Wedding Fever Read online

  Wedding Fever

  Ryland Reynolds

  Copyright © 2020 by Ryland Reynolds

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Also by Ryland Reynolds

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Epilogue

  Also by Ryland Reynolds

  Also by Ryland Reynolds

  Wedding Fever

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  1

  Ben

  “Here, sip this.” Ben put a hand on Oliver’s shoulder and placed a cup of coffee on the breakfast table. He took a seat.

  “Thanks, bud,” Oliver gave a heavy sigh. He sat in front of a plate of pancakes. Ben glanced over at his mussed hair, and his concern for his best friend increased. He could tell Oliver was still upset.

  For the second morning in a row, the guys were all hungover.

  They tore up the Vegas Strip in a night of festivities that involved booze, casinos and strip joints. Feeling hungover, it was hard for Ben to drag himself down to the hotel breakfast buffet to sit with the guys who scarfed down bacon strips and sipped cups of steaming coffee.

  It was also hard for him to have fun when he knew Oliver was hurting. Ben didn’t want him to bottle up the way he felt, and so he took every opportunity to make sure he was doing okay. “Do you wanna talk about him?”

  “I don’t know. I just needed space to think, you know? He was moving too fast,” Oliver said. He paused and glanced around the room. “How was I supposed to react?”

  Ben’s blood boiled as he recalled how a week ago, Olivier’s then-boyfriend, Josh, unexpectedly turned up at Oliver’s apartment with a large suitcase. At the time, Ben was house-sitting and looking after Tucker, Oliver’s four-month old puppy while Oliver visited his parents for the weekend.

  “You reacted like any normal person would. You’d only been dating for a month and he showed up at your door, unannounced,” Ben said, recalling back to when he opened the door and saw Josh. At first, Ben had laughed, thinking it was a joke. There was no way that Josh actually expected Oliver to let him move in with him.

  “I thought he was cute and sweet and funny at first. Why did he have to end up being weird and clingy?” Oliver asked. “And not only has he dumped me, but yesterday Heidi texted me and told me that he’s seeing Simon.”

  “Simon from the third floor?” Ben moved back jerkily; he fully understood why his friend was in an uncharacteristically sad mood. It wasn’t just from the blowout fight with Josh that led to their breakup. It was from feeling anxious over what would happen now that his ex was seeing another guy in the same building.

  “It’s like he’s doing it to get back at me,” Oliver said.

  Ben tried to shake off his anger. Not only had Oliver put up with Josh’s childish behavior after he refused to let him move in with him, but now he had to deal with this. It wasn’t right.

  “The guy is an asshole. You could do way better than him.” Ben meant it. Even though he couldn’t stand to see Oliver hurting over his moronic ex-boyfriend, there was some part of him that was unmistakably, and more than a little guiltily, relieved. Once again, another deadbeat boyfriend left Oliver in shambles. It just proved what Ben always thought — none of them were good enough for Oliver.

  The room rocked with laughter. The bridegroom, Neil, was showing photos from last night, which spurred chuckles and innuendo-filled comments. Their banter tore Ben’s attention away from his thoughts.

  “God, I’m being a real downer right now,” Oliver said. He looked around, brightly. “I shouldn’t even be thinking about that jerk. Well, not when I should be having fun with you guys.”

  “Don’t worry, no one noticed you were upset,” remarked Ben assuredly. “You play it off pretty well.”

  Neil, who’d been Ben’s co-captain on the baseball team in high school and now headed a law firm, was gesturing to notify them that they were going upstairs to pack. Ben told them that they’d catch up after they’d finished. He wanted to make sure Oliver was all right.

  “Damn, I shouldn’t have come if I was going to be like this,” Oliver said, voice hoarse.

  “Bullshit. Neil invited you because you’re fun to be around. This weekend has been great. It’s been fun.” Ben grabbed a cinnamon bun. “How about a movie night tomorrow? We both have the day off work; are you seriously going to turn down a Hammer Horror flick? We can stuff our faces with popcorn and watch monsters that look like Josh.”

  Oliver smiled a tiny smile at the offer. Ben grinned; there was no way he could have let Oliver go back to work without cheering him up. Ben had helped him through breakups in the past, and he knew the most important thing to do when comforting Oliver was to do nothing at all. Just be there for him. Oliver owned the Hammer Horror collection on DVD, which Ben had bought him for Christmas.

  “Maybe we could watch a Hammer Horror,” Oliver agreed, taking a banana from the fruit bowl. “Or maybe we could watch a terrible eighties horror?”

  They loved laughing their heads off at the terrible plots and cheap effects in the eighties horror movies.

  “And if you’re still not in a good mood after that, we could put a banana in his tailpipe,” Ben joked. He was prepared to do what it took to make Oliver smile. “And if that doesn’t work, we can prank him by sending pizzas to his apartment.”

  “That’s the worst prank ever,” Oliver laughed but nodded. “Sure, maybe we can do something like that, too, but I’d rather not waste any more time on him.”

  Ben knew he'd eventually get over this. They’d worked through Oliver’s breakups in the past. Ben would grab Oliver’s calendar, flip forward to as many months as necessary and write the words, “How are you today?” When the day came for Oliver to reply, he always wrote, “I’m great, I have my best friend.” It was cheesy, but it worked. Oliver always felt better with time. But in the interim, Ben accompanied him through the early stages of his breakups, trying to figure out: how can I make him know that he’s special?

  Oliver didn’t need kernels of wisdom or pep talks, he needed someone to listen to him, which Ben was always happy to do. Whenever Oliver was hurting, Ben’s natural impulse was to pull him in for a quick hug, but as they were in the hotel dining hall, he knew Oliver wouldn’t want to draw attention to the fact that he was upset. Being unable to comfort Oliver left Ben feeling helpless.

  “I’m not going to let him get to me. I’m glad we only dated for a month; it gave me enough time to learn about him,” Oliver said, shifting in his seat, staring down at his coffee. “I just don’t see why I can’t find the right guy. Everyone I attract is either possessive or they seem to develop weird traits the moment we start seeing each other.”

  “You’ll find the right guy, a guy who is good enough to be with you, I know it,” Ben assured. “You’re just weeding your way through
the bad ones for now. You deserve better. You’re gorgeous, kind and funny.”

  Oliver calmly ate his pancakes; however, Ben noticed that his eyes had brightened up a little. The sight warmed him to the core.

  “Thanks.” Oliver stabbed a pancake and gave Ben a withering look. “The truth is, I’m not so worried about going back to work. But what am I going to do about Erica’s wedding? I’m single, again. My family is going to compare us as usual.”

  “Because she’s your twin? I guess that’s hard to escape.”

  Erica was Oliver’s ‘big sister’ by fifteen minutes, and Oliver always said she was the complete opposite of him. She was getting married to Brendan Walker, a successful business executive and the perfect partner. It was love at first sight and, from what Ben had heard, he was Erica’s first and only lover.

  “Erica’s always had it together. She’s been seeing Brendan for three years. They’re really great with each other — similar interests, senses of humor, and they both went to UCLA. They look gorgeous. Everyone says they’re a perfect couple.”

  “So, they expect you to be just like her?”

  “Yeah, and I still haven’t got it together. I’m still a fuck up when it comes to relationships. From what I know of Brendan’s family, they all seem to be in happy couples. My cousins have great partners, too. I’ll be the only single guy there.”

  “So you can’t just put up with it for a few days?” Ben said. “You can’t not go on the cruise; it’s your sister’s wedding. I’m sure you can tolerate your family. No?”

  “I could, but I’m dreading what will happen if Uncle Harry shows up. There’s always some sort of drama revolving around him. Every family gathering, it’s the same thing. He shows up with a new girlfriend and they have a fight. I’m really getting tired of it,” Oliver said, pushing his plate aside. “It’s not too bad, I guess. I am looking forward to trying the SkyRide and the Flyboarding.”

  “And seeing your sister married,” Ben interjected with a smile.

  “Yes, of course, but all I’m saying is that the cruise comes with these cool packages. I just hope i’m able to have a stress free time. I’m really looking forward to just having fun.” Oliver sighed and finished his coffee. “Now I know I won’t be able to relax and get away from it all. Uncle Harry usually starts up, and this sets Mom off and then I end up feeling that I’m being judged as someone who let the whole family down.”

  “Are they okay with you being gay?”

  “Meh. Sometimes I get the feeling that they’re just tolerating my sexuality,” Oliver said. “I didn’t care when I thought I’d be taking someone because I didn’t have to face them alone, and going to the Cayman Islands with a boyfriend sounded like a great idea.”

  “That sucks. You never know, there’ll be other passengers on the cruise. You might find yourself a cute single guy.”

  “Maybe for a hookup, but my family knows about my dating history, and I’m beginning to look like the guy with a never-ending string of hookups that haven’t been nearly close to anything resembling a serious relationship.” A frown line creased Oliver’s forehead. “And, I don’t want to look like I haven’t been trying to have a serious relationship. I’ve always wanted to find the right guy, i’ve just had bad taste in men.”

  Ben nodded. A soft warm smile spread over his face. He rubbed Oliver’s shoulder and desperately searched for a way to help him. He knew that Oliver coming out to his family presented plenty of challenges, but since Oliver never spoke about them, Ben thought they had finally accepted him. Having dropped out of grad school against his family’s wishes, Ben knew what it was like to not live up to family expectations.

  Oliver needed to filter out the asshole boyfriends with control and jealousy issues right away. Ben understood that it wasn’t his fault that guys tried to treat him like their personal property.

  “You’ve come across a few bad guys; I don’t see how anyone could judge you for that,” Ben said. “And even after things don’t work out, I’ve watched you get back up and dust yourself off time and time again. If that’s not something to be admired, then I don’t know what is.”

  “Ben…you always know what to say. No wonder your clients love you.”

  Ben was a personal trainer in the gym on the first floor of the office building where Oliver worked. But he sometimes felt like a life coach, dietitian, and fitness coach all rolled into one. He often had to encourage his clients, push them past their limits and motivate them to overcome obstacles and face challenges head-on. Oliver sometimes referred to him as a walking Pinterest because he was always trying to solve everyone’s problems.

  “They usually give me a death stare when I push them to do one more rep,” Ben laughed. “Maybe hate is the new love.”

  “I’m sure they love you,” Oliver smiled, but he followed it with a sigh. “I look around and see everyone with their soulmates, and I feel like a failure. I wanted to get married someday. But it feels like it’ll never happen with the guys I seem to attract.”

  “Come on, don’t think like that. What matters is that you learn something from each relationship. Whether it’s about yourself, your worth, or something about a particular situation…” Ben bit down on his lip to stop himself from continuing. Oliver didn’t need a life coach; he needed a friend.

  “You’re right,” Oliver said. “You always know what to say. You give the best advice.”

  Ben didn’t want to give the best advice. He wanted to take action. If only he could be more hands-on in helping Oliver. Instead, he could only give pep talks, and when he wasn’t talking, he sat quiet, attentive.

  Suddenly, a thought popped into his head, but he picked up his cup and drank his coffee, pushing the thought aside — the mental move was almost reflexive because the idea was so absurd. And suggesting it would only make Oliver feel awkward.

  However, Oliver’s expression told Ben that the pain and misery weren’t going away. The mask of cheer had disappeared from his face, and he looked so tired. There had to be a better idea than the one swirling inside Ben’s head, but he couldn’t come up with one. He needed to do something to cure Oliver of the never-ending, aching loneliness that hung over him.

  “You should take me.” Ben’s stomach dropped like a brick as soon as he uttered the words. This was definitely awkward. His heart started to race.

  “Very funny,” Oliver laughed, weakly. “But I don’t think taking my best friend would lessen the pressure. I mean, you’re a great social buffer and you’re lots of fun, but…”

  “You need a boyfriend — I just thought that maybe you could take me as your fake one,” Ben said. Oliver looked confused, and Ben was forced to elaborate. “The only other option that I can think of is if you hired a fake boyfriend, but I’d be perfect. You could pay me in chocolates!”

  Oliver closed his eyes. “Ben, you’re not even gay.”

  “They don’t have to know that, do they?” Ben waited, looking at him with a mixture of fear and excitement. But the more he thought about it, the better the idea seemed. “Dude, we could totally pull it off. This is brilliant!”

  “I guess if I turned up with you as my boyfriend, I wouldn’t have to do the same old song and dance.”

  “You could at least sound a bit excited about it,” Ben joked. “I know I’m not like the guys you usually go for, but you could coach me on how to act.”

  “I think you’d fail miserably at playing an asshole,” Oliver said. “You’re the perfect boyfriend, anyway. According to water cooler gossip, you’re the next Shaun T. Your classes are all the rage with the ladies on my floor.”

  “Hearing that makes me want to flash my abs the next time we take lunch together,” Ben said.

  “I think I’d be more likely to do that than you. And I don’t even have abs,” Oliver said. He was a data analyst. He had told Ben that his job wasn’t stellar, or exciting, just doable. Some days it was mind-blowingly frustrating, and other days it went smoothly. It was mostly mundane. In contrast, Be
n actually loved being a personal trainer. His job stayed the same, but the people changed. It was extremely heartening to make a difference in a person’s life.

  They hung out every weekend and on most weekdays. Oliver even gave Ben his own key to his apartment. They rarely went to bars and hardly ever met up with friends. Not that there were a bunch of people eager to get hold of them, as their circle was pretty limited. Ben and Oliver had movie marathons, played video games and stayed up talking late into the night. They relished each other’s company and never had a lot of opportunities to meet new people.

  Oliver sometimes remarked that Ben would have an endless line of girls at his door if he wanted. But Ben wasn’t too interested in dating. It had been a year since he broke up with his last girlfriend, and he wasn’t looking for another relationship.

  “Come on, man, what do you say? This is a great idea,” Ben said. “I promise we’ll have a great time. I can even be your wingman if you want.”

  “Give me a day or two to think it over. This could come back and bite us in the ass,” Oliver said. “And you’ll need to ask for the time off.”

  “I can tell you’re tempted,” Ben said, feeling excited again. “I don’t have any clients booked for two weeks, and I’m due a vacation anyway. We can totally do this!”

  Ben could see that Oliver was coming around to the idea. He felt like breaking into a wide grin, but he knew he couldn’t get his hopes up too high. Still, a vacation with Oliver was like a dream come true.