Page 12 of The Best Man Problem
“Got it. Extra pineapple.” Lincoln laughed as his friend flipped him off behind his back, disappearing out the door. “The man has terrible taste in pizza, Marie. I can’t understand why you’re marrying him.”
She nudged him with her shoulder. “Not everyone appreciates the finer delicacies in life, like pineapple pizza, but I can forgive him and his uncultured palate because he’s got a huge—”
“Ahhh! Stop right there before I have to wash my ears out with acid.”
“Heart, pervert. I was going to say heart.”
Sure she was. Marie might look all sweet and delicate, but the woman had the sense of humor of a twelve-year-old boy.
“Uh-huh.”
“Oh, shut up and give me your phone. I’ll download the pizza place app for you.”
He handed over his phone, contemplating how to word what he wanted to ask her as she downloaded the pizza app.
“Lilly seems nice. I mean, I’ve never met a wedding planner before, but she was friendly.”
Marie didn’t look up from what she was doing, but a smile tilted her lips. “She is. She came highly recommended by a regular customer who worked with her for her wedding. All the women of Mile High Happiness are great.”
“It’s more than just Lilly?” He should have guessed. Running a business was hard, as his friends always liked to say—doing it alone would be almost impossible.
“Yeah, she runs it with her two best friends, Moira and Prudence. Mo is a hoot, and Pru has the most adorable little twins. She had them in the office one day, and I got to hold them.”
He smiled at the joy in his friend’s voice. “Sounds like you know the women well.”
She handed his phone back, pizza app downloaded and opened. “We’ve bonded over a coffee here and there. I’ve spent the most time with Lilly, though; she’s the one who handles all the client requests, she says.”
He stared at the menu, glancing through the pizza selection. “Makes sense. She’s a very take-charge kind of person.”
“Huh?”
At Marie’s mutter of confusion, he realized his mistake. “I mean, she seems that way. From what I saw meeting her the other day.”
“Hmm, and what did you see?”
He kept his eyes firmly on his phone. Had to concentrate on his order. Pizza selection was a very serious business. “What? Oh, nothing much. I just met her.”
Not true, but if Lilly wanted to keep their previous meeting a secret, he would respect that. Didn’t mean he wouldn’t remember it, dream of it, and fantasize about it happening again. But he wasn’t some kind of asshole who shared intimate stories of his sexual exploits.
“Really?”
Crap. He’d forgotten Marie had a bullshit meter a mile wide. The woman could always tell when someone was lying. Too damn bad. He wasn’t spilling anything. He glanced up from his phone to stare his friend directly in her dark, knowing eyes.
“Veggie lover’s okay? You’re still not eating meat, right?”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Yes and yes.”
They stared at each other in silence. Ha! That trick might work on her loving fiancé, but not on him. Lincoln’s cousin, Aimee, used to pull the silent treatment on him all the time. Immune.
“I got beer!”
Hallelujah! Saved by the beer.
He pressed the order button on his phone, grinning at Marie. “Pizza’s ordered.”
She cocked her head to indicate this conversation wasn’t over but dropped it for the moment in favor of accepting a beer and kiss from her future husband.
“You guys wanna play some Smash Up while we wait for the pizza?” Kenneth held the tabletop game he’d brought down with the drinks.
