InHap*pily Ever After (Incidental Happenstance) (48 page)

However,
a meeting with Preston Truitt didn’t happen every day and not only would he be
stupid not to take it, but the invitation had caught him so off guard that he
couldn’t think of a possible viable excuse not to go. He took one glance at her
expectant look and realized he’d already waited too long before answering.
“That’s amazing!” he said, forcing a smile. “I can’t wait to meet him!” He took
a healthy pull of his gin and tonic and didn’t even flinch when Tiffany’s hand
firmly settled between his legs.
Yeah,
he thought bitterly,
you’ve
got me by the balls all right, and you don’t even know it.

            Dylan had told
him that he by no means expected him to show up at their engagement party in
Chicago; in fact, he’d pretty much ordered him to stay home and rest. Fat
chance. Bo was itching to get out of the house and take his life back and even
if his mother didn’t agree, the doctors were all for it. He felt like a new
man—he looked and felt better than he had in a long time and he’d be losing
both the cast and the boot within a week. He was the best man, damn it, and
there was no way he was missing the only formal celebration of his best
friend’s engagement. The guys hadn’t been all together since they’d gathered in
his hospital room, and it would be great to see them and show them he was not
only prepared to fulfill his best man obligations, but he was also more than
ready to get into the studio and start on the new album.

            Lexi would be
there too, he was sure, and he hoped that seeing her in person would help him
get to the bottom of the only thing from the accident that was still
unresolved. He couldn’t have cared less that he didn’t remember New Year’s Eve,
but he damn sure wanted to know what happened during or after the filming of
After
Dark
that left him with deep feelings of guilt and regret. No matter how
many times he watched the video of that damn show, he couldn’t remember any of
it; and despite the fact that he and Lexi looked like they really enjoyed each
other’s company, every time he saw her image on the screen he felt a profound
sense of sadness that he couldn’t explain.

            He had all
sorts of fabulous memories of her, but for some reason, he felt some sort of
break
;
some separation. No matter what he did he couldn’t get clarity, so he hoped
desperately that seeing her would fill in some of the gaps.

            He strolled
into the swanky room and swept his eyes over the crowd. Ty and Angelo saw him first;
from behind a bar where they were mixing up one of their famous concoctions;
and he waved his casted arm.

            “Bobo!” Ty
yelled across the room, slamming the metal cocktail shaker on the bar and
rushing over to greet him with Angelo in tow. They pulled him into a group hug
and then backed up to look him up and down. “Looking good, brother!” Angelo
said. “Good to see you up and about. Dyl’s going to be so excited you made it.”

            “Great party,”
Lexi said when Tia finally had a chance to sit down and have a bite to eat.
Lexi and Ryan both had plates filled with delicious offerings; sushi, finger
sandwiches, and Mediterranean dips with warm pita.

            “It is nice,
isn’t it?” Tia agreed, plowing into a pile of hummus with a broccoli spear.
“I’m so happy for my mom…she really wanted to do this, and it’s turned out
better than I expected.” Tia had been hesitant to let her mother put together
an engagement party—she’d already celebrated with her own friends and was
worried it might turn into a country club outing with a lot of people vying for
Dylan’s attention. Instead, it was an eclectic mix of people from all walks of
life mingling over cocktails and finger food, and she was really enjoying it.
Rock stars in torn jeans chatted with society ladies and college professors;
and her teacher friends mixed it up with movie stars and football players. She
turned to see her mother laughing with Tony Granger, who’d been circulating the
room like he owned it; flirting with the ladies and laughing with the men.
Jessa had put out the invitation to a lot of Dylan’s celebrity friends, and Tia
was surprised at how many of them had actually shown up; some of them coming a
long way to be here.

            “I’m so glad
you could both come,” she said, mostly for Ryan’s sake. He’d pretty much been
sitting in the same spot since they’d arrived, moving only to get more food or
refresh his gin and tonic, and Lexi was staying with him out of solidarity.
There was a tension there that she couldn’t quite put her finger on—she hoped
they weren’t fighting again.

            “Wouldn’t miss
it,” he said absently.

            Dylan rushed
over and tapped her on the shoulder, pointing toward the door. “Oh my gosh—Bo’s
here!” Tia exclaimed. “I thought he was supposed to be resting…I’ll be back.”
She jumped up and got to Bo just after Dylan did, wrapping her arms around him
and giving him a good squeeze. “It’s so good to see you; you look great!” She
held him at arm’s length and gave him a once-over. “You really do, but should
you even be here? Did the doctor say it was OK for you to fly?”

            Bo grinned.
“Hell, darlin’, I’m Superman. No doctor’s gonna tell me what I can and can’t
do. No way I was missing this little party. I’m your biggest fan, you know.”

            Dylan pulled
her close. “Second biggest,” he said, “at best. It is great of you to come,
mate, but I’ll ask the same question. Did you get this trip OK’d by your docs?”
            “I’m here, aren’t I?” he said, then patted Dylan on the shoulder.
“Chill out, Strummer Boy. The docs OK’d it, and I wouldn’t have come if I
wasn’t sure I could do it.”

            “Why doesn’t
that make me feel any better?” Dylan mused. “Ah, what the hell, I’m really glad
you’re here. It isn’t the same without the best man.”

            “I knew you’d
miss me,” Bo grinned. “So you got anything to eat in this dump? I could use
some real food—my nurse has been force-feeding me these horrendous green
smoothies, and my body’s more than ready for a rebellion.”

            Tia was
tugging him by the hand. “There’s tons. But first, I want to introduce you to
my parents. I’ve told them so much about you.”

            Bo grinned and
shook Will’s hand, then took Danielle’s, turned it over, and kissed it, in his
typical style. “Well,” he said warmly, “I can certainly see where Tia gets her
good looks, Mrs. Hastings.” Danielle blushed, and he continued. “I have to tell
you that I just love your daughter. She’s an incredible person, and she’s so
perfect for Dylan.”

             “Bo is
Dylan’s best man,” Tia smiled. “He’s the drummer for Inhap.”

            Recognition
lit up in their eyes. “Of course!” Will exclaimed. “I’ve heard so much about
you, Bo,” he said, glancing sideways at Lexi, who was watching anxiously from
across the room. Bo’s eyes were scanning the crowd, and he seemed nervous
himself. “All good, of course,” he added quickly.

            “Well,
probably only half of it’s true then,” Bo joked. “I’ve heard a lot about you as
well. Tia had a real internal struggle about keeping Dylan’s true identity from
you guys, you know.”

            “We know,”
Will agreed, “but we definitely understand why she did it. We also understand
that you were a real help to her on a number of occasions, Bo. We appreciate
that you’ve been such a good friend to her.”

            Bo shrugged it
off. “That was nothing,” he said casually. “Glad to do it.”

            “We’re so
relieved to see that you’ve recovered from your accident,” Danielle said. Are
you pretty well healed?”

            “Almost good
as new. Better even,” Bo smiled.

            Lexi’s heart
beat a little too quickly for her liking and she could feel the blood rushing
up to flush her cheeks. Ryan had made no secret of the fact that he didn’t want
to be here, and seemed to be purposefully making sure she didn’t have a good
time. For the first week after they made up, he’d been attentive and
apologetic, but ever since then he’d been edgy and unpredictable. She tried to
be the supportive fiancé, not complaining about his long hours and seemingly
endless meetings, but something had definitely changed in their relationship,
and she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was. He was hot and
cold—mostly cold—and she could feel a distance between them that had never been
there before. He didn’t respond to her texts for hours and often didn’t even
pick up the phone when she called. God, she couldn’t even remember the last
time they’d had sex. She knew going in that he was going to be less than
thrilled about attending this party and being diminished; in his own mind;
under Dylan’s shadow, but she hadn’t expected him to sulk the whole time they
were here.

             Ryan had
staked out a place in the back of the room as soon as they’d arrived, and only
moved to get more food or alcohol. He refused to mingle, and made little snide
remarks when she returned after making some rounds to chat with people. He was
aloof whenever she introduced him, and barely even said hello to Tia’s parents.
And now, Bo was here.

            She watched as
Tia led him over to meet Will and Danielle, and seeing him turn on his usual
charms made her feel a sense of relief and lightness. She’d have to say
something to him, obviously, but already felt the discomfort of not only the
way they’d left things the last time they saw each other, but of Ryan’s
increased tension. “I see you freaking looking at him, Lexi. I know you’re just
dying to go over and say hello.”

            “Damn it,
Ryan, you’ve been a downer all night…what’s up with you? He was in a serious
accident that almost killed him, and he’s a friend. Yes, I want to say hello
and see how he’s doing. Don’t worry; I’m not going to ask him to sneak over to
my place later, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

            “Maybe not,
but if I wasn’t here, you’d be running into his arms so he could tell you how
beautiful you are.”

            “You need to
ease up on the cocktails, Ry,” she snarled between gritted teeth, “and you
seriously need to get over yourself. He’s a great guy—give him a chance.” She
hoped that Bo would give
her
a chance. Maybe seeing her with Ryan would
dispel the suspicion that she’d been hitting on him; although Ryan was being a
serious an ass and they weren’t exactly coming off as the couple of the year.
She hated that she felt awkward about seeing Bo—it was the complete opposite of
the relationship they’d built in England.

            Bo decided he
liked Tia’s parents right away, especially after they told him how many great
things they’d heard about him. He chatted with them for a few minutes, and then
excused himself to get something to eat. He stopped in the middle of the room
and swept it with his eyes—and then he saw her. The instant their gazes
connected it all came flooding back to him and he was back there again—in the
hotel room with her in the leopard print outfit, his strong urge to kiss her,
his unexpected and uncontrollable desire. Even from this distance he could see
the regret in her eyes as well, and he knew then that his asinine behavior had
ruined a beautiful friendship. Still, they were the maid of honor and best man,
and they’d do right by their best friends regardless of their own shortcomings.
He lifted his good arm in a casual wave, and made his way over to their table
to say hello.

            “Doesn’t look
like I’ll have much choice in that matter…” Ryan mumbled.

            Lexi took a
deep breath and tried for a casual smile. “Hey Bo, it’s great to see you—how
are you feeling?”

            Every muscle
in his body ached to pull her into an embrace; to whisper apologies into her
ear and take away the sadness he saw in her eyes. But he didn’t know if she’d
accept it, and her fiancé was glaring at him with something that looked like a
dare, so instead he shook her hand as if she wasn’t someone important to him;
as if she hadn’t permeated his thoughts day and night for the past few weeks.
He willed his voice to stay steady and not betray the rush of emotions
currently swarming in his brain like a hive of angry bees, and forced a crooked
smile. “I’m good, Lex—almost good as new. I think maybe that bump on the head
knocked some sense into me,” he joked, hoping she might get the hint.  He
smiled bigger and extended his hand to Ryan. “Bo Collins,” he said with a
friendly grin. “You must be Ryan. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

            “Have you
now?” Ryan said, almost suspiciously as he stood and shook Bo’s offered hand.

            “Don’t worry,
it was all good,” Bo said. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

            “Forgive me if
I don’t add ‘finally’ to my greeting. I kind of just found about you a few
weeks ago when I saw the two of you together on TV. I mean, I knew who you
were, but I didn’t realize that you and my fiancé had…
bonded
.” 

            Bo considered
himself to be a pretty good judge of character—and there was something about
this guy that just didn’t sit right with him. It was impossible to miss the
warning in his tone and the fake smile, and although the last thing he wanted
to do was cause problems for Lexi, he wasn’t going to just slink away with his
tail between his legs. Especially when the dude put his hand firmly on Lexi’s
shoulder and pulled her to his side, placing his own body between them.