Chapter Seven

Will Prays For An Alien Invasion To Get Him Out Of This Nightmare.

Will cast an agonized glance in Becca's direction.

You got us into this mess. Now get us out of it.

All she had to do was tell them the truth, right?

"Mom, we can't get married in December."

He held his breath, waiting for the outbursts from her family when they realized they'd been lied to.

"Why not?"

"Because… because…"

Tell them! For God's sake.

Becca's breathing hitched. "We won't have finished for the holidays by then. We'll still be at school."

Will gaped at her. What the fuck?

"You won't. I checked. The fall semester finishes December twenty-first." Louise gave her a satisfied smile.

"But we have exams! They don't finish until the twenty-first."

She isn't going to tell them, is she?

The hole Becca had dug was getting deeper by the second.

I could tell them.

Except he knew he wouldn't.

The only person who could stop this merry-go-round was Becca, and for some reason he couldn't fathom, she wasn't ready to do that.

"I know—I went online and checked that too—but that's fine. Just get here as soon as you can."

"Mom? Are you not listening? Neither of us have time to spare, and wedding preparations eat up a lot of time."

It was Becca's turn to send an agonized look in his direction.

Welcome to my world, Becca. It's called Hell—and you created it.

"I know. There's so much to do, isn't there? There's the cake to order, the flowers, the catering…" Louise's eyes widened. "And let's not forget the most important part—the dress."

"Exactly. So you do see why we couldn't possibly—"

Louise beamed. "It's not as if you need do anything. Just leave everything to us."

"Us?" Carl chuckled. "Oh, so now I'm riding this steamroller too?" He gestured to Will and Becca. "Don't they get a say? After all, this is their wedding, right?"

Louise rolled her eyes. "Will you just look at them? Have you ever seen two people more in love? I only want my baby to be happy." She glanced at Becca. "You do want to be happy, don't you?"

"Yes, of course I do, but—"

"And it's not as if either of you has to contribute a cent. We'll pay for everything."

"And there you go with that we business again," Carl murmured. "Is that like the royal we ? Or will I be taking out my wallet too?"

Louise glared at him. "We've only got one daughter, and she's getting married. Are you telling me you're not going to make it the most memorable day of her life? We're already making it the easiest wedding ever. All they have to do is show up."

"There's going to be a wedding?" Aunt Deborah's face lit up.

Louise nodded. "Next month. Becca's getting married, and the whole family will be invited."

That did it. Will was in deep shit up to his eyeballs, stuck in a nightmare where he couldn't see a way out, short of aliens invading the planet and abducting him.

Hell, even an alien probe up his ass was a better prospect than marrying Becca.

"There's gonna be a wedding!" Deborah hollered, and Will was engulfed in a sea of bodies as the guests surged forward, whooping, cheering, shouting out their congratulations, shaking his hand, hugging him, planting loud, smacking kisses on his cheeks…

I didn't know it was possible to drown in a ballroom.

Will was sinking like a Mafia dude wearing concrete boots.

"Well, it looks like you'll be my brother-in-law sooner than I thought."

Will gazed at the second glass of champagne that Aiden held out to him.

Fuck it.

He took it, tipped the glass, and drank it in several gulps, the bubbles finding their way into his nose, champagne going down the wrong way, making him cough until he was certain his face was crimson.

"Hey, take it easy." Aiden patted him on the back.

Will held out the empty glass. "Another."

"I don't think that's such a good idea. We'll have to carry you to your room at this rate."

Will couldn't help it. "As long as you're the one who carries me." He grinned. "I've always wanted to be slung over a hunky firefighter's shoulder. Not that you're a firefighter, but you'll do."

"What?" Aiden blinked.

Shit .

Becca would kill him if he let that cat out of the bag.

‘Hey, Mom? Why does Becca's fiancé want to be manhandled by a firefighter?'

The solution was obvious—drink himself unconscious. At least that way he couldn't open his mouth and put his foot in it.

Then he realized Louise was talking to him.

"Sorry. I must've zoned out for a moment there. What did you say?"

"I asked who your best man would be. You'd better pick someone because they'll need to organize your bachelor party."

Bachelor party? Oh dear Lord.

"Aiden can make himself useful and organize that," Becca interjected, an evil glint in her eyes.

"Excuse me?" Aiden's mouth fell open.

Carl burst out laughing. "Well, if I'm getting roped into this wedding, you might as well join me."

"Oh, can I join in too?" Deborah said with a grin.

Sure, why not? The more the merrier.

Will scanned the room in desperation for a passing server with a tray of drinks, but it seemed Aiden had the same idea. He grabbed two glasses and handed one to Will, who downed it.

"What have you got in mind?" Louise asked.

Ooh, let me guess. Your poodle will be the ring-bearer. You want to make me a groom's cake in the shape of the door from Dante's Inferno, with "Abandon all hope ye who enter here" written above it in red frosting. Hey, do I get a sexy guy jumping out of the cake too?

Yeah, Will was as drunk as a skunk.

"I'll throw a cocktail party for the happy couple," Deborah announced, her phone in her hand. "In fact, I'll add it to my calendar right now. Hey everyone! December third, my place, for a party."

More whoops and cheers broke out, but by now Will's head was starting to spin—or was that the room?

He couldn't tell anymore.

"Where's my phone?" Becca's voice rose above those of her relatives. "Will, have you seen my phone?"

He blinked. "What would I be doin' with your phone? Besides, isn't it surgically attached to you, or something?"

She gave him an icy glare. "I'll take that as a no, then, shall I?" Becca peered at the table. "It isn't there."

"It'll turn up." He grinned. "What's wrong? How long has it been since you spoke to…." He winked. " You know. Well? How long? Five minutes? Ten? Or has been as long as…" Will gave a dramatic gasp. "Half an hour? OMG."

That earned him another glare. "You're drunk."

He flashed her another grin. "Hey, you're good. Fancy workin' that out all by yourself."

Louise joined them. "Here. I found this on your chair. I was afraid someone would sit on it." She held out Becca's phone.

Becca grabbed it. "Oh, thank you." She pocketed it.

"So, Will, have you thought about whether you'd like a Christmas-themed wedding?"

Will squinted at his watch.

He wasn't going to make it to midnight.

Aiden scanned the ballroom, searching for Becca. Music blared from the speakers, and at least half of the guests were gyrating on the dance floor, moves he vaguely remembered seeing his parents trying to perform at Christmas, when Mom did her usual trick of drinking way too much eggnog, and Dad put on one of his ancient vinyl LPs.

Watching your parents grooving to the Spice Girls who were asking what you really really want had to be up there as one of the most cringe-inducing, embarrassing moments of all time.

Then he spied Becca, sitting alone in the corner, her phone in her hand, held flat as she spoke into it. What struck him most was her forlorn expression.

What's eating her? She should be out there with her fiancé, having a good time.

Come to think of it, he hadn't seen Will for a while now. The temptation to go find him was huge, but then he got a twinge of guilt.

His sister came first.

Aiden walked over to her, and as he drew closer, he caught the last four words of her conversation.

"I love you too." She finished the call and slipped her phone into her pocket.

He had to smile. That dopey smitten look spoke volumes.

Aiden sat on the blue carpet beside her, leaning against the wall. "That is so cute."

"What is?"

"You can't bear to be apart from him for five minutes while he goes to the restroom?" He leaned in. "Word of advice, though. Guys don't like to talk while they're taking a leak—or God forbid, doing anything else that requires concentration."

He did his best not to think about the two or three occasions when he'd taken a guy's ass while he stood with one leg bent, his foot on the toilet. He'd even ridden a guy once in a toilet stall. And if his phone had burst into life while he was… busy, he'd have dropped it into the toilet bowl.

Then he reasoned that in Will's present state, he could be doing something equally demanding.

He could be throwing up.

Becca regarded him with a puzzled expression for a moment, then widened her eyes. "Oh. Right. Sure. I'll try to remember that."

Aiden stared out at the dance floor, noting that not one of his cousins under the age of thirty was anywhere to be seen on it. "So… great party."

Becca snorted.

"Classic dance tracks."

Snort .

"Wanna tell me what you're doing over here when you should be out there?"

She stared at him. "You were there, right? When Mom decided to ruin my life?"

"All she did was find you a beautiful wedding venue, offer to pay for everything, organize everything… Yeah, I can see why that would totally ruin anyone's life."

"You're telling me I should be grateful ?"

"I'm telling you that it's still your wedding. If she's going to do something you don't like, tell her. Like she said, she only wants you to be happy." He leaned in, their heads meeting. "Besides, this is what she does, right? We should be used to it by now."

"Yeah, sure, tell her. As if it would be that easy."

Aiden turned to face her. "You do want to marry Will, don't you?" He took her left hand in his, gazing at the plain gold band adorning her ring finger. Nothing fancy, but hey, they were students. "I mean, you said yes, after all."

Becca pulled her hand free of his. "Of course I want to get married. It's just…"

"Just Mom doing her thing. I know." He smiled. "You know what? I'm gonna go find your fiancé, send him your way, and the two of you should wait for a slow number and get out there and do something really romantic." He inclined his head toward the dancers. "You know, like our parents are doing right this second."

Becca gazed at them as they circled the floor slowly, Mom's head resting against Dad's shoulder, her hand on his neck, his hand on her waist.

"They are amazing, aren't they?" Her lips twitched. "And totally aggravating." She sighed. "Go find Will."

He stood and held out a hand to her, hauling her to her feet. To his surprise, Becca hugged him.

"What was that for?" he asked when she released him.

"I just felt like it, that's all. No other reason." She pointed toward the door. "Now, go do your impression of a Saint Bernard puppy dog—just without the brandy barrel. I think Will's had enough for one night."

Aiden had the same idea.

He wove his way through the partygoers until he reached the door. Outside, the hallway was quieter, and he breathed a little easier.

Where are you, future brother-in-law?

Aiden went to the nearest restroom, but Will was nowhere in sight. He rode the elevator downstairs, searching for any sign of him.

Then he saw him, standing in the middle of the lobby, gazing up at the painted ceiling, weaving a little.

Aiden walked up to him. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Will jerked his head toward him. "Hey. Yeah, it is." He gestured to their surroundings. "When was this place built?"

"1893." Aiden pulled on his arm. "Come with me, and I'll show you photos of the hotel that go back years."

"I'd like that."

They walked across the thickly carpeted floor to the far end of the lobby.

"The hotel usually has an artist-in-residence," Aiden told him. He glanced at Will. "You okay? You look a little green."

"I just drank too much, that's all. But I could sure use some water."

Aiden had a change of plan.

"Then let me take you up to your room. You can drink water, lie down, go to sleep, whatever you want."

"But what about the party?"

He smiled. "Don't you worry about that. They're going to have a good time whether you're there or not. Think about it. Which is better—to go be quiet in your own room, or go back to the party and throw up over your future mother-in-law's best shoes?"

Will frowned. "Wait. I didn't know that was an option." He sighed. "Yeah, when you put it like that, maybe getting some rest would be the best thing for everyone right now."

Sure, that wasn't at all weird. Aiden guided him back to the elevator.

It wasn't until they reached the eighth floor that he realized something had been niggling him ever since he'd left the ballroom. He'd asked Becca if she wanted to marry Will. How had she answered, exactly?

‘Of course I want to get married."

But that doesn't answer the question.