behind them, warning every male in the vicinity off with a proprietary gaze that, interestingly, seemed particularly focused on Christine.
She homed in on a photo of Kady, in bikini and chaps, standing in front of a mechanical bull. Christine stood beside her, laughing as she placed a silly, sparkly crown on Kady’s head. Julie, in denim shorts and cowboy boots, beamed down from astride the bull. Regan held court on Kady’s opposite side, aiming a sly, sideways smile at a group of frat guys while she pretended to smack the bull on the butt.
Not an awkward phase to be found. These fun-loving, extroverted girls attracted men simply by breathing, and seeing them reminded her that even if she were tipsy enough to try to seduce Logan, she’d have to get in line since Julie and Regan had basically rock-paper-scissored last night to decide which one of them went after the best man. Her eyes drifted back to her picture, and then to Logan’s, and her heart sank. Who was she kidding? She didn’t stand a chance.
Her sinking heart reversed course and nearly leaped out of her throat when Reed and Brock materialized out of nowhere and flanked her. Holy smokes, had they noticed her drooling at Logan’s picture? Please no. She’d never hear the end of it if they suspected she had the hots for the best man.
…
Logan leaned against the wall in the alcove leading to the restrooms and listened with half an ear while his CFO, Peter Pinderski, droned on about the target’s new list of concerns. Sophie claimed the better part of his attention by wandering over to the corner of the lounge where someone had set up the obligatory “The Story of Colt & Kady” photo boards. He watched her peruse the snapshots and found himself smiling.
“The target wants to review all these issues with you personally before they’ll proceed. The board wants the acquisition agreement signed before quarter-end. We’re between a rock and a hard place. I hate to say this, Logan, but we need you back here ASAP.”
His smile disappeared. “ASAP is after the wedding.” He stated it firmly, because he’d made commitments to Colt when he’d agreed to be best man, and he intended to honor them. While he watched, the most interesting of those commitments jumped like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar when Brock and Reed sidled up to her. Though he’d only just met the guys, he wasn’t worried about their intentions. The two groomsmen knew Sophie from way back—back to the summers Colt and Sophie spent in Tennessee with their dad. They no doubt shared his view of her as Colt’s shy, adorable, strictly off-limits little sister. Then again, he was having a real problem remembering the “strictly off-limits” part. Who’s to say the other guys weren’t having the same difficulty?
Peter’s voice cut into that disconcerting thought. “After the wedding might be too late. I’m telling you, the target is having second thoughts, and this deal has hit the skids. We need you here to grease them, like, now, because they don’t want assurances from me, or the accountants, or the lawyers. They want them from you. They’re not feeling your commitment.”
Brock moved into Sophie’s personal space, directed a shit-eating, Southern-boy grin at her, and…tapped her on the nose. What the hell was that? Sophie blinked up at him like a baby fox unaware she was playing with a wolf. Logan took a step forward and prepared to intercede if Brock made another move on her.
“They’re not going to get anything from me until next week. Look, I’m on vacation. I haven’t had one in two f*cking years and I’m taking five lousy days for my best friend’s wedding, so anyone questioning my commitment to the deal is out of line. But there’s stuff happening here that requires my attention. We have a whole team assembled back there to manage every facet of the transaction. If we can’t ink this thing without me doing a command performance every time the target needs a hug, then our deal team is a waste of time and money, and we’re not ready to execute.”