The Best Man Plan - Jaci Burton Page 0,8
look seriously hot in your tux.”
He was sweating in the damn thing, more due to the sight of Erin in her almost-dress than anything else. “Thanks.”
“Thank you for wearing it.”
“Anything for you. I want you to have a good time tonight.”
They made it to the bar and she grabbed a glass of champagne, took a sip, then another. “Oh, I intend to have a very good time tonight.”
And he intended to stay close.
IT HAD TAKEN everything within Erin to muster up the courage to come outside and greet her guests. Fortunately, her sisters had surrounded her, as well as her parents. She’d fully expected to have to do a round of “Oh my God, Erin, what happened?” explanations, along with having to endure hours of “I’m so sorry” and “How could he do that to you,” but, shockingly, no one had said a word other than to tell her she looked beautiful, the vineyard and barn looked amazing and they were happy to be there.
Something was up. She didn’t know what it was, but someone had gotten to all the guests in advance and told them not to say anything to her about Owen. Not that she minded. In fact, she was utterly relieved.
“Where did you get that dress?”
She smiled at her friend Alice Weatherford. Erin and Alice had become fast friends after Alice had been snowbound at their house last winter. And then Alice had fallen in love with Clay Henry, who’d also ended up stuck in the house along with them during the snowstorm. The two of them had had a whirlwind romance, and even though Alice had a matchmaking business in LA, she commuted back and forth between LA and Clay’s neighboring ranch.
“I found it at a shop online, fell madly in love with it and ordered it about six months ago. It fit me perfectly and I’ve been saving it for a special occasion.”
“This is a great occasion to wear it, because you look like a sex-bomb queen lording it over your subjects tonight.”
Sex-bomb queen? That wasn’t her intent, but she appreciated Alice’s take on it. “Ooh, thanks. Now I feel even better.”
Alice laid her hand on Erin’s arm. “You should feel better. It looks like half the town showed up for you. And the place looks incredible. I love the colorful lights. And the barn. And those lobster crostinis were to die for.”
“We had a great caterer.” She’d spent months testing out various caterers to find the best one, trying out various appetizers and main courses to make sure they’d end up with one both she and Owen liked. Of course, Owen didn’t care. He’d told her he just wanted her to be happy.
Am I happy now, Owen? How did that work out?
She brushed the thought aside. Not tonight. Tonight Owen Stone didn’t exist. He might never exist again.
She needed more champagne. Fortunately, they’d thought ahead. No, she’d thought ahead, since she’d done all the planning for this wed— this event, and didn’t want people waiting in line at a single bar, which was why there were several. So she walked to the one only a few feet away and grabbed another glass. So convenient. She wandered around with the glass in her hand and visited with several of her friends, some family members, all who were being so friendly and polite and no doubt wondering what was going to happen now that she and Owen were no longer going to get married.
She knew exactly what was going to happen. She was going to move on with her life and put this all behind her, because what good would it do to dwell on it? She couldn’t change what had happened, and thinking incessantly about it would only make her miserable. Erin didn’t believe in being miserable. She believed in being active and happy and planning for the future. The past didn’t belong in the future. She was busy with the business aspect of both the winery and the weddings at the vineyard, and come Monday, when she wouldn’t be on her honeymoon, she’d go back to being busy again.
Life would go on. And while her heart hurt like crazy right now, eventually it wouldn’t hurt anymore.
Simple, right?
“How’s it going?” Brenna asked, coming up to walk with her.
“It’s going about like I expected it to go, except no one’s asking me any questions.”
“That’s good. Did you see that Joaquin Gonzales brought Amber Redmond as his date tonight?”
Erin’s eyes widened. “He did not.”
“He did. And his