Free May the Best Man Win by Mira Lyn Kelly Page B

getting engaged.”
    Not the way Delphine had been talking. But apparently that was behind them. And now Emily was going to be standing up in her friend’s wedding, and Jase was too.
    Emily felt her lip start to tremble and she blinked, but the tears were coming as quickly as the words tumbling past her lips. “I’m at least five inches taller than the other girls.”
    Jase nodded, his brows furrowed as he stroked a comforting thumb over the sensitive inner skin of her elbow.
    â€œBrody’s the only guy even close, and I’ve got an easy three on him.”
    Emily blinked again, peering up into Jase’s face as she gave in to the tears completely.
    â€œBut I hate you.”
    â€œI know, honey.” He pulled her to his chest, closing those powerful arms around her back so all she could do was crumble into him. “I feel the same way.”
    God, how could he make her feel so much better? How could burrowing her face against his shoulder feel so right?
    She drew a shaky breath, catching the scent of his cologne as he brushed his fingers through her hair. And then something wholly different from the overwhelming frustration that had sent her running from the table moved through her body. Something warm and quiet. An awareness that shouldn’t be there.
    Jase turned his head, speaking quietly into her ear. “We’ll be through this in no time. It’s not going to be like with Sally and Romeo where we’ve had to be in each other’s laps for months at a stretch.”
    He paused and Emily tried not to think about what it might be like to venture into his lap. This man who was so much bigger than she was. She never sat in guys’ laps because she was self-conscious about looking like her legs would fold up from the floor. But when Jase said it, she imagined a totally different visual.
    Completely inappropriate.
    â€œThey’ll have an engagement party. A shower. The rehearsal dinner and then the next day, done. It’ll be stretched out over six months. Easy.”
    She knew what he was saying. That she wouldn’t have him in front of her every other day. That when she saw him, it wouldn’t be like reopening this raw wound. They’d smile politely and then, if they were lucky, have five, maybe ten minutes to spit nasty somethings into each other’s ears.
    It would be fine.
    But suddenly Emily couldn’t take comfort in that future.
    It didn’t feel like a relief to think she wouldn’t be seeing him.
    Slowly, Emily shifted within Jase’s comforting hold. She turned her head so she could see his face. Because something was different, something she didn’t understand. And maybe for once, it felt like Jase might have the answer for her. The answer she needed.
    His eyes met hers, the deep blue of them seeming to darken even as she watched. The look in them leaving her feeling vulnerable. Exposed. Uncertain.
    Aware.
    â€œJase?”
    He took a step back, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
    â€œWe’re good?” he asked, looking again like the Jase she’d known forever. The Jase who didn’t make her feel things she shouldn’t.
    â€œYeah, I’m good.”

Chapter 8
    December
    Emily woke up with a hangover.
    Not exactly her MO when it came to bridesmaid duties, but the night before had been a trial, to say the least. Half the wedding party hadn’t made it to the rehearsal, thanks to Mother Nature sticking it to Sally with the near-blizzard conditions that had blocked roads and brought down power lines in the western suburbs.
    Emily had only made it out of the city herself because she’d taken the afternoon off to spend with Sally at the Willsons’ house and then stayed overnight.
    From the groom’s side, only Brody and two of Romeo’s cousins had been able to make it through. Which had given her another day’s reprieve from seeing Jase again. One she’d gladly taken, and today, well,