The Best Man
Beth Chase is too busy
planning perfect weddings to worry about the lack of action in her own
love life. But if she was looking for a man, she wouldn’t be looking at
Colin Pratt. Her boss swears that Best Man Colin is a quiet scholar and
science fiction writer who couldn’t possibly cause a fuss at his own
brother’s wedding. He’s clearly never met the man in question. Snarky,
sexy and more than a little inebriated, Colin is the final obstacle
between Beth and the last perfect wedding she needs to make partner. Of
course, when she helps him into a taxi at the end of the night she has
no idea that he’s only just begun to poke holes in her professional
exterior. Colin might have the skills to seduce a romance professional,
but can he convince her that he’s the best man to share her happy ever
after?
*Recommended by Happy Ever After
(USA Today!)
Excerpt:
© 2013 Ana Blaze
BETH CHASE TOOK A deep breath and blew out, slowly counting to five. All the signs of an
imminent disaster were there. That’s why her boss had left it up to her. Eli
was no fool; he was making sure that when everything went to shit, he wasn’t
around to take the blame. Of course she’d known that when she accepted. The
fact was opportunities like this one didn’t come around very often, and nailing
this impossible wedding was Beth’s final step up the incredibly long staircase
to full partner at Ever After Weddings. It didn’t matter how annoying the bride
was or how many times the groom’s mother had a new, last minute idea, Beth was
going to smile and give them their perfect day. There were no other options; she
was a professional.
She was also pissed.
Beth held her hand out and smiled
broadly. “Tony, give me your shirt.”
“What?” Her assistant slumped, but he
quickly complied with her request. As he unbuttoned his white dress shirt and passed
it to her a small sigh indicated his displeasure, but he kept his complaint to
himself.
Beth accepted it and took the
incredibly drunk best man by the arm. “You,
come with me.” She struggled to keep the irritation out of her voice as she led
the man down the hall. Luckily, she’d kept the jacket to his tux, so he hadn’t ruined
it as well.
“Sorry, love. I’ve got a wedding to
attend. Another time, maybe.” His British accent surprised her, since his
brother spoke with a distinct Irish lilt.
“I know you’re in the wedding, Colin. That’s
why we’re going to get you all handsome so you can stand up there with your
brother on his big day. You don’t want to let him down, do you?” She tugged him
into the bathroom and locked the door behind them. Nervous grooms sometimes got
drunk before the ceremony, and Beth had seen a fair number of slightly hung
over groomsmen, but finding a best man this wasted before he arrived at the
church was a first. It was pathetic, it was selfish, and it was a million other
things Beth Chase had no time for.
“Let him …” He laughed hoarsely for a
few seconds before ending with a hiccup that sounded like a sob.
“Whoa. It’s okay. We’re going to get you fixed
up.” She gave him a smile as she tugged
his wrinkled shirt out of his pants. “It’s
going to be a wonderful wedding.”
“My grandparents were married in this
church.”
“Oh? How sweet. Your brother decided
to come all this way to get married in the same church.”
He grabbed her arm. “No! Not his
mother’s parents. Mine. It’s my bloody wedding. Didn’t anybody tell you?”
Beth stopped for a second. This was a
new one. Being in the business for five years, she’d thought she’d seen it all.
Clearly, she’d been mistaken. The man in front of her was a mess — worse than
drunk. He looked broken. His eyes were bloodshot and she wondered if he’d been
crying. Beth placed her hand on his arm.
“Colin, this is your brother’s wedding. Remember? He and Andrea are getting
married today.”
“I’m not crazy, Miss … Miss … Who the
hell are you again?”
“Beth Chase, from Ever After
Weddings. I’m here to make sure everything goes smoothly.” She gave Tony’s shirt a shake and walked
around Colin’s back to help him into it.
He laughed. “No worries, Team Evil
can keep my fiancée. Not gonna steal her back.”
Colin brushed away her hands and began buttoning the shirt.
“You and Andrea were together?” This
was exactly the type of information she needed ahead of time to prepare for
this sort of mess.
“That’s what I’ve been saying.” He
sighed and gave up on the buttons.
Beth finished the job and helped him
with his bow tie. “Tuck in your shirt and now the jacket.” Beth helped Colin
into it and studied the results. Better. Still, it appeared that Colin had
slept with wet hair — perhaps outside on a bench during a hurricane. On one
side, his hair was matted nearly flat, and on the other it stood up straight.
She wet her hands at the sink and ran her fingers though his curls. “Much better. I knew there was a good-looking
guy under there somewhere.”
Beth washed her hands before locating
the mints and eye drops in her bag. “Just a couple of final touches …” She
held out the container of mints. Instead of grabbing one, Colin produced a
flask from his pocket. Beth frowned.
He took a drink and held it out to
her. “Look, it has my initials. He took
my girl and my wedding, but he gave me a fancy bottle with my name on it. Quite
a deal.” Beth held her hand out for the flask. He pulled it away and gave her a
stern look. “You shouldn’t drink before the weddin’, love. It’s naughty.”
Beth’s lips twitched. “In that case,
maybe you should just let me hold it until later for you.”
He frowned. “Best I carry it. I’ll
carry your bag, too.” He picked up the tote. “What’s in this thing?”
Beth laughed and took her bag back.
She slung her tote over her shoulder and used his momentary distraction to
claim the flask. “A girl never knows what she might need. I like to be
prepared.”
“Prepared for what? Zombie apocalypse?”
“Eat this.” She handed him a mint and smiled
as he popped it in to his mouth. “Good. Now, lean back.” She squeezed a drop of
Visine into each eye.
He blinked and scowled. “Why are
doing this to me?”
Beth shrugged. “Sorry. It’s my job.
Now, show me the rings.”
“I threw them out with the
bathwater.”
She gasped.
He chuckled and pulled a small box
out of his pants pocket. “Got the rings right here.” He opened the box and
showed her the two diamond-encrusted rings inside. “They’re a bit ostentatious,
but you can try them on if you like.” He frowned. “Won’t fit you, though.
You’re rather tiny … and bossy. Why are you so bloody bossy?”
Beth closed the box and pushed it towards him.
“Put this back in your pocket and don’t take it out until the minister asks.”
“I’m not an idiot. I know how to hold
the rings.”
“Perfect.” She took his arm and
walked him out of the bathroom and over to the chapel. “Now, you just walk up
the aisle with the pretty maid of honor and stand next your brother.”
Colin snorted. “Mindy hasn’t been a
maid in a long time. Bet I’m the only bloke here she hasn’t shagged.”
Mindy turned to scowl at him. “Thank
God Andrea came to her senses and decided to marry a real man.”
Colin chuckled. Beth plastered on a
smile. “Okay the music is starting — everyone get in your places.” She tapped
the shoulder of a small, dark-haired girl wearing an elaborate and
uncomfortable-looking dress. “You’re on, sweetie. Big smile.” She turned and waved to the next group.
“Bridesmaids and groomsmen.” She bit
back a laugh at their dresses and nodded. “You all look lovely,” she lied.
Andrea had clearly taken advantage of her ability to make her friends look like
crap. “And now the maid of honor and the best man.”
Colin yanked Mindy by the arm. “Come
on, trollop of honor.”
“Jackass,” Mindy whispered loudly, before
pasting on a toothy smile and marching down the aisle.
Beth watched them for only a second.
The potential for trouble from the best man was clear, but she had things under
control. She turned to give the bride a big smile. “You look stunning,” she
gushed. When everyone was in place, she signaled to the organist to play the
march and sent Andrea and her father up the aisle. Then she dialed Eli’s
number.
“Hello there,” he answered, “I assume
the Pratt Wedding is going splendidly.”
“Give me the story, Eli. Now.”
“Whatever do you mean?”
“Eli, I’m in no mood for the games.
Tell me what I need to know or I will start sending your assistants to the
downtown dry cleaner.”
Eli gasped. “You wouldn’t. They
turned my favorite Ralph Lauren jacket a hideous shade of green.”
“I would.”
“Fine. The bride was engaged to the
little brother. He brought her home to meet the family and she apparently
decided she likes her men a little taller and a lot dumber. She ditched him for
the big lug, but no one told him that was why she’d called things off until
last week. Oh, and she kept all the wedding reservations she’d made with
brother number one to use with brother number two. Vicious, but practical.
Someone should give that woman a reality show. … I smell a hit.”
“Why is he standing up as best man?”
“Daddy doesn’t take no for an answer,
I guess. I wouldn’t worry about him making a scene though, he’s the quiet type.
A writer or a professor maybe … something about Oxford … I don’t remember. The
point is: he’s the responsible type, like you.”
“Right. Anything else?”
“Nope. That’s the whole sordid tale
as far as I know. Now stop worrying and go run a wedding so I can get the rave
reviews I need to consider your promotion.”
“There’s nothing to consider, Eli.
You already agreed to make me a full partner after this wedding.”
“We’ll talk when I hear they got
hitched without a hitch. Now, let me get back to my facial.”
Beth hung up and returned to the
chapel doorway to watch the ceremony. The bride and groom both liked to hear
themselves talk, and had chosen vows that allowed them to indulge that interest.
Her gaze wandered back to the best man; she felt bad for him. Colin didn’t
belong at this wedding.
He wanted to make a scene. Fair or not,
it was her job to stop him.
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