Chapter Ten

Will Puts His Foot Down

Saturday, November 19

Will sighed. "I wish Becca had told me where she was dropping me off before we got here. I'd have said anywhere but here." Not that the Pfister wasn't a beautiful hotel, but now it stirred memories of things he'd rather forget.

Like, did anyone who works here see me that night when I was stumbling through the lobby, staring drunkenly at the ceiling?

From the armchair facing him, Aiden chuckled. "That doesn't sound good, considering you're getting married in here." He sounded as chilled as he looked. His faded jeans, folded up at the bottom, clung to long, lean legs, and whoever had said redheads shouldn't wear red was full of shit in Will's opinion. The thick red sweater also made Aiden appear eminently huggable.

"You know what? Forget what I just said. I'm an adult , for God's sake. I should have asked Becca where we were going."

What's the number one rule? Never trust Becca. Ever.

Especially after this mess.

Then Aiden laughed, a bright, delightful sound that rose above the tinkling of the piano.

"What's tickled you?" Will drank a little of his soda.

Aiden grinned. "Oh, I was just thinking of Becca and Mom, looking at wedding dresses—and how glad I am not to be with them."

Will had made it clear to Becca before he'd gotten out of the car that in no way was she allowed to let her mom fork out any money, unless it was a returnable deposit.

He had to do something to limit the fallout from this fiasco.

Aiden removed his phone from the front pocket of his jeans. "Okay, I've been thinking about where to hold the bachelor party, and I've come up with a few options. There's Cathedral Square, the South Shore Terrace beer garden, Burnhearts…. If you want to do something completely different, there's the Paddle Tavern—"

Will had to work really hard not to shower Aiden with soda.

"Please, tell me that has nothing to do with the kind of paddles you use to smack someone's ass."

Aiden's laughter caused heads to turn in their direction. "No, it doesn't, but at least I know that sort of party is not what you have in mind. No, in this instance, you get to spend a couple of hours cruising down the river, alcohol included."

Will was all for cruising, but on dry land.

"Unless you have ideas of your own?"

And there it was, the opening Will needed.

"Yeah, we need to talk about this."

Aiden stilled. "That sounds serious."

"That's because it is." Will wanted to be gentle, but maybe ripping off the Band-aid was the way to go. "Look, it was sweet of Becca to suggest that you could organize this, but to be honest…" Except sweetness didn't enter into it.

It was Becca's evil nature. Okay, maybe not totally evil, but definitely mischievous.

"You don't want me involved." Aiden delivered the statement in a flat, neutral tone that gave nothing away, but it had to be a fair assumption that Will had just hurt his feelings.

"Look, when I get married, my best man will be my brother, Ethan. I've only got one brother, after all. Besides, how could you organize it? You don't know my friends—"

He could hear Ethan's snort all the way from Minnesota. What friends?

Will wasn't finished. "So what would you do—go to Rent-A-Crowd? Have a room full of strangers there to watch me get drunk—again? Unless you intended turning it into a massive game night, and—"

Aiden held up his hand. "Whoa there."

He took a breath, his heart pounding. The words had poured out of him, and while everything he'd said was true, what lay at its root was the deep desire not to have Aiden put himself out in any way whatsoever.

He's going to be pissed when Becca announces the engagement—and the wedding—is off. Will didn't want Aiden bearing him a grudge.

Why not? Do you really think that once Becca calls a halt to this business, you can come out and say, ‘actually, I'm gay, and I was wondering if you'd ever contemplated going on a date with a guy'? Do you seriously think that's gonna happen?

Not a fucking chance.

Then Aiden smiled, and that light in his eyes was a joy to see, rekindling expectations Will knew were groundless, but he couldn't help himself.

"Thank God. You're a logical man. I was hoping you'd say something like that. Not that I don't want to organize the party—I can be a party animal when the occasion calls for it—but you're right. Of course it should be your brother. And it should be in Minnesota or wherever you damn well please. It's your party, your wedding, right?"

Yeah, Will wanted to keep Aiden in his life.

Oh, come on. If you had to choose between staying friends with Becca or with Aiden, it'd be a no-brainer.

Maybe.

"But since you brought it up… a game bachelor party? I like that idea."

Will liked it too, but that would take some organizing, and—

There I go again. There isn't going to be a bachelor party, remember?

What was it about Becca's family that lowered his IQ and made him forget his good intentions?

"And now we've got that out of the way…" Aiden smiled. "What else is happening this weekend?"

"Once Becca gets back here, I think your mom said something about flowers." Not that he had a clue what they expected him to do.

What do I know about flowers?

"Want me to tag along?"

Stupid question.

"Don't you have stuff to do? Classes to prepare for?" Will didn't want to appear too eager.

Aiden's lazy grin was like sunshine on Will's skin.

"That's why I was up until very late last night and way too early this morning, making sure I got everything done. So now, I'm all yours."

Will wished.

"Sure, you can come along. But right now… can we go down to the lake again, until Becca calls? Unless you think we should stay here."

Aiden snorted. "They've only been gone half an hour. I think we're safe for at least another two." Will gaped, and he chuckled. "Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration. An hour and a half?"

Aiden had to admit, he enjoyed Will's company. Many of the guys he went with were all too keen to fill silence with conversation, whereas Aiden preferred the comfortable quiet that happened way too infrequently.

Will seemed to be of the same mindset. He stared out at the lake, smiling as he watched a puppy, all legs and tail, tugging its bundled-up mom along.

"Do you like dogs?"

Will turned his head, his smile still in evidence. "I like all animals."

"Cat or dog person?" It was an important fact to know.

He stroked his chin. "I think cats have the edge. I want at least one of each once I've got a place of my own."

Aiden cocked his head. "Don't you mean when you and Becca have a place of your own?"

Will blinked. "Yeah, of course." He went back to staring through the windshield again.

There was one thing about Will and Becca's relationship Aiden still didn't get.

No time like the present. And no mom around either.

He cleared his throat.

"So what's wrong with Becca?"

Will frowned. "What?"

"She's beautiful, isn't she? I mean, let's be honest here. She's nowhere near as good-looking as me , but she's not exactly chopped liver."

Will snickered. "Are you always this modest? And as for her being beautiful…" He gave the tiniest shrug. "I guess." Then he stilled, his eyes widening as though he'd just realized what he'd said.

Too late.

Aiden folded his arms. "You guess ?"

Will coughed. "Okay, sure, she's beautiful."

"Then why haven't you and she… you know…?"

"Excuse me?" Will looked as if he wanted to throw up. Again. "I don't think that's any business of yours."

He had a point, but Aiden had gotten this far.

"Is it God?"

Will gaped. "What?"

"Because I'm pretty sure God would be happy if you two played hide the Polish sausage. He invented sex, right?" He widened his eyes. "Oh, wait. Maybe it isn't a Polish sausage. Is it more like a bratwurst? Or a hot dog? Oh, please tell me it's not a hot dog. I'm not sure I could look you in the eye ever again."

Will arched his eyebrows, his lips twitching. "Right now I'm seeing why Becca doesn't go home all that often. And can I remind you that you know exactly what I'm packing because you saw every naked inch of me in the hotel room. When I took a shower, remember?"

Aiden grinned. " And when I put you into bed."

Will blinked. "So I didn't dream that part?"

He managed a nonchalant shrug. "Hey, you asked for my help, so I helped."

"I was drunk."

"Yeah, but you're a cute drunk."

"And you took advantage of my inebriated state, so no way am I telling you anything about me and Becca."

Yeah, he wasn't going to answer the question, not that Aiden was all that surprised.

Then Will leaned back in his seat. "So, do I get to ask you some equally embarrassing questions now?"

I deserve that.

Aiden shrugged. "Sure." He flashed Will another grin. "I might even answer some of them."

That earned him a rough chuckle Aiden would have loved to feel reverberate through him, preferably when Will buried his face in Aiden's neck while he slowly filled him…

Fuck. He needed camouflage, and there wasn't a cushion in sight.

"Are you dating anyone?"

Of all the questions Aiden had anticipated, that was pretty tame.

"Not at the moment." He snorted. "Mom would like to fix that, however."

Will's smile was a welcome sight, even if it didn't help Aiden's boner to subside.

"Yeah, I figured. Has she ever set you up with someone from the hotel? From what Becca says, it seems to be the pool she dips into the most."

"So far, I've managed to escape. I think she's given up on me."

Will fell silent, and Aiden considered himself lucky that his future brother-in-law seemed to be a nice guy. Then Will turned his head.

"So what's your type?"

It was on the tip of Aiden's tongue. I'm looking at him.

"They've gotta have a brain," he said at last.

Will chuckled once more. "I think we've all got one of those."

"Yeah, but some people are really good at not using it much—or bypassing it altogether."

"What else?" Will asked. "Do they have to be a ‘looker'?" he air-quoted.

What was it about Will that made Aiden want to tell the truth? He didn't want to feed him a line, to say stuff that would make him sound intelligent, sexy, whatever…

"I'm not gonna lie. The way someone looks is the first thing I notice, but…" He deliberately avoided female pronouns, the same way he did when Mom grilled him about his love life, because that would also have been a lie, and Mom's Shit-O-Meter was hyper-sensitive. "There has to be something more."

Will was so still, almost as though he was hanging on Aiden's every word, and damn , it felt good. "Such as?"

"I want someone who's caring, tender, affectionate…. Selfless. Someone I could spend the rest of my life just making them smile."

The same kind of smile you gave me a moment ago.

Will's breathing caught, but then he relaxed into his seat once more. "I'm sure there's someone out there who is perfect for you."

Yeah, and he's sitting next to me.

Okay, so maybe Aiden had known Will for about five minutes, but it was enough to realize there was more to him than a pretty face.

Aiden finished his bottle of water. "Tell me about you."

"What do you want to know?"

What he really wanted to know, he couldn't ask because he had to remind himself that the gorgeous guy next to him was marrying his sister.

"Family first."

Will grinned. "First? You have a list or something?"

"It's a good place to start."

"I guess. Okay, I'm one of four kids—" He tilted his head. "Weren't you there when I told your dad all this?"

"Maybe? And if you did, I forgot. I had a lot on my mind that night."

"Like what?"

He gave Will a smile. "I was trying to make up for almost cutting my future brother-in-law in half with a bell cart."

Will laughed. "Forgiven and forgotten. So yeah, Ethan is the oldest, by three years, then it's me, then Dee—she's twenty—and finally there's Emma. She's the baby of the family, at seventeen." He smiled. "She's just taken up knitting as a hobby. At least, I hope it stays a hobby and she doesn't decide to make a career out of it."

"That bad?"

He smirked. "Let's just say she's untroubled by such constraints as shape or size."

Aiden snorted once more. "Oh, now I have to see some of her handiwork." Then he realized he had a more burning question. "Can I ask—why astrophysics?"

Will's face lit up. "Why not astrophysics? Who wouldn't want to delve into the fundamental nature of the universe?" Then he chuckled. "Actually, I already know the answer to that—your sister."

Aiden sighed. "She asked me once if I could make a recording on her phone, talking about physics." He paused. "She says it's the best way to cure insomnia."

"Ouch. Okay, where was I?"

Aiden grinned. "Delving into the nature of the universe."

"Oh. Right. There are so many mysteries out there—the origin of the universe, how time works—"

"I can tell you about that last one. It flies, especially when you're having fun, apparently."

It was Will's turn to laugh. "I see what you did there. I can go one better. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana."

Yeah, Aiden could listen to Will Bryant talk all day.

"But there are also black holes, dark matter, dark energy—other intelligent life. So much to explore… the birth, life, and death of stars, planets, galaxies, nebulae…" He sighed. "NASA's goal summed up for me why I wanted to study astrophysics: ‘Discover how the universe works, explore how it began and evolved, and search for life on planets around other stars.'" Will flung out his arm. "How does the universe work? How did we get here? Are we alone?"

Aiden smiled. "Those are pretty big questions. Would you like to work for NASA one day?"

Will's eyes sparkled. "Yes! That's my dream. I'd love to work on dark energy, dark matter… Do you know, seventy percent of the universe is dark energy? And that dark matter accounts for twenty-five percent?"

Aiden did know, but he wasn't about to stop Will when he was in full flow, excitement in his voice, unable to sit still.

"Dark energy… I like to think of it as gravity's evil twin. An ‘anti-gravity' force providing a negative pressure that fills the universe and stretches the very fabric of space-time. And if I couldn't get a job with NASA, then I'd try CERN." He paused, his gaze meeting Aiden's. "But… you know all this. You studied physics."

"Which is why it's refreshing to find someone else who digs it too."

Both their phones buzzed at exactly the same moment. Will glanced at his. "Becca. She says they're done."

Aiden peered at his own phone and laughed. "That's more polite than what Mom has said." He turned it around to show Will, who burst out laughing.

"Oh, I know that reaction all too well."

You just came *this close* to becoming an only child.

Aiden pocketed his phone and turned the key in the ignition.

"It's good to know I'm not the only one Becca bugs the hell out of."

Will had a feeling Becca wouldn't win any contests for the florist's favorite customer. So far, he'd muttered disparaging remarks whenever he was out of earshot, wincing when she chose colors that clashed.

Okay, Will had felt bad about coughing up a lung when Louise introduced the florist as Mr. Pink, but one glance at Becca told him he hadn't been the only one.

"What color will your bridesmaids be wearing?" Mr. Pink inquired. "Because whichever color you choose for their dresses? Don't have that color in your arrangements."

Louise gave Becca an inquiring glance. "How many bridesmaids were you thinking of having?"

Becca bit her lip. "I haven't given it much thought."

Give Becca her due, at least that's the truth.

Mr. Pink took the folder containing examples of the floral arrangements from Becca's hands. "Much as I love putting butterflies, feathers, even birds in the displays, I really don't advise you to have all of them. It will just look too…"

"Busy?" Louise suggested.

"I was aiming more for hideous," Aiden said under his breath.

Becca glared at him. "You didn't like the tulips either."

"But Sir is correct," the florist piped up. "Tulips wilt."

"And wilting is bad," Aiden remarked sagely.

"You got that right," Will muttered.

Aiden jerked his head in Will's direction, his mouth open, eyes wide.

"No one wants a sagging mess in the middle of the table," the florist continued.

"No one wants a sagging anything ," Will muttered again.

The strangled noise coming from Aiden was definitely stifled laughter.

"What about chrysanthemums?" Louise said in a bright tone.

Mr. Pink gazed at her in obvious horror. "No, madam. They're just pollen parties waiting to explode."

"Lilies?" It was clear Becca was trying to be helpful.

"Yes, they're lovely," the florist agreed, and Will saw Louise's shoulders sag with relief. "However…"

He rolled his eyes. "I knew something was going to spoil it."

Mr. Pink gave him the side-eye. "I was going to say, lilies can be hazardous around children and pets."

"I think I'll leave Midnight at home," Aiden commented.

Will frowned. "Midnight?"

"His cat," Becca told him. "That damn cat is the only one who'll put up with him." She gave Mr. Pink a hopeful smile. "Maybe we should go with fake flowers?"

His look of abject horror said it all.

"Sure—if you want your wedding to look cheap," Louise said dryly. She smiled politely at Mr. Pink. "Send me the details. I'll make a decision."

"I don't get to choose my own flowers?" Becca remonstrated.

"Based on what I've just heard?" Louise grimaced. "No. And if you weren't already engaged, I'd have said you shouldn't even be allowed to choose the groom." She walked with the florist to his office at the rear of the shop. Aiden went to sniff the lilies.

Becca stared after her. "I'd hate to have her nerve in a tooth." Will gave Becca's arm a strong pinch above the elbow, and she glared at him. "Ow!"

He leaned in and whispered, "Can I remind you that you don't need flowers?"

Becca's eyes glinted. "And can I remind you that I'm playing a role here? You know, keeping up appearances? If I just rolled over and said ‘Sure, Mom, pick whatever you like', she'd smell a rat."

"I don't want your mom paying out her money for things we don't need."

Becca made a low growling noise at the back of her throat, then raised her voice. "Excuse me? Mr. Pink?"

He poked his head around the door. "Yes?"

"Once we've made a decision, if we change our minds, would you be able to cancel this order and come up with another?"

"Well, yes, but—"

"And what would be the deadline for any changes?"

"A week before the wedding."

Becca smiled at Will. "Just checking. Thank you."

Louise shook her head. "And now we've got that settled… Will, do you have any plans for this evening? Are you and Becca going out? It is Saturday night after all."

Will hesitated for a moment. "Actually? I wanted to see Aiden's cat." Becca blinked, and he shrugged. "What? I like cats."

Louise chuckled. "He is allowed to have an evening away from you, Becca. I expect you see a lot of each other when you're in school. And after all, you're going to spend the rest of your lives together. Right?"

Becca didn't break eye contact with Will. "Right, Mom."

Will had a feeling the temperature inside Becca's car on the trip back to Minnesota was going to be even frostier than outside. He reckoned it would warm up a little when Will reminded her of the really huge favor he was doing her.

Then he remembered his manners.

"If that's okay with you, Aiden," he added quickly.

Aiden nodded. "Sure. I'll even throw in a pizza or two."

Will grinned. "You just said the magic word."

A few hours alone with Aiden sounded magical too—as long as they stayed away from the subject of weddings.

"Although I should warn you. Midnight isn't too keen on visitors, so keep your shins covered unless you want them punctured."

Will snickered. "If he's handy with his claws, that could prove useful. I've been meaning to get my ears pierced."

Aiden's eyes twinkled. "Nipples are more in his line."

He had to fight the urge to say, ‘you could always kiss them better.'

Will's libido was going to be the death of him.