Marriage: Impossible (Voretti Family Book 1) (9 page)

She laughed lightly. “It’s a dinner, Sean. The plan is to eat.”

“I’ll get Ty alone. Try to talk some sense into him.”

She pulled in a slow breath like she was trying to find some patience along with the oxygen. “What? You think you’re going to say, ‘Ty, you’re making a big mistake,’ and he’ll say, ‘You’re right. I’m canceling the wedding’?”

Desperation caught Sean in a stranglehold. She was right. Definitive proof he should turn back would only goad Ty into double-timing it forward. That was the only way anyone got through BUD/S training.

But Sean had survived the exhaustion and physical exertion of BUD/S, too, and no way was he giving up. Not until the judge said “I now pronounce you man and wife.”

“I’ll make him understand. If I can’t get through to him, I’ll….” His mind cycled through a series of increasingly implausible scenarios. He had to fix this. If he couldn’t even handle this one problem, how could he ever be worthy of Keri?

Shit
. Where had
that
come from? Just because he could make Keri come didn’t mean he was worthy of a permanent place in her life.

“I’ll knock him out and drive him to Alaska. I’ll roofie his goddamn Corona if I have to. I am not letting my best friend fuck up his life beyond repair.”

“Look. There they are.” Keri pulled him forward, past a small dance floor, onto a private terrace.

“I’m serious, Keri.”

“Okay. But before you commit a felony, maybe you should…I don’t know. Meet the bride-to-be?”

“I don’t have to meet her. Ty belongs with Bri, and—”

Keri pulled him out the door, into the cool night air, and there was Ty—next to a tiny brunette. She looked vaguely familiar though Sean couldn’t place her.

“You made it!” Ty ambled toward them. “I was about to send out a search party.”

He hadn’t used to walk anywhere. He’d jog, he’d run, or, if he was really in a hurry, he’d break into the sprint that had broken several dozen records during his time on the Cordozo High School track team.

Now he limped. His left leg swung normally, but the right had trouble following, hitching slightly in a move Sean did his best not to watch. What a travesty. Ty, who’d sailed through life so smoothly that their unit had nicknamed him Easy, now walked with a limp.

Right on schedule came the familiar, insidious whisper.
It should have been you
.

“Of course we made it.” Keri threw her arms around her brother. “We would never miss your wedding.” She thrust him away from her. “Though, you could have given us a little warning.”

“I didn’t have much warning myself.” He motioned to the brunette, and she fit herself against his side like she thought she belonged there. “You remember my beautiful fiancée, don’t you?”

Sean concentrated on placing the woman because otherwise he was going to grab Ty by the scruff of the neck and dunk his head in the extra-large margarita pitcher until his buddy woke up.

“Annabelle Voretti?” Keri grabbed the surprised bride-to-be in a bear hug, like she really was Ty’s perfect match instead of a consolation prize.

Sean finally remembered why the woman looked familiar. She’d been Ty’s lab partner in twelfth-grade Bio. His “girlfriend,” too, if one of those high-school relationships that lasted five minutes qualified her for the title.

Yeah, he remembered Annabelle. He remembered that even when Ty had been a desperately horny seventeen-year-old and Annabelle had been a sure thing—following Ty around like he was some rock star she couldn’t wait to drop her panties for—Ty hadn’t been able to sustain an interest. Yet here he was, smiling valiantly, pretending to be happy.

“It’s so nice to see you again.” Now that Annabelle had recovered from the hug, she gave Keri a genuine smile.

Her gaze moved to Sean. Her smile faded, but her words were polite. “You too, Sean.”

“We want you guys in the wedding,” Ty said. “Best man and bridesmaid. What do you say?”

Before Sean could figure out the polite version of
hell no
, Keri interjected a smooth lie about how thrilled they both were. Maybe it was better that way. He’d have his say when he got Ty alone.

“Natashja is here!” Ty waved at someone behind Sean. “C’mon, sweetheart. I’ll introduce you.”

He led Annabelle off with that walk that was a little slower than it should be, and Sean forced his gaze back to Keri.

“Annabelle Voretti.” She shook her head.

At least they were on the same page about that. “Don’t worry.” Sean pitched his voice low enough that none of the other guests would hear it over the mariachi band playing in the main restaurant. “This wedding is not happening. Even if I do have to commit a felony.”

“No, that’s not…” She stopped. Pulled in a breath. “Did you even look at them?”

Of course he’d looked at them. Even though he’d rather look at anything—even that god-awful velvet painting of a horse—than see Ty’s limp. “Where else would I look?”

“No. I mean
look
look.” She took a step toward him. “They’re obviously in love.”

She was too close. He couldn’t take a breath without inhaling her scent—sunlight, lavender, and happiness. It reminded him of the way she’d looked in bed, lashes fanned out against her cheeks, legs wrapped around him, breathing his name over and over like it was the only word she remembered.

He shook his head, clearing away the image. “Jesus, Keri. Tell me you know your own brother better than that.”

“Why else would Ty have proposed to a woman he hadn’t seen since high school?”

“Because he’s horny.”
He’s not the only one
.

“You don’t have to get married to get laid.”

“Look, honey, it’s not that complicated. He was horny, and he was desperate, and he wanted something to distract him from losing Bri. From losing…” He couldn’t say the rest of it.
Losing his whole life
.

Anger, hurt, and suppressed desire fed off each other, forming a dizzying vortex that threatened to pull him under. He whirled around. He wanted to hit something. He had to get out of here before some
thing
became some
one
.

“Okay.” Keri’s hand caught his shoulder. “Here’s the deal.”

He jerked away, but she had his shirt in a death grip, and he ended up taking her with him. “Let go of me.”

“Watch the two of them together until the end of the party. If you’re not one hundred percent convinced they’re in love, I’ll help you get the wedding postponed. Without any pharmaceutical intervention.”

Something—he wasn’t sure if it was her touch, the soothing cadence of her voice, or the words themselves—took the desperate edge off his anger.

“Well? Do we have a deal?”

He pulled in a deep breath. Turned to face her. “All right. But I’m holding you to that promise.”

“Good. Now come on.” She led him from the terrace back inside.

They were half way across the main restaurant before he realized her intention. “No. Dancing was not part of our deal.”

Dancing was a piss-poor idea. Especially now that the mariachi band had retired and the stereo was playing an endless stream of slow ballads.

“Ty and Annabelle are dancing. How are you going to watch them if you’re in a different part of the restaurant?”

“It’s not that big of a place.”

Her arms wound around his neck, and her body swayed against his, and his willpower evaporated like it always did around her. “One dance,” he heard himself say.

He should never have agreed to her conditions. Being here with her, knowing they were married while Ty didn’t have a clue, was another betrayal. With every slow, swaying movement, he expected his buddy to rush across the dance floor to take him out, but Ty wasn’t looking at anything but Annabelle. At least the woman provided a decent distraction.

Sean rested his hands on Keri’s hips and moved with the music. Okay. He could do this. As long as he kept enough space between their bodies that—

Keri leaned closer. Her hips swayed with the beat, but his body read way more into the motion than a dance step.

She sighed—a sweet, breathy, needy sound—like he’d laid her down on his bed and kissed the spot where her neck met her shoulders. The spot he couldn’t stop staring at.

And—damn it—her dress was way too thin because he could feel her nipples brushing his chest. His body forgot they were in a room filled with people. All he knew was that Keri was pressed against him.

If he kissed her, she’d sink, boneless into him. He knew it with blistering certainty.

His vision narrowed, focusing on her, until the crowd on the dance floor faded. The laughter and shouts became white noise. All he could see, all he could feel, all he could smell was Keri.

He couldn’t keep up the pretense of dancing. Not when all he could think about was lifting her onto the bar, wrapping her legs around his waist, and—

“Well, well, well.” Ty threw one arm around Sean’s shoulder and the other around Keri’s, wedging them apart. “You two are looking awfully friendly. Anything you want to share?”

All of Sean’s muscles—including his brain—went on lockdown. Before he could figure out what to say, Keri spoke.

“I dragged Sean out here to practice. I know the bridesmaids and groomsmen are supposed to dance at the reception, and I didn’t want Two Left Feet here to mess it up.”

Ty laughed.

Sean was
not
pissed off. No. This tension straining his muscles had nothing to do with the way Keri’d answered so smoothly and immediately, as if their dance hadn’t affected her at all. He knew it had. And if she wouldn’t admit it, he’d throw her over his shoulder, carry her to the nearest bed, and remind her.

It didn’t even have to be a bed. Any flat surface would do. A table. The bar. The back of his truck. Five minutes alone, and—

“Sean.”

He didn’t realize he’d taken hold of her—that his gaze was blazing into hers—until Ty spoke.

“Dude. We need to talk.”

*

Sean followed Ty down the dusky street. His friend was moving with a relaxed amble that almost hid his limp, whistling
Here Comes the Bride
, but the coiled tension in his muscles told a different story. Ty was pissed. He had to be after what he’d seen on the dance floor. And now Sean had to do the impossible—diffuse the tension
and
convince Ty to call off the wedding.

Ty stopped behind Sean’s truck, squinting at the tailgate like he was inspecting it for dings, even though it would be impossible to find any in the near darkness.

“Look.” Sean cleared his throat. “I know you’re pissed. And you have every right to be. But—”

“Pissed? Is that what you think?”

Sean couldn’t decipher the note in Ty’s voice. He tried to read the meaning off of his buddy’s face, but there wasn’t enough light.

Maybe it was better that way. He wouldn’t be able to say what needed to be said if he had to watch Ty’s genial expression dissolve into a mix of anger, pity, and disgust. “Keri and I…we ran into each other in Reno. I had too much to drink, and—” He cut himself off. “But that’s no excuse. I don’t have an excuse for what happened.”

Ty leaned against the tailgate. “What, exactly, did happen?”

Sean searched for the words to explain, but the eloquent lines he was hoping for didn’t come to him. Fuck it. He didn’t have time to wait for inspiration. “When she walks into a room, I don’t see anyone else there. It’s like she’s this light that overpowers everything. I’m at her side before I think about it.”

“So it’s an instinct? You’re a fly, and she’s the porch light?”

“No.”
Shit
. He was totally messing this up. “She’s an amazing person. And when I’m with her I can’t help wanting….”

“To jump her bones?”

“No, damn it! It’s not like that.” He wasn’t sure where his outrage was coming from because Ty was right. It was
exactly
like that. “We made a mistake.
I
made a mistake. So go ahead and kick my ass. I deserve it.”

“Tempting. But it’s the night before my wedding, and I don’t think my fiancée would be too happy if I showed up with a black eye for the ceremony. I can see her showing the grandkids our wedding album now.” His voice went up several octaves. “Grandma? Why does grandpa look like a vat of camo paint exploded on his face?”

“Punch me. I won’t hit back.”

“You think I’m worried about
you
? It’s my sister. If word gets out that I hurt you, she
will
come after me. And she has a mean right hook.”

Ty was forgiving him. He’d done the worst thing imaginable, but his friend wasn’t even going to kick his ass. “I’m going to make this right, man. I swear.”

Despite the darkness that camouflaged Ty’s expression, Sean could feel his buddy looking at him.

“I know you will,” Ty said, finally.

Sean took a deep breath and forced out the words he had to say. “I’m going to end it. I won’t let her chain herself to a fuck-up like me.”

Ty straightened in one smooth motion. “You’re gonna do what now?”

“I’m—”

“I heard you the first time.” Ty barked out a laugh. “Do you really think you’re gonna be able to walk away?”

Impossible.

Sean told the voice in his head to shut up. “I’ll do what I have to do.”

“Does she know that? Because it sure as hell didn’t look like it.”

Sean’s ribcage squeezed his lungs in a death grip. He hated the idea of Keri being unhappy, even though he knew it wouldn’t last. He was nothing more than a temporary pothole on her road toward Mr. Perfect. “It’s better this way. We both know I don’t deserve her.”

“So, what? You’re dumping her for her own good?”

Even though Sean couldn’t see Ty’s self-righteous expression, he wanted to punch it off his face.

Keep it together.
 

“The two of us were a mistake,” he managed. “She’ll see that eventually.”

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“I’m not blind, dude. I saw the way you were looking at her. You want her the way I want Annabelle. You think that’s gonna go away because you had a little taste?”

Rage rushed through him like an avalanche. “Shut up! What happened between us is none of your goddamn business.”