He picked up his phone and clicked on her contact information. Yeah, they’d just talked, but he wanted to ask her what she thought. His thumb hovered over the video chat. He wanted to see her expressions when he asked her opinion. Macie’s face never hid anything. He liked that about her.
“Mr. Sparks,” one of the new assistants said from his door. He flipped his phone over and smiled. “There’s a gentleman here to see you. He wouldn’t give me his name but told me to tell you ‘domestic beer sucks’.”
Zac bit back a laugh. “Send him in.”
Ford strolled through Zac’s door, closing it behind him. “Nice digs, buddy.”
“Thanks. What brings you by?” Zac leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head.
Ford’s normal jovial smile disappeared. “Am I making a mistake?”
“That shirt’s a mistake.” Zac pointed to the ‘Vote for Me’ t-shirt. The shirt was yellow, the lettering rainbow. Ford made it for a campus rally for the election last year. It was his mild-mannered way to protest all the candidates. He actually got four votes. “Other than that, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Marrying Lauren. Am I making a mistake?” Ford stared straight at his friend. He slouched in his chair. That was unusual, but Zac was more concerned about Ford’s pale skin and bloodshot eyes. “Am I?”
Zac’s arms fell to his side. He wanted to say yes. It was too soon to get married. They’d just graduated and had plenty of time. But Ford had been talking about marrying Lauren since the night they met. He’d saved for the perfect ring for two years, even working extra jobs Lauren didn’t know about. Besides, Zac had shared his concerns before and they’d fallen on deaf ears. Now wasn’t the time to bring it up. “Why would you even think that?”
Ford turned away from Zac, settling his gaze on the generic painting on the wall. “I ... All my planning, I never expected to be in this much debt. I knew I’d have student loans to pay off, but ... It’s too much. Way more than I ever thought. I don’t want to bring her down to my level.”
“What did Lauren say?” Zac asked, knowing good and well what Lauren would say. If Ford bothered to talk to her at all.
Ford’s head snapped back. “What does she say about me doubting whether or not to marry her? Do you really think I’m that stupid? Lauren would kick my ass out and tell me where to go.”
“I meant about the debt. The loans.”
“She said we’d get through it.” Ford shrugged. “We’ll just have to put off having kids for a while.” He moved to the edge of his seat, resting his elbows on the corner of Zac’s desk. “But she doesn’t want to. You know we’ve been planning this wedding for well over a year, even before I officially proposed. And we’ve been planning the family, too. It’s what she wants. I’m destroying her dream.”
“Altering, Ford. Not destroying.” Zac reached out and put his hand on Ford’s shoulder. “Sometimes we spiral out of control in life and all we can do is survive.”
Ford wrinkled his eyebrows. “That sounds like something Macie would say.” His frown deepened as his gaze settled on Zac’s desk. “Speaking of Macie, how’re things going? You haven’t called me for bail yet.”
Zac turned and glanced at the back of his phone. “Good. She already had most of the work done on the party. We’ve got more work to do tonight.”
“Over the phone?” Ford’s voice buried his amusement.
“No, we’ll probably meet at her place.” Zac picked up his phone but put it back down. Anything to avoid Ford’s psychological scrutiny.
“Her place? How many times have you been there?” Ford narrowed his eyes, psychoanalyzing Zac as expected.
“A few. Why?” Zac diverted his gaze to the computer. He couldn’t let Ford see that the line of questioning was getting under his skin. Another cliché. He typed himself an email to look that one up too. Although a memory tickled the back of his brain about it. Something about actual torture. Or maybe it was this conversation that was actual torture.
“I’ve never been there. And Lauren’s been there once, for wedding stuff. Macie’s rarely home as it is. Is something going on?”
Zac’s head snapped toward his friend. He’d never lied to Ford about anything significant. Was this significant? It felt like it was. Either way, he’d tell Ford white lies here and there, but when it came down to the big stuff, Zac preferred honesty. But this, whatever this was, wasn’t something he wanted to share. “Like I said. Party planning.”
“At Macie’s?” The skepticism overflowed in Ford’s voice. “Why not over the phone?”
Zac laughed at that. “Obviously you’ve never seen Macie’s wedding planner. It’s huge. She has this incredible system that has to be seen to be believed. Every tiny detail is penciled in, even contingency plans if something falls through. It amazed me.” He shrugged, not bothering to wipe the stupid grin off his face. “Seeing what she’s got planned and hearing it are two different things. Once I saw everything laid out, it was easier for us to work together.”
“Nothing else?” Ford asked.
“Fuck, Ford. What’s with the fifth degree?” Macie’s voice shot from Zac’s phone. Ford’s and Zac’s heads twisted at a dangerous speed. “You’re the one who insisted on the joint bachelor party. How the fuck else are we going to work on it?”
Blotches of red splattered across Ford’s face. “Do you always have to be so vulgar?”
“Someone has to.” Zac could almost see Macie shrug her shoulder and grin. He leaned his
