His Best Man's Baby (5 page)

“I…uh…” she stuttered.

He folded his arms over his chest and grinned. “The snack machine again?”

She frowned and straightened her back. “I’m not healthy, but I don’t wake up in the middle of the night to eat!” Too late she realized she should have jumped on the excuse. Better that than the real reason she had just returned to her room.

Daniel offered a gentle, understanding smile and raised his hands in surrender. “I’m not judging you. I was wondering if I could talk to you.”

He crossed the hall toward her, and her eyes widened. A whiff of his shower gel reached her long before he did, and her knees weakened a bit. She backed away. “It’s late, Daniel.”

He caught the door as it began closing. She’d made the mistake of moving into her own room, and he followed. “I want to apologize.”

“This isn’t a good idea.”

“A minute. I promise.”

The door clicked shut with Daniel on the inside. Tae stood still, hugging herself. She hadn’t showered before returning to her room. Thoughts of Jax’s scent all over her body arrested her movements and kept her from thinking straight. “Daniel…”

“I was wrong, Tae. I shouldn’t have accused you of being jealous. All you’ve ever been after we broke up was my friend, and I don’t want to ruin that. I don’t want to go into my marriage with this over my head.”

Tae relented. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not that serious. Besides, maybe I was a little jealous. After all, Alise is a lucky woman, right?”

He drew her into a hug, and she stiffened in his arms. A wash of memories rolled over her, and for a second she let them, laying her head on his shoulder.

“We’re good?” he asked.

“Yeah.” Her voice came out raspy. “We’re good.”

She walked with him to the door and held it while he passed through. He made a few more comments, but she looked down the hall. Had she seen movement, or was it her overwrought imagination? All of the wedding party occupied this floor, including Alise, Alise’s mother, and the bridesmaids and groomsmen. That fact alone made it crazy that she’d even thought of sleeping with Jax. Well, it was over, disaster averted. She would put the pleasant memory with Jax in the past, along with all she had shared with Daniel, and wish Daniel well for his future. She said good night to him and then turned into her room to grab a few more hours of sleep before the activities of the weekend celebration began.

Chapter Five

“Miss Octavia Croft! Is Miss Octavia Croft present?” the high-pitched voice called. Tae winced and weaved her way around a small crowd of people milling about. She’d wanted to stay out of sight until the reception dinner, but apparently that wouldn’t be possible.

“I’m Tae Croft,” she said to the slender man in the gray suit holding what looked like a very expensive camera. “You bellowed?”

“Tae.”

She turned and found Daniel approaching. Her breath hitched in her throat, and he grabbed her hand. “Come on. I want you in the photos.”

Her eyes widened, and she tried tugging her hand away. “Are you nuts? I’m not in the wedding party.”

Alise moved up beside Daniel and stared daggers at Tae. Tae blinked at her.
You need to check your husband, not me.
Tae was the one who had been accosted.

“Alise and I want to take pictures with our best friends,” Daniel assured her. “You and Jax are mine, so it’s our turn. Come on.”

Tae held back, but a hand started her feet in the direction Daniel wanted her. Jax appeared at her side, a smile gracing his handsome face. “By all means, bro. This is your day.”

Alise’s displeasure shifted to Jax, and he hurried to correct himself, amusement plain in his eyes. “I mean you know aside from Alise, of course.”

“Of course,” Tae muttered and ignored the response she got from the bride.

Moments later, she somehow ended up behind Daniel, her hands on his waist, and Jax behind her, his hands on her waist, all of them turned to the side, face toward the camera. Both men were ridiculously tall, so she felt like the meat to their bread, which wouldn’t be a bad thing in a fantasy, but not just after Daniel’s wedding. She willed the photographer and his assistant to hurry with the photos.

“Okay, now just you three.” The photographer pointed to Daniel, her, and Jax.

“Daniel,” Alise protested.

“Sweetheart, you took pictures with your friends.”

“Mine weren’t…
her
.”

Tae sighed. “You know what, I’m out.” She tried to walk away, but Jax caught her hand and dragged her back.

“It’s a picture, Tae,” Jax said under his breath.

“Why do you sound like I’m the one with the problem?” she bit back.

Alise and her girlfriends glared so hard Tae thought she’d catch fire at any second. She could only imagine how the pictures would come out, her in the middle of Daniel and Jax, miserable and trapped. The second all the clicking ended, Tae muttered an excuse and exited the room. She jetted down the hall and found the ladies’ room. Shoving the door wide, she paused at the small crowd and backed out. Another door farther down merited investigation, and she ducked her head in. A conference room presented itself. She slipped in and shut the door behind her, sighing. Her due diligence as Daniel’s friend had been done. She could leave and skip the reception. After everyone headed into the room where she’d spotted the congratulatory sign for the happy couple, and then she would make her escape.

While she leaned against the wall with her eyes closed and biding her time, the door next to her clicked open. Tae groaned and turned to see who disturbed her peace. Alise stood in the archway, offense radiating until the baby’s breath weaved into her silky locks quivered. She stepped into the room and shut the door behind her.

“You and I need to talk,” she quipped.

Tae yawned, touching the back of her fingers to her mouth. “I disagree. Nothing you have to say interests me. Go find your husband.”

Alise bristled. “What did you say to me?”

“Did I stutter?”

Alise stepped closer, but Tae raised a finger.

“Back up.”

“What?”

“Three seconds.”

The woman seemed to rethink getting in Tae’s face and returned to the door. “I’m not going there with you. I see the kind of woman you are, and I’m not letting you ruin my wedding day.”

“You don’t know me to say a word about the kind of woman I am, but I wouldn’t ruin anybody’s wedding day. I think it should be perfect in every way, something to look back on. As Daniel’s friend, I support him.”

“His friend?” Alise put her hands on her hips and laughed. “Who do you think you’re fooling? I know you want him back, but it’s too late. See this ring? It says Danny’s mine. You lost.”

Tae shook her head. “I didn’t know this was a contest, but since you know your husband so well, why don’t you know he hates being called Danny?”

Alise paled, and Tae pressed her advantage.

“Yeah, that’s right, but you don’t care, do you?”

“I love him! And he loves me calling him Danny. It’s our thing.” The simpering turned Tae’s stomach. She should have left no matter who didn’t like it. “I know you’re jealous. He told me how he broke up with you, and you kept chasing after him trying to get back together.”

Tae clenched her jaw. “Oh is that right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.” Alise touched a long French-tipped nail to her red lips. “I’m glad you came. Now you can see for yourself that he’s mine and back off. I let you have that photo session, but that’s it, and make no mistake, those pictures are going suspiciously missing the minute they come in.”

Tae strode toward the door, and Alise stumbled back as if she thought Tae was about to attack her. Tae put a hand on the doorknob. “Do whatever makes you happy, girlfriend. I don’t give a fat rat’s ass.”

She swung the door open and ran smack into Daniel. His hands came up to steady her when she would have toppled backward. “I’m sorry, Tae. I didn’t…” He glanced over her shoulder and must have spotted his wife. Worry creased his brow. “What’s going on?”

Tae wiggled out of his hold and stepped away. “Nothing. I’m leaving. Congratulations, Daniel.”

“Wait. Tae, you can’t leave. The reception is about to start.”

Words trembled on her lips to tell him to kiss her ass for claiming he had broken up with her and she chased after him, but she bit her tongue. She saw the disgust on Alise’s face and wanted to stay just to piss her off, but she would not be accused of chasing a married man on his wedding day. “I’m sorry, Daniel, I—”

“Never meant to pull the happy couple from their guests?” Jax’s hands dropped on her shoulders, and he squeezed gently and drew her back to his chest. She tensed. “You two get back in there. We’ll join you in a minute. Promise.”

Daniel hesitated, looking at her rather than his wife, and then he nodded and spun to face Alise. He held out his hand to her. “Come on, sweetheart. Your Aunt Helena has an early flight, so she wanted to present us with her gift early.”

Alise frowned. “That’s why I told them they should come the whole weekend and leave Monday! They’re ruining everything, Danny. If Aunt Helena leaves, I’m never speaking to her again.”

Daniel made soothing noises and led Alise down the hall. Tae watched them go in disbelief. “Wow, mature.”

“Isn’t she?” Jax chuckled.

Tae shook his hands off her shoulders and rounded on him. “Why did you stop me? She cornered me in that room and accused me of chasing after Daniel. I don’t need the drama, Jax. I’m leaving before I say something I’ll regret.”

“Say or do?”

She blinked at him. “I came. I supported him.”

“If you leave now, you’re only proving what she said is true.”

“No one who knows me believes that.”

“You’re right.”

Tae fell silent. She fought with a conviction to leave. Why were they even putting her into this position? One part of her felt like Jax was angry and he wanted her to stay to torture her, but he had no reason to feel that way. Not unless he didn’t like that she’d snuck out in the middle of the night. What about Daniel?

Jax seemed to read her mind. “He wants to think you’re okay.”

She frowned. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

His brows rose, and he stuck his hands in his pockets shrugging. “True. Why wouldn’t you be?”

She should run for her life, but she said, “I’ll stay.”

* * * *

The reception room burst at the seams with people who had attended the wedding and a few others who hadn’t. Tae sat at a table near the back, having switched out her name card from its position in a spot too close to the head table. She’d walked away from Jax after their conversation in the hall, and he didn’t follow. Later, he strode in and took his seat at the head table. A short while after that, Daniel and Alise Elliott were introduced to the guests, and everyone clapped and cheered. Tae’s stomach cramped. She stood and excused herself to use the bathroom. Since the reception had started, the facilities were empty, and she sighed in relief.

Standing at the sink and wetting a paper towel, she examined her face. Was she happy? Back then, all she thought about was advancing at work, progressing until she moved up from proofreader at the magazine to full-fledged editor. That goal had consumed her, and there hadn’t been room for anything else. Six months ago, she obtained her goal, and she loved her job, which was why she almost never took time off.

She thought of Alise. Daniel had told her his wife worked as a customer service rep at a vehicle advertising company. If Tae knew Daniel, she imagined Alise would be pregnant before the year was out. Daniel wasn’t exactly the kind of man who wanted his wife barefoot and pregnant, but he bordered on it.
Poor Alise.
Tae grinned at her reflection and dabbed her forehead with the tissue before tossing it in the trash. She left the ladies room and returned to the reception just in time to miss the newlyweds leaving her table.

“Oh, dear, you missed them.” Susan Somebody, her companion to the immediate right, had identified herself as a distant cousin. Tae’s mind had wandered at the part where she indicated whether she meant Daniel or Alise.

“No worries.” Tae grabbed the woman’s hand when she would have flagged down Daniel a few tables away. “I’ll catch them later.”

The older woman seemed disappointed and a little miffed at Tae. She turned to the person on the other side of her and started up a conversation about the beauty of the ceremony and how she believed Daniel and Alise were destined to be together for all eternity.

Tae lowered her lashes and toyed with her glass of water while she followed Daniel’s progress. He looked so good in his finery, so quietly confident, yet friendly. By comparison, Alise spoke too loud and commanded attention at each table, growing irritable if anyone focused too long on Daniel rather than her. Soon they climbed the elevated platform to the head table, and Alise proceeded to hold court like a queen. Her mini wedding dress showed off her best asset, her legs, and from the glassiness of her eyes, Tae guessed she’d drunk too much champagne. Now that she had a ring on her finger, she didn’t cling constantly to Daniel’s arm, or maybe her words to Tae earlier made her feel safe.
More power to her.
In fact, Alise showered more attention on the older man next to her, who Tae understood to be her mother’s boyfriend and not Alise’s father. Alise’s mother sat on the opposite side to this gentleman, a silent statue.

“Don’t they make a lovely couple?” Susan said, deciding to give Tae another chance.

“Yes, they do,” Tae agreed.

Susan chattered away, and Tae let her gaze wander to Jax. While she watched him, Jax stood and held up his glass. Tae realized servers had come around and provided everyone with champagne. She raised her own along with everyone else, and Jax started his speech. His deep voice rumbled over the audience, pitched to reach her in the back. He had dressed in a dark tux and crisp maroon shirt, with matching handkerchief. His bearing made ghosts of all the groomsmen. As she raised her glass to her lips following Jax’s lead, she noticed a lock of hair fall onto his forehead. A memory flashed through her mind, of her running her fingers through his hair last night while he wore her body out. She choked on the sip of champagne and pounded her chest.