A fact Scarlett would have brought up as a way of discouraging this crush.
Too bad it didn’t work.
No matter how many times she told it to herself.
Dean Jones was the ultimate man to her and she knew the main reason she never wanted a serious relationship was because he was always right there–small town living meant they ran into each other a lot. And every time she saw him, it just reinforced why no other man measured up and how it was never going to happen for them.
And now she had to move on with her life.
He caught her eye from across the room and smiled. The weak smile she gave him was forced and rather than think about it, she turned her attention back to the bar and ordered a second glass of wine.
Everything felt…off.
Glancing around the room, Dean Jones saw how everyone was laughing and smiling and having a great time and yet…he felt like he didn’t belong.
No, that wasn’t it; he felt envious.
And how pathetic was that?
His baby sister was getting ready to have a baby and was getting married in the morning. She was six years younger than him. He glanced over at his brother Hunter who was two years younger than Dean and already had a kid. Granted, Hunter and his on-again-off-again girlfriend never married, but they had started a family. Kyle was next and wasn’t in any kind of relationship so there wasn’t anything there, but…dammit, Dean felt like his family was passing him by.
Frowning, he took a pull of his beer and continued to scan the room. He knew everyone here–literally, everyone. True, this was an intimate dinner for thirty, but he knew each and every face here. That came with living in a small town. As he continued to look around, he realized they were all doing things with their lives like getting married and having kids, or for the older couples, they were traveling and enjoying their grandkids. And where was he? Nowhere, with no one and no prospects of there being a someone.
Yeah, pathetic.
He caught a glimpse of Courtney from across the room and realized they were the only two people in the room who didn’t look like they were having any fun. Dean knew why he wasn’t, but was curious about why she wasn’t. If there was one thing he knew about Courtney, it was how she liked having a good time. She was usually the life of the party–always loud and boisterous and full of laughter.
She’s certainly not doing any of those things right now…
Maybe the fact that she was days away from moving was distracting her, but damn, he wished she didn’t look so sad and alone. He was about to go over and talk to her but quickly decided against it. She never seemed to have a problem laughing and joking with Kyle or even Hunter, but whenever he was around, she usually clammed up.
Or walked away like she had back out on the deck.
It was probably because while they were all growing up, he had to be like one of the parents–always watching his younger siblings while his father was at work and making sure no one got into trouble. It was a lot of responsibility on him and he took it seriously.
Especially when his mother died.
After that happened, he was even more protective of his family and tried to fill the void of losing their mom.
So he was the serious brother, the rule enforcer, and…it sucked.
Before he could think any more about it, the announcement that dinner was being served was called out. He took his place at a table along with his brothers, father, grandfather, and…Courtney.
Smiling, he held out a chair for her and she softly thanked him. Taking the seat beside her, he thought maybe it was prophetic that she was sitting with them. They could talk and he could try to figure out why she was being so quiet.
And maybe he’d finally be brave enough to…
“There you are,” Scarlett said as she came walking over. She grabbed Courtney’s hand and pulled her to her feet. “I want you sitting with me up at the head table. Sam and Shelby are sitting with us too, so…” Then she looked at her brothers and smiled. “Sorry for making this the lone guy table, but…”
“Or maybe we should call it the lonely guy table,” Kyle joked and Hunter punched him in the arm. “Ow!”
“No worries, little miss,” their grandfather said, ignoring the spectacles beside him. “Although, I was looking forward to having such a beautiful girl sitting with us.”
“Oh, stop, Tommy. You rascal,” Courtney said before walking over and planting a loud, smacking kiss on his grandfather’s cheek. “You better save a dance for me tomorrow!”
“You know it!” he called out and Dean swore the old guy was blushing.
Before he could even process where Courtney was going, their meals were being served. Conversation around the table flowed and once everyone was done eating, speeches were made by both Scarlett and Mason–thanking everyone for coming and to talk about how excited they both were for the wedding tomorrow. Honestly, Dean was happy for them. Never in a million years did he imagine his sister marrying into one of the wealthiest families in town, but he knew that had little to do with their relationship. Still, he was happy that Scarlett would hopefully never have to struggle again.
They’d done that enough while growing up.
He raised his glass with everyone to toast the happy couple, he enjoyed a celebratory cupcake when they were passed around, and was more than a little thankful that the night was coming to an end. Tomorrow would be even longer and, no doubt, more draining, and right now the only thing Dean was looking forward to was going home and enjoying a little peace and quiet before going to sleep.
Yeah, just call me Mr. Excitement…
Walking across the room, he wanted a chance to say goodnight to Scarlett and Mason. As he got closer, however, he could see his sister looked upset.
Again.
Damn pregnancy hormones. He swore his sister had cried more in the last seven months than she had in her entire life.
When he was beside her, he carefully asked, “Hey, what’s going on? What are you upset about now?”
Mason was the one to answer. “Scarlett feels like Courtney had a little too much to drink and is worried about her driving home and…let’s just say things got a little tense.”
“Dean,” Scarlett began pitifully, “you have to make sure she doesn’t drive! She won’t listen to me and I realize she doesn’t have far to go, but…you have to go after her! She’s probably still in the driveway. It’s a little chaotic even with the hired valet and…”
“Isn’t she sleeping by you tonight?” he quickly interrupted before she got herself even more worked up. “I thought that was the plan–Courtney was staying with you at your place.”
“She is, but she’s mad at me and said she’s not staying over!” she sobbed. “How could she do that? She’s my maid of honor and…and…”
Dean looked at her and then Mason before he nodded. “Okay, okay, don’t worry. I’ll make sure she safely gets to your place.” Then he paused. “Wait, when we say your place, do we mean your old place or your place on the beach–Mason’s place?”
“The place on the beach is our place,” Scarlett corrected. “But yeah, I mean my old place. We wanted one last night to hang out there like old times, and now she said she changed her mind!”