“Stay,” he said and slipped out the door. The dogs might do as he said but he didn’t trust Evie so he had to be quick sorting this.
He called a council of advisers. Teela and Haydn. The only couple he knew other than his own parents who had their shit together. They took shelter in a sitting room where there were two more dogs, a terrier wearing a bandana and a large brown poodle with one eye.
“I have this problem,” he said. The poodle sidled up to him and leaned on his leg. Its head level with Grip’s hand.
Teela got straight to it. “Jay.”
Except Haydn said, “Evie,” and the two of them squared off.
“Why would you say it was Evie?” Teela said.
Haydn made a what gives gesture and said, “Why would you say it was Jay?”
“It’s obvious it’s Jay. He left Evie once.”
Haydn reached for Teela. “I left you once.”
She smiled and walked into his embrace. “That was different. We weren’t really together.”
They were going to kiss and make up in a minute and Grip didn’t have time for that. He stroked the poodle’s head. “Guys. Not helping. So not helping. Evie’s not dressed. She thinks she’d going to wreck Jay’s career. Jay is dressed, he looks ace, except for the puke green face and he thinks he’s going to wreck Evie’s career.”
“Is that all?” Haydn asked.
“That’s a lot,” Teela said.
Haydn wiped a hand over his face. “Tee, sweetheart. We had that same worry. We almost weren’t a thing without getting past it.”
Grip cut in. “How exactly did you do that?” If they told him it took months, no one was ever going to ask him to be bridesman again and he would need to drink a shitload.
Teela looked up at Haydn. “We talked a lot.”
“We learned how to trust each other,” Haydn said. “I knew there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for Teela, but that I wasn’t a mind reader and I shouldn’t make assumptions about what she wanted from me.”
“And I figured out that just because he’d do anything for me that didn’t mean I couldn’t speak up for myself about what I wanted.” Teela said.
Haydn put his face in Teela’s hair. “She’d do anything for me too.”
She sighed. “True. So many dogs.”
One of those dogs licked Grip’s hand. “But you’re not married.” There was a sparkler the size of a small island on Teela’s finger and Grip knew from Evie that Haydn had a vasectomy reversed in case Teela should ever want kids. If that wasn’t evidence of a commitment, he didn’t know what was.
“It’s complicated,” Teela said.
“That is not what I want to hear right now.” Grip looked at his watch. Way off schedule.
Haydn ran a hand through his hair. “We need to find the right time. There’s this year’s awards schedule and I don’t want to have to drag Teela along on a promo tour and she just opened a new office, and we were building this house and—”
Bandanna dog yawned and Grip took that as his cue and cut Hollywood’s sexiest man alive off. “All I’m hearing is excuses.”
“You’re right, Grip.” Haydn turned to Teela. “Want to get married today?”
Her eyes bugged. “Today?”
“We have a celebrant. We have the people we love here. My dad is visiting. There’s no media circus to worry about. We can work out how to fit a honeymoon in.” He frowned. “But you don’t have the dress or the shoes.”
She threw her arms around him. “I have everything I need. More than I ever thought possible. Let’s get married today.”
Grip held his hands up. “Okay, okay, wigging me out.”
“Oh no. You’re right. We can’t crash Evie and Jay’s day,” Teela said.
“They’re crashing their own day unless I can talk some sense into them.” At least he could give the people one wedding. “Wait here. I’ll go ask.”
He went back to Jay, his new best friend, the one-eyed poodle at his heels.
“Where have you been?” Jay said, mid-stride, and a better color when Grip walked in. There was a track in the plush carpet where he’d been pacing.
“The whole world peace thing, it’s not a one size fits all.”
“What?”
“Never mind. How do you feel about Haydn and Teela getting married today as well?”
“As well.”
Grip slapped his forehead. “Getting ahead of myself.”
“It is their house. Yeah, I don’t see a problem. What does Evie say?”
Grip said, “Sit, stay,” and included the dog in that, and ignoring Jay’s protests, left to go back to Evie.
“Where have you been?” Evie said, when he stepped into the room where she was still not doing things he thought brides would do. Both dogs were asleep on the floor and at least one of them had farted.
He wrinkled his nose and skipped the world peace snark. “Where do you think I’ve been? Fishing?”
“Jerking off somewhere,” she said.
“My dick is so shriveled by all this I might never be able to get it up again.”
She laughed. “Sorry. I’m nervous.”
“No shit. How do you feel about Teela and Haydn crashing your wedding day?”
“Really?”
“Not my idea.”
“That’s fantastic. I love it. What does Jay say?”
“Wanted to know what you said but he’s good with it.”
“Okay that’s great.” She climbed off the bed. “I should go out there and help her get ready.”
Grip stood in
