A Winter Wedding. Brenda Novak

      “I was wondering if you’d marry us.”

      Kyle nearly dropped his phone. Riley’s teenage son would be best man. He hadn’t expected to do anything other than standing in Riley’s line, along with the rest of the guys in their group of friends. “You mean...perform the ceremony?”

      “That’s exactly what I mean.”

      “Doesn’t that require a preacher?”

      “Apparently not. I was remodeling a kitchen the other day when the guy who hired me said he’d performed his daughter’s wedding. He told me all he had to do was sign up online.”

       “Where?”

      “I’m sure it’ll come up if you look for it on Google. If you can’t find it, give me a call and I’ll ask him.”

      “And Phoenix...she’s okay with having me play that role?”

      “You know how Phoenix feels about you. She was thrilled when I suggested it.”

      “But your parents will expect you to use their minister, won’t they?”

      “This isn’t their wedding. I plan to make sure it’s everything Phoenix wants.”

      Kyle smiled even though Riley couldn’t see it. “You really love that girl,” he said, and he could understand why. He’d taken a special liking to Phoenix, too—wished he’d written to her while she was in prison so he could’ve offered some emotional support. What she’d been through was terrible—to be convicted of something she didn’t do. Yet she’d stood tall and weathered those tough years completely on her own.

      “She’s the one for me,” Riley said. “I can’t explain why she’s different from all the other women I’ve dated, but she is.”

      “I’m happy for you.” He seemed to be saying that a lot lately. He was happy for Brandon and Olivia and their perfect marriage. He was happy for Riley and Phoenix, happy that they were finally getting together—something that would’ve happened years ago if life was fair. He was happy for Callie and Levi, too, who were expecting their first baby, and Eve and Lincoln, who’d had their first child a few months ago. Everyone had something to celebrate.

      If Noelle could find another love interest, maybe he’d have something to celebrate...

      “So you’ll do it?” Riley asked.

      He tried to imagine standing at the altar with Riley and Phoenix and felt ill equipped, but how could he say no to one of his best friends? “I can honestly say that performing a marriage is something I never pictured myself doing. But sure. Thanks for asking me.”

      “Glad you’re willing. And you have my promise that I’ll do anything you ask me to when you get married.”

      “Are you expecting that to happen soon?” he joked.

      “You never know, man. You could be married right now if you weren’t so damn picky.”

      His father told him basically the same thing. But in his mind, he wasn’t being picky, he was being careful. He’d rather be a confirmed bachelor for the rest of his life than make another mistake. The last one had been a pain in his ass for six years.

      He thought of Noelle calling about her water heater, and the money for her boob job and for her utility bill. She was still a pain in his ass. He should never have married her—but he had the sneaking suspicion that if he hadn’t, she would’ve gone ahead and had the baby, forging an even stronger bond. His mistake had been letting her seduce him in the first place. It all went back to one drunken, foolish night when she’d claimed to be on the pill...

      “I’m fine the way I am,” he insisted.

      “Noelle put the fear of God into you. And I can see why. She’s freakin’ psycho. We knew she was trouble before you married her, and if she hadn’t been pregnant, you wouldn’t have done it. Nothing like that will happen again.”

      Anything could happen. That was why he was being more vigilant. “I was an idiot to let her trap me.”

      “She’s an extreme example. Forget about her.”

      If only he could. If only she’d allow it...

      “What about the girl you brought to Ted’s Halloween party this year—Danni Decker?” Riley asked. “She seemed cool.”

      “For one thing, she lives in the Bay Area. For another, she has a high-powered investment job.”

      “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

      “We’re too similar. She’d never give up her job to move here. And I wouldn’t move there. So why would I pursue a relationship with her, when it’s bound to end with both of us miserable? Besides, she doesn’t want children, and that’s a deal breaker for me.”

      “You’re looking for a homemaker?”

      “Not necessarily a homemaker—but a woman who’s willing to be a mother. Most of all, I want someone who’s satisfied with who I am, what I do and where I live.” No way was he ever going to be happy with a wife who constantly nagged him to leave Whiskey Creek. He’d already been down that road.

      “I guess that’s not asking too much, but...you’ve got to get over Olivia first, Kyle.”

      This was the second time in a day that someone had called him on his true feelings for Olivia. But Noelle taunted him whenever she could. Ironically, she claimed it was his feelings for Olivia that had broken up their marriage, but she’d known he had feelings for Olivia when she approached him at the bar. He’d dated Olivia for two years before she put their relationship on pause and moved to Sacramento to pursue her wedding planning business.

      “I’ve been over Olivia for ages,” he said, but he’d been claiming that ever since she’d married Brandon.

      Riley didn’t respond.

      “You still there?” Kyle asked.

      “I am. I’m just... Never mind.”

      Riley was skeptical. He knew nothing had changed, but Kyle couldn’t admit that, not without doing his brother a disservice. He wanted to be over Olivia; he just wished he could get his damn heart to cooperate. “Don’t worry about me,” he said. “I don’t need a woman.”

      “I still wish you could find someone. Marriage doesn’t have to be what you had with Noelle.”

      Problem was...he had yet to meet any viable alternatives. Most of the women his age were already in relationships, like Olivia and even Lourdes. Or they were entrenched in a career somewhere else. Or there wasn’t any spark.

      “Who would’ve thought Phoenix and I would wind up together?” Riley said. “You’ll find someone—the person you’re meant to be with.”

      Not as long as the woman he was meant to be with was married to his stepbrother. “Like I said, it’s fine even if I don’t.”

      “I’m exhausted. I’ve got to go. I’ll tell Phoenix and Olivia you’ll perform the ceremony. They’ll both be glad to hear it.”

      “I’ll do the research tomorrow, right after coffee at Black Gold.”

      “Sounds good. I appreciate it.”

      Kyle started to hang up, but Riley stopped him. “Kyle?”

      “Yeah?”

      “Before I go, can I ask you something?”

      He sighed. “Does it have to do with Olivia? Because I’m pretty much done with that subject.”

      “I just want to know why you invited her and Brandon to join us for coffee. I’ve always wondered. I think everyone has.”

      “What can I say?