Read Online The Best Man in Texas by Tanya Michaels - Free Book Online Page A

they’d ever come to a disagreement was his siccing Jake on her without warning, but even that had turned out well.
    En route to her appointment at the first bridal boutique, Brooke slipped in the earpiece for her phone and dialed Kresley’s number to give her an update.
    “I may have spoken too soon about Giff’s friend.”
    “The one who’s the devil?”
    “Exactly.” Brooke flipped on her blinker and slid into the next lane. “I spent last night with him and—”
    “What?”
    “You know how Giff and I were going to the Red Jump Funk concert? He got tied up in Corpus and sent Jake in his stead. It was his guerrilla attempt to make us buddies.”
    “Sounds like it worked to some degree.”
    “Yeah. When he’s not accusing me of marrying Giff for his money, Jake is fun to be around. And there’s a lot more to him than I first realized.” She thought about what it must have been like to grow up with an alcoholic father and the kinds of things Jake might have seen in his time overseas. Yet he was still quick with a teasing smile and quips that made her laugh.
    “I have to say, this restores my faith in Giff,” Kresleysaid. “A great guy like him? It didn’t make sense that his best friend would be a jerk.”
    After promising to e-mail snapshots of today’s best dresses from her cell phone, Brooke disconnected, but her friend’s words stuck with her.
    Jake had definitely shown his gentlemanly side last night, but she still found aspects of his friendship with Giff puzzling. The business consultant who would be lost without his BlackBerry and the guy who was always disappearing on spontaneous road trips and declared structure cowardly? Maybe it was the “bromance” version of opposites attracting, people complementing each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
    Of course, when it came to dating, opposites didn’t always attract. She and Giff were cut from the same cloth, but that just made it easier to lay the foundation for their marriage, knowing they wanted the same things out of life and wouldn’t be working toward conflicting goals. Brooke had once been dazzled by someone utterly unlike her, but had learned from that youthful folly.
    Sustaining relationships was difficult enough—why set yourself up for failure by falling for someone who had a fundamentally different outlook on life?
     
    “W E MAY HAVE FOUND A WINNER .” Grace beamed into the mirror, her eyes meeting Brooke’s in their reflection. “You look stunning, dear.”
    “It’s the dress,” Brooke said. “This would make anyone look fabulous.”
    Grace laughed. “Untrue. Not everyone could pull offthat strapless look. But never mind about my opinion. What do you think of it?”
    It seemed perfect, neither too fussy nor too blah. The strapless white dress had some subtle pleating at the bodice that added a touch of elegance without being busy; the gown flowed into an A-line skirt that was full without being puffy. Brooke had tried on—and quickly ruled out—two dresses this morning that made her feel like Little Bo Peep at a debutante ball. But understated beading trailed down the front of this dress, toward the scalloped floor-length hem, catching the light.
    “Would you mind taking a picture for me?” Brooke asked absently, still studying the dress.
    “Oh, my.” The saleswoman, who’d disappeared up front to discuss flower girl dresses with another customer, had just returned. She smiled approvingly at the picture Brooke made atop the raised dais. “It looks tailor-made for you. Which is lucky since we don’t have many size options. That dress has been discontinued, so I can give it to you for 40 percent off.”
    “Forty percent?” Brooke raised her eyebrows. She’d be a fool not to take it. She’d already thought it was reasonably priced, comparatively speaking.
    “Talk about luck!” Grace said delightedly.
    “Yeah. I was expecting this to take longer.” Granted, they’d been at it all day and her feet were