“A month? What the hell are you thinking, Libby?”
“Megan and Josh were married after knowing each other for only four days. I’ve been with Mitch for six months. Why shouldn’t we get married?”
“How about because you called me two days ago telling me what an ass he is.”
“It was a fight, Noah. If you stayed in a relationship long enough to discover what type of toothpaste the girl uses, you might understand.”
He knew what type of toothpaste she used, and a whole lot of other things besides, but he decided now wasn’t a good time to bring that up. Still, he wasn’t sure how to handle the swirling emotions in his head, let alone put a name to them. “What do you want me to do, Libby? Tell you congratulations?”
“That’s the typical response, Noah,” she spat out.
“Congratulations.”
“That didn’t sound very convincing.”
“You have to give me a damn minute to catch up, okay?” His chest tightened as he moved to the fridge and pulled out a beer.
“It’s been ten seconds.”
“I said a damn minute.”
“How is a damn minute different from a regular one?”
A grin cracked his mouth, despite his turmoil. No one could rein him back from his emotional spirals like Libby could. He realized he had two choices: he could give her his blessing, or he could continue down the path of belligerence and possibly lose her forever. But he had to give it one more try. “Are you sure, Lib?” He lowered his voice. “I don’t think he deserves you.”
“Listen to you,” she teased. “You’re like the big brother I never had.”
That only increased his turmoil. Big brother? Did she really see him that way? “I’m serious, Libby. Don’t you want what Megan and Josh have?”
“Who says I don’t?”
A rush of anger flooded his head, burning his filter to ash. “Are you serious? You can’t possibly believe what you have with that guy is love! He’s more enamored with football than he is with you!”
“I can’t believe you just said that!”
“The proof is right in front of you, Libby. Hell, you spend more time with me than you do with him and I live two thousand miles away.”
“Then maybe I should spend less time with you!”
“Most normal women who actually loved their fiancés would.”
She hung up on him then, and he stewed in his sorrow and unease, telling himself that he’d call her the next day to apologize and they’d be fine. And as far as her impending marriage went, surely her two friends would help her see the light. Noah might not be an expert on love, but he knew Libby didn’t really love Mitch. How could she when the guy was so obsessed with football? According to Libby, Mitch had a room in his apartment stuffed so full with football paraphernalia, he could star in an episode of one of those hoarder shows. What semi-intelligent man could be with Libby St. Clair without being infatuated to the point of distraction over her?
The next morning he called her as soon as he was sure she’d be awake.
“Lib, I’m sorry. I said some things I wish I could take back.” He was surprised by how easily the apology rolled off his tongue. The first apology he could remember making was the one he’d been forced to give to his mean next-door neighbor after cutting her flowers to make his mother a bouquet. He was four at the time. Apologies had been soured for him ever since. But while he hadn’t been sorry about the neighbor lady’s flowers, he did regret hurting Libby. She was the very last person he wanted to hurt.
Libby didn’t respond for several seconds, and his heart thudded against his ribcage. Had he pushed her too far? Finally, she cleared her throat. “I want you to be in the wedding.”
“What?” Rein it in, Noah. He couldn’t lose control again. He softened his tone, then joked, “I’m warning you I won’t wear a tacky rayon dress. I’m more of a silk guy.”
“Very funny,” she chuckled, but it wasn’t her genuine laugh—the one that made him feel good inside just from hearing it. “You’ll be one of the groomsmen.”
“Does Mitch know about this?”
“He thinks it’s a great idea.”
That didn’t surprise him. Mitch was one of the most laid back, albeit clueless, guys he had ever met.
“So? Will you?”
“Sure.” Not that he ever expected the wedding to take place. Libby had stepped up twice to keep her friends from making mistakes with their marriages. They owed her big time, and surely they would see what he did—that while Mitch was a good guy, he wasn’t the type who could snare Libby’s heart.
Only it didn’t happen that way.
When Noah brought it up to Josh at the office a week later, Josh played it off. “Megan and Libby had a good heart-to-heart talk, and Megan thinks Libby’s happy.”
Noah frowned. “She’s taking Libby’s two years of acting in college into account, right?”
Josh had looked up from his computer. “Why would she pretend to be happy? Especially when she was so adamant about making sure Megan and Blair made the right choices.”
Noah shook his head. “I’ve heard her mention something about getting married before her thirtieth birthday. Her birthday is next month. Maybe she’s feeling the pressure.”
“Libby? Feeling social pressure? Not likely.” Josh laughed. “If anything, it’s that stupid curse nonsense.”