“Oh my God,” Jonathan said. “Zoey’s mom is here.” Jonathan slid down in the chair and shielded his eyes. She might not recognize him right away, but being with Dan and Brady was a dead giveaway of who he was.
Zoey’s mom, Rachel, was rarely around when Jonathan dated Zoey in high school. Zoey’s dad had just left her, and she had worked several jobs to make ends meet. She had always looked at him with skepticism, like she was trying to figure out if he was a good one or not. He always found her to be the scariest woman he had ever met, even scarier than his ex-wife.
“Oh shit, my sister is here too,” Brady said. “I knew she would do something like this.”
“Your sister!” Dan said, lighting up like a spotlight. “Where?”
“Two o’clock,” Brady said, taking his sunglasses off now so he could rub his eyeballs.
“Makenna’s coming over,” Dan said. He began muttering under his breath, “Act cool, act cool…”
“Hello, boys,” Makenna, Brady’s little sister, said, her hands on the back of the empty chair at their table. “Fancy meeting you here. I meant to text you that we were coming, but Mom told me to stop being on my phone.”
“Hi, Makenna,” Brady said. “Did you, by chance, decide to come here since I texted you this morning about this place?”
“Mom wanted to come here, I swear,” Makenna said, pulling back a chair to sit down. “I didn’t know you were going to bring Jonathan.”
“He’s my best man. You knew that, right?”
“Maybe?” she said, looking up at the sky. “Yeah, I knew that. I think I forgot. Sorry, Jonathan.”
“It’s okay. I didn’t know your mom and Rachel were so close,” Jonathan said in the general direction of the Brady siblings.
“Book club,” Makenna and Brady said in unison.
“You dating anyone?” Makenna asked. She took Dan’s glass and took a sip of his mimosa. Dan was speechless, which never really happened.
“Nope. Just got divorced,” Jonathan said.
“Yeah, I didn’t think Nikki was great for you. Really a downgrade from Zoey, in my opinion. Even before Nikki did what she did,” Makenna said. Always one for blunt honesty. Jonathan glared at Brady. He had the biggest mouth. Brady spewed unintelligible insults at his baby sister.
Jonathan enjoyed golf, one of the many reasons he called Phoenix home. Nikki, his now ex-wife, had expressed an interest in learning before joining him on the green. He gifted her golf lessons for Christmas three years prior, and she started talking about golf constantly, which gave him hope, since they were fighting all the time and he even spent a few nights in the guest bedroom. He hated the clichéd way he caught her, on their kitchen island, with a twenty-year-old kid named Greyson, hammering her like he was breaking up concrete. Greyson had helped him with his clubs the week before.
Dan’s mouth was agape as Makenna drained his champagne flute. Makenna’s dark hair was down, and the wind lifted her curls playfully in the breeze. She wore giant sunglasses and a tank top that showed off her gorgeous, half-sleeve tattoo on her right arm, mostly done in grayscale with royal blue accents for a bluebird and a sapphire. It was early, but Makenna wore a full face of makeup, and Jonathan noticed she must have recently got a nose ring. He couldn’t tell if she was shiny from makeup or sweat.
Dan really didn’t lift and currently sported an ash blond beard with messy, uncombed hair. Dan stood a full two inches shorter than Makenna, and she usually wore heels. At first glance, one would say Makenna was out of his league. However, since Jonathan had known him, Dan had dated some beautiful women since he could flirt his ass off. Dan called himself a solid six with the personality of a ten.
“Are you still in L.A.?” Dan asked, propping his chin on his hand, his eyes fixed on her face.
“Yeah, but I’ve been thinking about moving back. L.A. is so expensive. The traffic is terrible. My job would transfer me no problem,” Makenna said. Jonathan noticed Dan lift slowly off his chair.
“Let me take you out. When you get back in town.”
“Dude, I’m right here,” Brady said with his hands open.
Makenna did not respond. “It’s been a while since you’ve seen Zoey’s mom, right, Jonathan? Might as well get it out of the way. Let me call her over.” Makenna stood up and waved. “Rachel, over here!”
Jonathan may have passed out for a second.
Makenna had always been close to Zoey, following her around like a puppy dog when they were younger. No doubt she had heard about what happened from her. Plus, Makenna welcomed confrontation. If she didn’t like something you said, she would call you out.
“Why are you being the worst right now?” Brady asked.
“Hey, better now than at the wedding,” Makenna said. “I don’t think she’ll yell at you, so there’s that…”
“It’ll be fine,” Dan added.
Rachel, Zoey’s mom, crossed the patio with a smile of recognition on her lips for Makenna and Brady. Jonathan didn’t remember her being so smiley.
“Oh, if it isn’t the groom!” Rachel said, squeezing Brady in a side hug, planting a glossy lip print on his cheek. Brady winced at the touch.
“Good to see you, Rachel. It’s been a while,” Brady said.
Rachel smudged the lip gloss from Brady’s cheek. “We just came for some brunch since Makenna recommends it so highly,” Rachel said. Rachel scanned the table, only looking at Dan and not at Jonathan. If there was a way to disappear into thin air, this would be the time. Rachel tilted her head in Dan’s direction. “Dan Price?”
“Hello, Rachel,” Dan said, rounding the table and kissing her hand.
“I wasn’t expecting you to be here!” Rachel said, a flush coming to her cheeks.
“Kyle’s wife just had a baby, like, a day ago so Dan is filling in as groomsman,” Brady said.
“Same size and everything,” Dan said. “I’ve been in thirty-one weddings. I’m a professional.”
“I bet,” Rachel said. “Oh, I hope Kyle’s wife is okay. She’s a tiny thing.”
“The tiniest,” Dan said, still holding Rachel’s hands and fake-smiling.
Rachel then turned to Jonathan. Her eyes narrowed and her mouth crinkled. “Jonathan Turner?”
Makenna smirked in her seat.
“Guilty,” Jonathan said, waving his hands like he was a third-rate magician.
“Makenna, why are all my daughter’s ex-boyfriends at one table?”
“They’re Brady’s groomsmen. Jonathan is the best man,” Makenna said. Her voice soared with joy. Jonathan gave her a death wish look as she stifled giggles. He probably deserved this.
Rachel looked down and back up. Good to know she hadn’t lost her touch. She still scared the shit out of him now. Her face fell serious. “I didn’t know you all were close.”
“The closest,” Jonathan said. “We painted each other’s toenails yesterday.”
“Why?” Rachel asked.
“It’s a joke, Rachel,” Brady said. Rachel grunted a sound. He wasn’t sure if that was a laugh and something more disapproving.