The Best Man in Texas Read Online Free PDF

won’t let you pay,” Jake had said. “This is a celebration. Consider dinner a gift to you and the lucky lady.”
    Giff had given up then, smiling down at Brooke. “ I’m the lucky one.”
    Pulling herself back to the present, Brooke straightened in her seat. “Am I bringing enough to this marriage?”
    “What?” Kresley looked confused.
    “Me and Giff. As you pointed out, he does have money. And looks. And a heart the size of Texas.”
    Kresley set her cup down so hard that orange juice probably would have sloshed out were it not for the plastic lid. “Do not tell me this July jerk is making you question whether you’re good enough for Giff.”
    “Not exactly. I just…”
    It wasn’t like Brooke to dwell on the past, especially with such a bright future to look forward to, but sherecalled the intense emotional highs she’d experienced when she was twenty. Her boyfriend had seemed like her world. She didn’t feel that now. Didn’t a man as special as Giff deserve that kind of devotion, someone who would view him as her world?
    You don’t feel that because you’ve matured, dummy. Giff wanted a woman he could build a life with, not someone who mooned over him like an infatuated teenager.
    “Never mind.” Brooke scooted her chair back. “I’m not making any sense.”
    Kresley grinned. “If it makes you feel any better, I wasn’t always coherent during my engagement, either. I swore I was going to lose my mind before the actual wedding arrived. Of course, I let Dane’s mom and mine talk us into a huge circus of a wedding. You shouldn’t have that problem.”
    “Definitely not,” Brooke said, repressing a shudder at the idea of turning her ceremony into a spectacle. “Some people might find it weird that I write about all these gala weddings for a living and don’t want one of my own, but my job’s given me time to really think about it.” People stressed over colors and fabrics and venues…which font to use on the invitations, for pity’s sake!
    But those were details. They weren’t marriage. She felt as though 90 percent of her job was writing prologues instead of an actual story. People didn’t seem to realize that the Big Day was nothing more than the once-upon-a-time part; they had years—decades—ahead of them to work toward their happily-ever-after.Maybe she was cynical, but when she typed up stories of horse-drawn carriages and the release of white doves, she found herself wondering if the bride and groom weren’t trying a bit too hard, if they weren’t compensating, substituting storybook-style romance for deeper, truer love. She and Giff might not revel in the glitz, but they had a good partnership.
    She smiled, her spirits lifted. “If I’m going to take off early to meet Giff this afternoon, I’d better get to work.”
    “Absolutely.” Kresley made shooing motions toward the door. “Go earn your keep.”
    Brooke’s day passed quickly; she typed up two engagement announcements, had a phone interview with a local woman starting her own greeting card line and drafted a story about a bride and groom who planned to work both of their very different heritages into the ceremony. Was it hubris that she thought it turned out to be a very touching article?
    When the phone rang after lunch, she answered it with a smile, half-expecting Giff. They were supposed to look at three wedding venues today.
    “This is Brooke Nichols.” Soon to be Brooke Baker. She rolled the name around in her head, adjusting to the sound of it. Unfortunately her pleasant musing was cut short by a mother of the bridezilla who was calling to complain that her daughter’s marriage to a young man from Conroe hadn’t received more coverage.
    And I thought the bride was shrill. Brooke held the phone a few inches away from her ear and kicked herself for not leaving ten minutes ago.
    After she’d finally escaped the haranguing, Brooke had to call Giff and warn him that she’d be slightly late for their meeting