Noah opened his mouth, words obviously poised on the tip of his tongue, but the girl leveled slitted eyes on their dumbass friend and hmphed. “Doesn’t sound like it would be much of a bachelor party with some random female tagging along.”
Before Micky could provoke her with more inane comments, Noah launched into a series of stammering apologies and excuses as he tried his damnedest to countermand Micky’s invitation. It was a lame effort overall—not that Reece could have done any better—but the girl got the message. Not that she would have gone with them anyway; she looked a whole hell of a lot smarter than that.
After she left the room, Noah hurled a barrage of insults Micky’s way but stopped when his phone rang. Reece snatched it from a table where Noah had deposited it and noticed Hailey’s smiling face lighting up the screen.
“It’s Hail. Want me to answer?”
Noah held out his hand. “No, I’ll take it.” He thumbed the device while the tailor finished up his work on the hem. “Hey, surfer girl. What’s up?” Noah’s eyes went round, and his mouth slid open. He raised his hand in a hold-everything motion. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down, sweetheart. Can you repeat that?” His brows knotted together as Hailey’s voice sounded in shrill tones. Reece couldn’t make out what she was saying, but her distress was unmistakable.
Noah’s gaze took a circuit around the room, landing on each one of them. “I’m finishing up at the tux place with the guys. Okay if I put you on speaker?”
While he made the switch, the tailor quietly brought himself upright from his crouch, picked up his tools, and eased out of the room.
Hailey’s words filled the space, sounding as though she was out of breath. “There was a fire at Silver Summit!”
Reece exchanged alarmed glances with Shane. Why hadn’t they been called in? Oh, right. Shane was off duty, and Reece wascompletelyoff duty.
“Half of the kitchen and dining room were involved, and they’re going to be shut down for God knows how long! Leo just called to let me know we can’t hold the wedding there.” Now her voice morphed into one quavering with tears. “What are we going to do, Noah? There aren’t any other venues this late.”
Noah’s eyes flicked to Reece and Charlie. “We could always hold it at the tavern.”
“I don’t want to start our married life at the tavern! I wanted something nice, fun, different. God, I was so looking forward to getting married there.” She hiccupped a sob.
“Mom and Dad’s house?”
“No!”
“It’s all torn up,” Charlie said at the same time Hailey did.
More sobs escaped, and panic bloomed in Noah’s eyes. “We’ll figure it out, sweetheart. How about the guys and I hit a few of the hotels here in GJ and see if they can accommodate us?”
“I don’t want to get married in Grand Junction!” Now she was verging on hysterical, which was completely out of character for her, and it tugged at something deep inside Reece. He couldn’t imagine what it was doing to Noah’s insides.
“Then we won’t,” Noah soothed. “Let me make some calls. I promise, we’ll figure this out and make it right, okay? I’ll head home as soon as we’re done here.” He shook his head. “What? No, we’re skipping the bachelor party.”
Micky’s mouth dropped open, and he flopped his hands out. “Dude, seriously?”
Reece gestured for Shane to follow him outside, and Charlie fell in behind. Reece plucked his phone out of his back pocket and dialed Silver Summit. “This is Reece Hunnicutt. I’d like to speak to Leo Cantrell.”
“I’m sorry, but Mr. Cantrell isn’t available right now,” a receptionist clipped. “He’s tied up with an emergency, and I have no idea when he’ll be free.”
Charlie held up a finger and freed his own phone. “Hang up,” he mouthed.
Confused, Reece complied. “Why?”
“I’ve got his cell number.” Charlie scrolled through his phone and tapped. “Cantrell? Yeah, this is Charlie Hunnicutt.” Charlie nodded along for what seemed an eternity, his eyes shifting between Reece and Shane. “That’s a generous offer. Let me run it by the bride and groom and get back to you.” Charlie ended the call on a huge exhale.
“What did he say?” Reece pressed.
Just then, Noah and Micky emerged. The wind whipped around them on the exposed sidewalk, and Reece pulled his scarf tighter around his neck.
Charlie ignored the question and looked straight at Noah. “I just spoke to Cantrell. He feels like shit about having to cancel, but he has a proposal.”
“Which is?” Noah prompted.
“He offered to fly us—the wedding party—to Las Vegas in his private jet. He has a buddy who owns the Eterna Luxe, and someone just canceled their reservation for the penthouse, so he got his friend to let us have it gratis for one night. There’s enough room for us all. But he says we need to decide fast because they’ll only hold it for so long. He also offered that when Silver Summit reopens, you can hold an after-wedding reception there at no cost for the room. All you’d have to cover is the catering.” Charlie paused while the news settled in. “What do you think?” He waggled his eyebrows.
Reece tamped down his annoyance and ground his back molars to keep his mouth shut. Jesus, Cantrell enjoyed throwing around his millions and his billionaire connections.Fucking showboat!No wonder Neve was falling for the guy. He had the wherewithal to serve her the world on a platinum platter. Literally.
