Love Hurts (Forever and Always #17) Read online

“Unfortunately,” Ryan said. He was smiling so we all knew he was joking.

  “Oooh,” Scarlet said excitedly. “That will be so much fun.”

  If Scarlet was going, I wondered if I could drag my fiancé along.

  “Since we’re discussing my wedding, I guess I should announce my best man,” I said.

  Sean looked at me, assuming it would be him.

  I turned to Cortland. “You’ll be my best man?”

  Sean turned red in the face. “Are you kidding me? You’re going to ask him over your own brother?”

  Cortland played along. “Of course I will.”

  “This is bullshit,” Sean snapped.

  “Calm the hell down,” I said. “I’m kidding.”

  “You are?” Sean asked timidly.

  “Of course I want it to be you.”

  Sean calmed down. “Oh.” I could tell he felt like an idiot. “Thanks. That means a lot to me.”

  “There’s no one I’d rather stand beside me.” I didn’t mean for this to turn mushy-mushy, but it did really quickly.

  “Yeah…” Sean looked away, the emotion becoming too much.

  Ryan looked at Scarlet. “Your husband is a pussy.”

  She smiled. “Leave him alone, Ryan. You made me cry when you asked me to be your best man, so I’m a pussy too.” She hooked her arm around his neck and kissed him.

  Sean rested his hand on her thigh and returned the kiss.

  “So, where are we having this wedding?” Monnique asked.

  “Well, we haven’t discussed it,” Cassandra said. She turned to me. “I was hoping to have it at the house right on the beach…”

  My fiancé could have whatever she wanted. “That sounds great.”

  “Really?” she asked.

  “Yeah. We can sneak away and have sex whenever we want.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Do you think of anything else?”

  I put my hand on her stomach. “What do you think?”

  She rolled her eyes again.

  “If you get the guest list to me, I can make and send out the invitations,” Monnique offered. “And whatever else you need.”

  “And I can do the center pieces and flowers,” Janice volunteered. “I already know a lot about that because of my wedding.”

  “That would be great,” Cassandra said. “Thanks.”

  “We can pick out the food,” Scarlet said. “The people who catered our wedding did a pretty good job. I can give you their name.”

  “It was good,” I said. “I ate two plates.”

  “You always eat two plates,” Cassandra said.

  “Well, I’m this big for a reason.” I gave her a firm look.

  “And I love all of it.” She rubbed her hand down my hard chest.

  “Anyway…” Sean looked away.

  I wanted to piss him off. “Baby, what’s my nickname?”

  Her cheeks reddened. “Baby.” She knew that wasn’t the right one. I could tell by the look on her face.

  “No. Not that one.”

  She looked away. “Let’s just keep that between us.”

  “Come on, baby.” I rested my hand on her neck. “Tell them.”

  “Now I’m curious,” Scarlet said.

  Cassandra’s cheeks were red. “Mr. Ten Inches.”

  Sean cringed. “Gross.”

  “Because I’m twice your size,” I jabbed.

  Sean shook his head. “Definitely not. Tell them, Scar.”

  “I’m not going to discuss my husband’s privacy with everyone else.”

  “That’s a first,” Ryan jabbed.

  “Tell them,” Sean said firmly. “Or I’ll have to whip it out myself.”

  Scarlet rolled her eyes. “He’s about the same size.” She looked at Sean. “There?”

  “Thank you.” He smirked at her.

  “About?” I asked. “That sounds shaky.”

  “I don’t measure it,” she snapped. “I don’t even have enough time to look at it before it’s inside me.”

  Ryan closed his eyes and sighed. “I’m not drunk enough for this.”

  “Let’s talk about something else,” Cassandra said.

  “Thank you,” Ryan said. “Because I’d put both of you to shame.”

  Janice pressed her chest into him. “Yes, you would.”

  Flynn looked at Hazel and winked at her.

  Hazel shook her head and glared back.

  Cortland was the only one not bothering to defend his size. It didn’t seem like he cared about the conversation.

  Monnique glanced at him and spoke. “When a guy has the whole package, he doesn’t need to advertise it. It’s just known…”

  Cortland glanced at her but didn’t say anything.

  Monnique just put us all in our place.

  “Anyway,” Cassandra said. “Anything else?”

  “That’s about it,” Scarlet said. “We’ll need to get chairs and tables. Janice has all of that information in her wedding binder, and if we put the cake order in soon, we should be able to get it in time.”

  Cassandra breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m glad I have you guys to help me out. This is already stressful enough.”

  “We got you,” Scarlet said.

  “Now we have to plan Mike’s bachelor party,” Sean said. He gave me a dark look. “What should we do…?”

  He better not say strip club.

  “Cigars and drinks at the Rainbow Room?” Sean said.

  That didn’t sound so bad.

  “And we’ll play poker at a hotel room,” Ryan added.

  “And we’ll hire private strippers,” Sean said.

  I glared at him. “No strippers.”

  “You just said no strip clubs,” Sean argued.

  Cassandra looked at him. “It’s okay, baby. I really don’t mind. It’s your only bachelor party and I want you to have a good time.”

  “No,” I said firmly. “Forget it. If you do it anyway, I’ll walk out. I’m not going to start my engagement by cheating on my fiancé.”

  “Looking doesn’t constitute as cheating,” Sean said.

  “It does to me,” I said. “I’m not going. I’m almost a dad. No.”

  “That’s fine,” Sean said. “I just wanted to make sure.”

  “I’m sure,” I said firmly.

  “I wouldn’t want to see strippers either,” Cortland said. “Not my thing.”

  “We know,” Ryan said sarcastically. “You’re Mr. Perfect.”

  “He is,” Monnique whispered.

  They were weird. They weren’t together, but they acted like they kinda were.

  “But I’m going to pass on the strippers too,” Ryan said. “I can barely handle Janice as it is.”

  “Well, that solves that problem,” Sean said. “I already live with the hottest woman in the world.”

  Scarlet smirked. “You think I’m hot?”

  “You want me to prove it right here on this table?” Sean threatened.

  “Please don’t,” I said.

  We discussed other aspects of the wedding and got the details together. Cassandra didn’t seem so stressed out about it now that she had help. I was indifferent to the wedding. We could get married at City Hall and I’d be fine with that. As long as she was my wife, I didn’t care.

  Everyone left, but I asked Sean and Scarlet to stay behind. We said our goodbyes then sat back down at the table.

  “What’s up?” Sean asked. “We want to head home and hit the sack.”

  Scarlet moved to her own chair. “I’m going to sleep so good tonight.”

  I held Cassandra’s hand. “We want you to be our baby’s godparents. Will you?”

  Sean’s eyes widened. “What…? Us? We don’t even have our own kids yet. How do you know we’ll be good parents?”

  I gave him a hard look. “We both know you’d do a great job. We trust you.”

  Scarlet fanned her eyes because she was getting teary-eyed. “I don’t even know what to say…”

  “Say yes,” C
assandra said. “It would give us peace of mind to know you’d be there if something horrible happened to us.”

  I hated thinking about that, but I wanted to make sure my baby had a family who would love him like their own. “Just say yes.”

  “Of course, man. I’m moved you’re trusting me with this,” my brother said.

  “I trust you more than anyone,” I said.

  We stood up and hugged.

  Sean clapped my back. “I’ll do my best.”

  “And I know that will be enough.”

  Scarlet and Cassandra hugged a few feet away. Since they were distracted, I pulled Sean aside.

  “I have another favor.”

  “First, you ask me to be your best man, and then you ask me to be your baby’s godfather. You’re already dropping a lot on me…”

  “It’s just one more.”

  “Okay.”

  “If something happens to me, could you please take care of my family?” I hated thinking about the possibility. What if I got in a car accident and I left Cassandra all alone? I would obviously give her all my assets, but I would need someone to protect her and my kids.

  Sean took a deep breath. “Don’t talk like that, man.”

  “Please?”

  “You don’t even need to ask me that. You know I would take care of Cassandra. She’s family. I know you would do the same for me with Scarlet. You’ve already proven it.”

  “Thank you.” I stepped away from him. “That means a lot to me.”

  “And you know everyone else would be there too. Just don’t think like that. Every time Dad says shit like that, it practically gives me a heart attack.”

  “But at least he’s prepared,” I said sadly.

  “Let’s change the subject,” he said quickly. “This is too depressing.”

  “Okay.”

  We stood there awkwardly.

  “So…what’s going on with Cortland and Monnique?”

  He shrugged. “They’re still broken up last time I checked.”

  “It seems like something is going on between them.”

  “What did you see?” he asked.

  “I just saw them staring at each other.” I shrugged. “If they love each other that much, why don’t they just be together?”

  “I don’t think Cortland trusts her anymore.”

  “Well, I could say the same about Cassandra. But I let it go and now look at me. I’m a happy bastard.”

  “What’s your point?”

  “I don’t know. I guess I don’t have one.”

  “He’s been dating.”

  “And how’s that going?” I asked.

  “Nowhere.”

  “That just proves my point.”

  Cassandra came back to me and found her usual place under my arm. She always crept up to me and found her rightful place. I was much taller than her, but I liked looking down at her. I could usually see down her top.

  “We’ll see you later,” Sean said.

  “Bye.” Scarlet waved as she followed her husband out the door.

  After the door was shut, I turned to Cassandra. “Now what?”

  “I think I want to put ten inches in my mouth…”

  My spine shivered at her words. “Boy, am I glad I proposed to you.”

  She gave me a playful look and pulled me back to the bedroom.

  2

  Cortland

  Monnique and I hadn’t discussed the night we hooked up. I didn’t tell anyone about it because I knew they would give me a hard time. And she obviously hadn’t because they would have said something the moment they saw me. Monnique was never one to kiss and tell.

  On the night of Mike’s engagement, she and I hardly spoke. But we did stare at each other a lot. I saw her look from across the patio, and there were countless times when she caught mine. I had no idea what I was doing. This couldn’t be healthy.

  But I couldn’t stay away from her. I tried. Honestly, I did.

  I spent the next week focusing on work. I hadn’t had another date because I didn’t see the point. It would just end the way all the others did. They would offer sex and I wouldn’t be able to go through with it. Then I would be horny and hook up with Monnique again. The past was bound to repeat itself.

  I forced myself not to contact her. She usually reached out to me but she hadn’t said anything to me. But that didn’t stop me from thinking about her. She was always on my mind, those brown eyes drilling into mine.

  When lunchtime came around, I walked to Sean’s office to see if he wanted to get lunch. Sometimes he couldn’t leave because he was tied up in meetings, but he usually went out for lunch even if Scarlet didn’t stop by.

  I knocked before I entered. I learned my lesson last time I just walked in.

  “It’s open,” he said.

  I stepped inside and flinched when I saw Scarlet and Monnique standing by his desk.

  “You’re just in time,” Sean said. “Where do you want to have lunch?”

  I recovered from the surprise of Monnique’s appearance and stepped further into the room. “I’m down for anything.”

  “You never have an opinion,” Sean said sarcastically.

  I shrugged. “I’m just easy going.” I looked at Monnique then quickly averted my gaze. It was hard not to stare at her. She was wearing jeans and a simple top but she still look fantastic. “Is Mike coming?”

  “No. He wants to be with Cassandra.” Sean adjusted his tie then put his arm around his wife. “Baby, you decide.”

  “Pizza,” she said.

  He rolled his eyes. “Anything but that.”

  “Hot dogs?” she teased.

  “I don’t feel like making out with the filth of Manhattan later.”

  “I know you like it when I’m dirty.” She gave him a playful smirk.

  “In a sexy way,” he said. “Not in an unhygienic I’m afraid I’ll get Lyme disease way.”

  “Lyme disease is contracted through mosquitos,” Monnique said. “That doesn’t even make sense.”

  “Since you’re a nurse you know everything?” Sean asked incredulously.

  “A high school student could have told you that,” she jabbed.

  Scarlet smiled. “Well, Sean has never taken a basic health class before.” She shot him a smug look.

  “You’re lucky there are witnesses here,” Sean threatened.

  “What are you going to do?” she challenged.

  “I’ll spank you so—”

  “Before you make me throw up, can we eat?” I asked.

  Sean smacked her ass. “Let’s go.”

  We left the office then headed to a deli. When we were standing in line, Sean had his arm around Scarlet, being affectionate like he usually was. Scarlet gripped his tie and pulled his lips to hers, giving him a quiet kiss. They were about to start making out, so I looked away. Monnique stood on the other side of them, looking at her phone. It wasn’t awkward between us, but seeing Scarlet kiss her husband made me want to kiss Monnique—over and over.

  Monnique moved away from them and came to my side. “What are you getting?”

  “BLT.”

  “I’m getting the egg salad.”

  “Have you become a vegetarian?”

  “No. I’m just cutting down to having meat three days a week. It’s better for me and my digital footprint on the environment.”

  She was changing so much, and not in a bad way, that I couldn’t keep up. “How are you liking it?”

  “It’s fine. I’m not a big meat eater anyway.”

  My hand moved to her waist but I stopped myself before I touched her. My old habits just wouldn’t die. I dropped my hand before she noticed, realizing just how pathetic I was.

  “How’s your week going?’ she asked.

  “Good. How about yours?”

  “Fine. I had to pick up an extra shift because my colleague is sick. But, I’m glad I could help out.”

  I kept staring at her face, unable to look away.

  But she hel
d the look, her confidence strong.

  I really needed to knock this off.

  “Any more dates?” she asked. She said it like she was bored.

  “No.”

  She looked back at her phone and typed a message.

  Sean walked up to the counter and ordered for him and Scarlet. They took their food to a table and sat down.

  I walked up to the counter and ordered for both Monnique and I. After I handed over the money, I realized the mistake I made. I cringed, berating myself for falling back into that role.

  I turned back to her and handed her the tray. “I’m sorry…it’s a habit.”

  “It’s okay.” She smiled then walked to the booth.

  She sat against the wall so I sat beside her.

  “Guess what?” Scarlet asked.

  “What?” Monnique asked. She opened her bottle of water and took a drink.

  “Mike asked Sean and I to be the godparents.”

  “Awe.” Monnique clutched her chest in excitement. “That’s so cool.”

  “There’s no one better,” I said. I meant it. I knew Scarlet would be a terrific parent. She was a mother to all of us in a twisted way. She was very maternal and supportive. Perhaps her horrible past made her that way. She had to become an adult before she even graduated high school.

  “We’re very honored,” Scarlet said. “Now we’ve been trying even harder to get pregnant.”

  “We want our kids to be about the same age,” Sean said. “They can go to school together and grow up down the road from each other.”

  “Then why are you guys eating lunch?” Monnique asked. “Go back to work and put a baby in her.”

  Scarlet smiled while she looked at Sean. “We can take this with us…”

  “Bye.” Sean stuffed the food into a bag and pulled her out of the restaurant.

  I laughed. “Wow. They are really trying hard, aren’t they?”

  “I hope something happens soon,” Monnique said sadly. “They’ve been trying for a while…”

  I had the same fear. I hoped everything was okay. They were some of the greatest people I knew and they deserved this to happen for them. “I wish there was something I could do.”

  “Well, you could but I doubt Sean would like it much.” She laughed at her own comment.

  I smiled. “He’d run me over with his quarter of a million dollar car.”

  “Nah. He loves that thing too much.”

  “Then he would just hire someone to kill me.”