I had invited Jay as my date, but there was nothing more than friendship between us. Even though almost a month had passed since Cason broke up with me, my heart—and body—still belonged to him.
Becca and her husband posed for pictures, along with the rest of the wedding party, while the guests moved to the inside of the barn for the reception area. It was very country chic, simplistic but also classic.
“What was your wedding like?” Jay asked, as he grabbed us each a beer from the tin tub filled with ice.
“We married in a church and had the reception outside,” I said. “It feels like a lifetime ago. I was a different man back then.”
“I like the man you are now, Cross.” Jay took a drink and eyed a guy who walked in front of us.
“Foley,” I warned, narrowing my eyes. “That’s Becca’s cousin and he is straight. Don’t even think about it.”
“What?” he asked in mock innocence. “I wasn’t going to do anything.”
“Uh-huh.”
We found a table and sat as Becca’s mom and aunts served the food. Becca was certainly not a typical bride. She’d wanted pulled-pork sandwiches, fried chicken, and fried okra for her wedding.
“Pretty nice, yeah?” Jay asked, looking around. “Not really my style, though.”
“The country décor?”
“No, the wedding.”
“You don’t think you’ll ever get married?” I asked.
Jay shook his head. “Not in the cards for me, Cross.”
As a girl approached us and started talking to Jay—no surprise there—I grabbed my phone and went to my photos, looking at the pictures I’d taken when Cason and I went hiking. In one of them, he stood on a big rock and posed like a superhero. Another was a selfie of both of us—him making a funny face as I smiled at him.
The hole in my heart refused to sew back together. I missed him every damn day.
“Stop,” Jay said, snatching my phone away. The girl had walked off. “You look like a little lost puppy.”
“I know.” I put my face in my hands and mumbled, “I’m pathetic.”
“Which is exactly why I won’t ever fall in love.” Jay winked at a group of Becca’s friends as they walked by, and one nearly tripped. He flirted with anyone and everyone. Freaking manwhore.
“You have no control over that,” I said. “The day will come, Foley, and when it does, you’ll be a little lost puppy too.”
“We’ll see.”
When Becca and Bill entered the barn, she had changed into a casual white dress that fanned out around her knees. Instead of heels, she wore flats.
“Thank you so much for being here,” she said once seeing me.
“Congratulations.” I kissed her on the cheek. “You look stunning.” I then shook Bill’s hand and congratulated him as well.
Jay and I stayed for an hour or so after that before I was ready to go. Too much social interaction drained me. I found Becca and gave her an envelope filled with two tickets for an all-expenses paid trip to the Bahamas. I had okayed it with Bill first so I wouldn’t interfere with any other honeymoon plans they might’ve had. She was over the moon excited.
“That was nice of you,” Jay said, as we walked to his car. He had unbuttoned his suit jacket and let it hang open.
“Becca’s earned a nice trip after putting up with me for so many years.”
“Can’t argue there.” Jay unlocked the doors and got into the driver’s side. “You can be a stubborn bastard when you want to be.”
“Probably why you and I get along so well.”
He smirked.
