“What’s up?”
“So, Avery and I have been talking a lot these past few days about getting married. I think we want to do it sooner rather than later. I want to adopt Brooklyn as soon as we’re married.”
“That’s awesome, man.”
“Well, it looks like we might be getting married on March first.”
“Really? As in this March? Wow, that’s great…and soon.”
“Yeah, I want to get the adoption ball rolling the Monday after the wedding. We’ve already met with the attorney who will handle the process. The problem is that Avery actually put Drake’s name on the birth certificate so we have to go through the process of posting it and giving him a chance to respond. It pisses me off that he could have any say or input in this.”
“I should have just killed him and buried his body in the timber when I had the chance,” I reply, my body tense and filled with anger. Drake Connor doesn’t deserve to have any say in this matter. He lost that right the day he abandoned my pregnant sister.
“I agree with you completely. That brings us back to the wedding. I need a best man. You interested?”
I’m humbled by the thought of standing next to my best friend as he gets married to my little sister. “I’d be honored, man.” Maddox slaps my shoulder in a gesture of appreciation.
“Thanks. I couldn’t imagine doing it without you next to me.”
My best friend’s words hit me hard in the chest and it’s hard to swallow over the lump in my throat. “You know back when I found out that you and Avery were dating behind my back? I said that you didn’t deserve her. I’ve never been more wrong about something before in my life.”
“You weren’t wrong, Jake. I didn’t deserve her. She’s, frankly, the best person I’ve ever met, and I had some growing up to do. But, even though I may not deserve her, no one will love her the way I do. She makes me want to be the man who does deserve her. She is my heart and my life; her and Brooklyn.”
Without even thinking, I step in and give my best friend a hug. Not that tough-slap-your-hand-on-the-back kind of hug, but a full blown hug.
“You’re a good man, Maddox Jackson. Make my sister happy and shit.” We both laugh as we step out of the embrace. “So does that mean I get to plan a kick-ass bachelor party?” I ask with a huge smile on my face.
“Of course, but no strippers. I don’t want to piss off Avery.”
“Ohhhhhh, my friend, there will be strippers!”
“I’ll remember this for when it’s your turn,” he throws back at me with a laugh.
“Well, you’ll be waiting for a long time because I’m never getting married.”
“You say that now. Just wait. It’ll happen.”
My mind instantly fills with images of Erin. If I ever decided to settle down, I could entertain the idea of settling down with her. Good thing that’ll never happen for me. Though, the thought of Erin settling down with someone else doesn’t set well either. It actually kind of pisses me off.
Where is this jealousy coming from? I’ve never been jealous of anyone. If a woman I’m with wants to flirt and talk with someone else, let her. There’s another one just like her waiting in the wing. But the thought of Erin touching, laughing with, or marrying another man sends me into a funk I’ve never experienced before.
“Wow, what just happened there? You just had the weirdest look come over your face and now you look like you could punch a puppy,” Maddox asks as he takes another pull of his beer.
“Nothing,” I say as I take another big drink of my beer.
“Whatever. Something just happened. If I had to guess, I’d say it had something to do with a hot little redhead?”
“Shut up. I wasn’t even thinking about her,” I say as I walk over to fridge to get another beer.
“It’s okay if you were. I’m just giving you a hard time. I do believe you deserve a little harassment back after the hell you gave me over Avery.”
“You deserved all of that. I deserve nothing. There’s nothing going on,” I say as I turn back around to face him.
“I might actually believe that if I didn’t bear witness to the kiss in my backyard. I thought I was going to have to turn on the sprinklers to cool you both down,” he mouths off with a chuckle.
We stand there for a few moments doing the stare-down, both of us knowing that I’m completely full of shit. “Fine. I like her. End of story.”
“If you say so. I’ll let it go for now, but I have a feeling we’ll be talking about Miss Erin Anderson a bunch more in the future. Come on, let’s go see if my daughter’s up from her nap so we can hang those book shelves in her room.” And with that, we walk out of the man cave and head in the house.