Page 2 of The Longest Wait

The only consolation to Alex was the lack of police stormingthe hotel and they hadn’t heard sirens going off. The odds were slimSofia caused any havoc, which was rare. She was a wild child. Foras long as Alex has known her, trouble followed her like a shadow.On top of it, she was the epitome of high maintenance. Ever sinceshe was eighteen, she demanded attention everywhere she went.

“Did she require someone to fan her off because of the heat?” Alex asked snidely.

“Was that it? She needed a fan?” Jack seemed to relax whateverthe mess was didn’t concern Lucy. “Nothing surprises me with her.”

“Not exactly. There was an issue with the tent on the beach.”Connor held his hand up to Jack, as if this was going to stophim from reacting. “Before you go all lawyer on me; it’s fixed.No worries.”

“What was wrong?” Jack grasped his beer tightly, annoyanceexuding off of him

Connor patted him on the back. “Trust me, calm down. Nothing is wrong. Sofia was arguing with the wedding planner about thetent not having enough restraints. Mya, the wedding planner, triedtelling Sofia the tent was up to code. I ended up walking aroundthe entire tent parameters, proving to Sofia everything was alright.”

To Alex, her concern was warranted. Everyone wanted the dayto go off without a hitch.

“Three times,” Connor laughed. “She made me test eachrestraint three times. You guys should have seen her. She carriedwith her a portable fan so she could blow on the restraints, like itwas comparable to the wind. Before I could even give her shit aboutit, she gave me the middle finger and told me to keep it moving.”

Ah, there it was. Alex’s point proven. Sofia was a diva.

Jack let out a deep breath. “The day needs to be perfect forLucy. I want her to have everything she wants for our wedding. Ibet Lucy asked her to double check.”

“Actually, Tess told me Sofia was driving her crazy, so she senther on a pointless task.” Connor laughed. Tess was Lucy’s otherbest friend.

Sofia unhappy at a wedding made sense. If she had on a necktielike Alex, she would pull on it for some air too. That girl didn’tbelieve in anything about love.

“As long as Lucy is happy, I don’t care,” Jack said with a smile.

Dominic waved at a blonde walking through the bar and thenresponded to Jack, “Should we call Hallmark and let them knowyou want to make a card?”

“Shut up.” Jack glared at this friend.

“You’ve been groomzilla these past few weeks. If I can’t talkabout your hot soon-to-be wife, at least let me tease you.”

“If you consider me reminding you to book your plane ticketsand to make sure you packed the tie I bought you for the ceremonythen sure,” Jack responded dryly. “Those simple reminders makeme a groomzilla.”

Dominic looked bored. “Fine. Her friends are also hot. Tesshas that hot school teacher look, and Sofia is a walking wet dream.And neither of you can get mad I say it. Jack, you’re about to getmarried, and Alex isn’t related to them. So, cheers to that.”

Alex was ready for a subject change, like he always was whenSofia was involved. Not talking about her was an automaticresponse for him. Unless he was pointing out how much of a hotmess she was.

“How about we make a toast to Jack,” he said, raising his beer.“For having the patience to marry my bratty little sister.”

Dominic, always needing to get a dig in, added, “And to havingsex on the regular, which would be the only reason to get married.”

Jack shot him a death stare.

Connor piped up. “To finding the one.”

With the last, more in the spirit of marriage toast, they clankedtheir glasses together and took a drink.

Alex was just about to try the elusive relaxing when Jackdecided to get serious with his three groomsmen.

“Thank you, guys, for standing up there with me today. You areall like family to me. In less than an hour, I’ll be a married man.I never thought I would find someone like Lucy. She’s my worldand I thank fuck she wants to marry me.”

“Welcome to the family.” Alex patted him on the shoulder.

Jack smiled from ear to ear. “Thanks, man. Lucy makes everything worth it. I can’t wait to see her walk down the aisle. For herto be my wife.”

Alex was happy for Jack. He moved from New York toPhiladelphia last year, and that was when he met Jack, Connor,and Dominic. He considered them his close friends, and they allgot together as much as schedules permitted.

Still, it didn’t matter he was drinking and having fun withpeople he trusted, weddings were painful to him and the speechesabout everlasting love were the worst. He had to keep remindinghimself this was about Lucy and his friend, not his never-endingdesire to not settle down.