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CHAPTER ONE
Curtis
“You ready for this?” Cord Gentry asked in the parking lot of the tuxedo rental shop.
The question came across like a challenge. Maybe it was.
After all, Cord had a lot of roles to fulfill. Brother, husband, friend, business owner. But I knew him well enough to understand he took no title more seriously than that of father.
A very overprotective father.
Dalton had to realize that too so his first response was a wide grin.
“I’m ready,” he promised and swung his tuxedo around to drape over his right shoulder.
“You’d better be,” Cord said, his expression serious as his blue eyes appraised the man who would be his son-in-law by this time tomorrow. Cord liked Dalton. I knew he did. It was almost impossible to find a serious flaw in Dalton Tremaine. He was honest, steadfast and successful at everything he did. He treated people with kindness and had a hell of a sense of humor. Most importantly, he was completely smitten with Camille Gentry.
Still, despite Dalton’s long list of assets, he was marrying Cord’s daughter and that had to be a bittersweet pill for any devoted father to swallow.
Dalton gave no hint that he minded Cord’s scrutiny. Those of us who loved the Gentry girls understood that meeting the approval of the Gentry men would always come with the territory.
“You haven’t got a thing to worry about, Cord,” Dalton assured him.
“Everything about tomorrow is gonna be perfect,” I added. “After all, this has got to be the most carefully planned wedding in history.”
That was no lie. The extended Gentry family was large and fiercely loyal. Over a year of preparation had been poured into Cami and Dalton’s wedding day. There was no shortage of talent and dedication among the various members of Cord’s family and if I were a betting man I would wager that the Gentry family could rule the world if they felt like it.
Cord seemed satisfied. “Then I guess I’ll see you boys tomorrow,” he said with confidence. He didn’t wait for a response before heading toward his pickup truck while carrying his own plastic-wrapped rented tuxedo.
Dalton and I each raised a hand to wave goodbye as Cord drove away in the summer dusk. But when Cord’s taillights disappeared around the corner Dalton exhaled with obvious relief.
I laughed. “Was it getting a little hot there under the microscope?”
He snorted. “I should be used to it.”
“You are.”
Dalton raised an eyebrow. “Something you and I have in common, huh?”
I smiled. “Truth.”
It was kind of an inside joke between the two of us. We both had dicks and we both breathed air but the fact remained that if Dalton and I hadn’t fallen for the Gentry sisters we would never have found ourselves in the same world. He was a charismatic former pro athlete who’d spent years rubbing elbows with the A List crowd, whereas I used to be a high school dropout gang member who’d spent years dodging the law. But I was in love with Cassie Gentry and tomorrow Dalton would be marrying her twin sister so we were accidental allies even if we weren’t in the habit of BFF-ing it up all over the place. Besides, I genuinely liked the guy. He must have felt the same way on some level because he’d asked me to be one of the groomsmen at his wedding, an honor that could have gone to any of his thousand plus friends.
“I bet Cord’s assuming we were just looking to get rid of him and start the sleazy bachelor party,” I joked.
Dalton mulled that over. “Possibly.”
“So what are your pre-wedding plans?”
“Nothing as exotic as a sleazy bachelor party. Cami’s been busy with last minute prep and I suspect she’d rather keep me out of the way.” He rubbed his jaw while musing about his bride. “She’s been superstitious about certain things, like not allowing me to see her in her wedding dress. Anyway, she’s staying at her folks’ house tonight so I told my brother I’d hang out with him and maybe grab a late dinner.”
“I thought I’d see Hale here,” I said. “I just figured he’d be picking up his tux at the same time as the rest of us.”
Dalton scanned the parking lot as if expecting his brother to materialize on his Harley. On the surface the two of them were as opposite as two brothers could be. Hale was closer to the kind of guy I was used to dealing with. Rough around the edges, unpredictable. Spending my formative years on the streets had sharpened my instincts for dangerous men. I didn’t know Hale all that well but I suspected he had a few unsavory surprises lurking under those hooded dark eyes. Those were thoughts I kept to myself.
“Hale always does things on his own time,” said Dalton with a shrug. Then he looked at me. “Hey Curtis, you’re welcome to come along if you’re interested in consuming mass quantities of wings and nachos while listening to my sentimental babble about what a lucky guy I am.”
It was a nice offer. But I had a much better one waiting for me at home. While we were inside the tuxedo shop Cassie had texted with a few words that spoke straight to my dick. Damn, I loved that girl.