I grumbled at the ground, then sighed. “Rowen?” I stood. She paused and turned to me with a smile, like she knew I’d have something else for her. Damn that women’s intuition thing. “Josie and me? You really think we’ve got a chance at making it?

Her smile spread. “There’s only one way to find out.” With a wink, Rowen continued on her way and left me to work out the biggest mindfuck I’d dealt with to date.

“SOMEONE ORDER A mail-order best man?” I shouted, charging into the barn office where Mrs. Walker had directed me.

Jesse was draped over a metal chair, looking as cool and collected as any other day. The guy was about to swear a lifetime to one woman, and his forehead wasn’t even beaded with sweat. “You made it.” He grinned an ear-to-ear one and popped out of the chair.

“Did you have your doubts?” I shook his hand and gave him a quick, awkward manly hug. Lots of hard back patting was involved.

“Nah,” he replied. “No doubts.”

“That much faith in me, eh?”

“Not really, but I have plenty of faith in Rowen. Especially when she got that look on her face and headed out to hunt you down. I’ve learned to cease and desist whatever I’m doing if she ever turns that determined, take-no-prisoners expression on me.”

I chuckled. “You always were the smart one.” Jesse sat again and checked his watch. “Someone a little antsy?” If he was, he sure as hell wasn’t showing it.

“Not antsy, but excited.”

“Excited? For a wedding?” I wrinkled my nose. “Jess, we’re cowboys. We don’t get excited over weddings. Not even when they’re our own.”

Jesse’s boot kicked mine. “Well, I’m excited about a wedding and I’m a cowboy. So consider your world officially rocked.”

“Okay, I get why you’d be excited for the wedding night . . . but the actual wedding itself? Flowers? Long-ass ceremony? Old women in big hats? What the hell’s so exciting about that?” I could see the excitement written on every plane of his face. I guess I was looking for an explanation as to why.

Jesse shrugged, checking his watch again. “In one hour, Rowen’s going to be my wife. I wouldn’t care if the ceremony leading up to that included electric shock therapy and bamboo shoots up my finger nails. I’d still be excited knowing that when all that was said and done, I’d get to call her my wife.”

“Mrs. Sterling-Walker . . .” I gave him a sly smile, which earned me another kick.

“Yeah, yeah. I know you don’t get it, but it works for us. And that’s all that matters.” Jesse hadn’t stopped smiling since I walked in the room. Knowing him, he’d probably been smiling in his sleep since she agreed to marry him.

And then I stopped to think about what he’d just said—It worked for them. Jesse and Rowen were far from a cookie-cutter couple, but damn if they weren’t the happiest, most in love one I’d ever had the nauseating pleasure of being around. They’d managed to figure out a way to make things work for them. The odds were stacked against them—the rebel city girl with a checkered past and the golden country boy—but they’d figured out a way to make it work. And that was all that mattered . . . I almost had to slap my cheeks to snap out of it. “So? Best man duties? Give me the basic rundown.”

Jesse leaned back in the chair, and I had to suppress the urge to kick it out from under him. It was his wedding day and all—if ever a guy deserved a break, it would be that day. “I don’t know. Just back me up if any of Rowen’s exes show up and try to sweep her away. Oh, and try not to cuss or pull out your flask and take a swig in the middle of the ceremony.” Jesse’s eyes narrowed as he searched for other suggestions. “Don’t piss Rowen off. Or Josie. Or anyone for that matter.”

“Slow down, Sterling-Walker. Slow. Down.” Jesse smirked at me. “If any of Rowen’s exes show up, I’ve got your back—no problem. Kicking ass is one of the few things I do best.” Jesse nodded. “I promise to try not to cuss, and you don’t have to worry about any swigging in the middle of the ceremony because I’m”—I unbuttoned my jacket and held it open, patting each pocket—“flaskless.” Jesse’s eyes widened in surprise. “And I won’t piss off your bride or hopefully anyone else, and I will certainly try not to piss Josie off.”

“You know what? Just to be safe, why don’t you not even make eye contact with Josie during the ceremony? Rowen promised to pat her down to make sure she wouldn’t try to hide a shotgun under her dress, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. So no eye contact, just in case. At that range, there’d be nothing left of you above the neck.” Grabbing a piece of straw off the floor, he flicked it at me. “But with that ugly mug gone, you’d be a lot more attractive, so no worries either way I guess.”

I flipped him my middle finger. “It’s not like she’s going to be a few feet in front of me.” Jesse’s eyebrows came together as I had a light bulb moment. “She is going to be a few feet in front of me.”

“I thought Rowen told you. Josie’s her maid of honor, so you two will be standing right across from each other, and you have to escort her down the aisle at the end of the ceremony.”

That was why I should have been around for the rehearsal last night. I would have known Josie would be directly across from me and I could have worn a bullet-proof vest under my jacket. I had planned to talk to Josie at some point that night, but it wouldn’t happen before the ceremony since it was minutes away from starting. I was practically squirming as I pictured the glare she’d have aimed at me the entire time. “Well, fuck me. And here I thought the most uncomfortable part of this thing would be the tie.” I grabbed at it again, pulling it back so I could take a full breath.

“Sorry, pal.”

“Sure, you’re not.”

A knock sounded on the other side of the door before Mrs. Walker peeked her head in. “It’s time, Jess. You boys ready?”

Jesse popped out of the chair and ran his hands down his jacket. They were having a straight-up cowboy wedding—from the jeans, to the boots, to the black felt hats.

“I’m ready,” I said to Mrs. Walker and hitched my thumb at Jesse. “He’s excited.”

Mrs. Walker laughed. “What can I say? I raised a deranged son.” Jesse swirled his finger beside his head.

“Nah, Mrs. Walker. You raised one hell of a man.” I don’t know who looked at me with more surprise.

After giving Jesse a solid hug, Mrs. Walker gave me just as solid of one. “You didn’t turn out so bad yourself, Mr. Black.” Patting my cheek, she slipped back out the door, leaving it cracked for us. I heard the guitars in the background playing some Johnny Cash song . . . of course.

“Okay, this is it. How do I look?” Jesse held his hands out.

“Ugly.”

“Thanks for the confidence booster”—Jesse slugged my arm and headed for the door—“best man.”

“Nice jeans, by the way. Good of you to get dressed up for your own wedding. Pathetic.”

Jesse shrugged, my sarcasm bouncing right off of him. “What can I say? Rowen kind of has a thing for my jeans.”

“No, Rowen kind of has a thing for your ass.”

He paused at the door and gave an exaggerated wink. “I can’t blame her. I do have a fantastic ass.”

“Sounds like someone’s boosted their own confidence,” I muttered as Jesse slipped out the door. “Hey, Jess, hold up just a quick sec.”

Bad timing was my M.O., but I had to get it off of my chest. I’d taken my sweet time saying it, but there I was in some big hurry to get it out right as he was about to say “I do.”

“What’s up?”

I sucked in a heavy breath. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for that night with Josie. You trusted me to take care of someone you loved, and I betrayed you both. And I’m sorry.” I couldn’t seem to say it enough. “So fucking sorry.” One more time, I guess. “I just wanted you to know. I wanted you to know I didn’t plan for that to happen, or even want it to, but I didn’t do anything to stop it either.” I told Josie I’d never apologized to her for that night because I wasn’t sorry it happened, and that was true—it was hard to be sorry for a night I thought I’d only live in my dreams. But there was another part to it, the other side of the coin. I was sorry for the people I’d hurt. I was sorry for betraying one of my best friends. Well, I was sorry for betraying my two best friends. Jesse stayed quiet, the skin between his brows creasing deeper and deeper with every word. “Oh, and one more thing. I’m sorry for not saying I’m sorry sooner. It took me two pathetic years to apologize to my best friend for making love to his girlfriend behind his back.”