The Best Man in Texas Read Free

meaningful. Not my place to judge. After all, Meg had never craved something permanent the way Brooke did.
    But passion wasn’t everything. Brooke had shared incredible physical chemistry with her long-ago poet, and that relationship had been a fiasco. By the time they’d broken up for good, she’d been such a mess that she’d almost lost her university scholarship.
    Apparently not even Kresley understood Brooke’s inclination to take it slow, to prioritize the emotional bond over sex. Her pale eyebrows were arched in disbelief. “So does that mean you guys still haven’t—”
    “Not that it’s any of your business,” Brooke pointed out, “but we decided it would be romantic to wait until our wedding night.”
    Meg snorted. “At least now I understand the rush to get married this summer.”
    When Giff got back from California this week, they were going to look into different venues and date availability. But they agreed that late July or early August suited them both. He was already scheduled to travel during much of September and, as he’d reasoned, now that they’d found the person they each wanted to spend forever with, why delay? Besides, they wanted at least a year alone together before they started building afamily. The risk of pregnancy complications went up significantly after thirty-five, and not everyone was lucky enough to conceive as quickly as Kresley and her husband, Dane.
    Brooke shot a wistful glance in Kresley’s direction. The lifestyles editor was one of those blue-eyed, blond, former cheerleaders who’d been beautiful all her life, but in Brooke’s opinion the woman had never looked lovelier than she did now that she was expecting. Of course, Brooke might be biased because she herself had always wanted to be a mom. Every time she’d felt shocked or embarrassed as an adolescent, she’d resolved to do things differently with her own kids. Those imaginary kids had gradually taken shape in her vivid imagination. She wanted to be ridiculously domestic, cooking them spaghetti and meat loaf instead of asking them to try wasabi brownies; she wanted to help them with her homework and sew silly costumes for school plays.
    Granted, she’d never actually made a meat loaf and didn’t own a sewing machine. But these were minor technicalities.
    Kresley interrupted Brooke’s fond plans for her future family. “I for one am relieved that you’re looking at July for the wedding. It’s bad enough that I’m going to be a pregnant bridesmaid, but by September, someone would have to roll me to the front of the church.”
    Brooke laughed. “You’re not that big. Besides, you should be happy you’ve gained weight.”
    For the first trimester, Kresley had been sick as a dog. Unable to hold down foods or liquids—hell, she’d barely been able to hold down air —she’d lost a few pounds.
    “It is nice to have my appetite back,” Kresley admitted with a sheepish look at Brooke’s empty plate. After Kresley had demolished her own salad, she’d finished Brooke’s nachos.
    “Speaking of food—” Meg rose “—I should do a once-around, make sure no one’s in the weeds.”
    When the three women had first agreed to celebrate Brooke’s news and discuss wedding plans over dinner, Megan hadn’t been scheduled to work on Monday. But another waitress had called in sick, and Buck himself had promised them free food if Meg would be on the premises as “just in case” backup. Brooke had to admit her sister was a popular waitress; even with the minimal amount of work she’d done tonight, she’d made good tips. Meg’s last waitressing job had been at a four-star restaurant but required skirts and pantyhose. Meg had ditched that in favor of wearing blue jeans and a black T-shirt to work.
    Once Meg had left to make her rounds, Kresley flashed an evil grin. “Brave move of you, asking your sister to be your maid of honor. You’re not worried about bizarre ceremony surprises or a bachelorette party