Best Man's Bride (Harlequin American Romance Series #1210)

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Nick Jameson asked his best friend. "I was going to ask you that," Josh Towers said as he peered into the mirror on the wall of the groom's dressing room, straightening a bow tie that was already perfectly straight. But then, nearly everything about Josh was perfect--apart from his taste in women. Nick sighed. "What do I need to know? I'm not getting married." Not ever. "You missed the rehearsal, you know." "Hey, I was on call last night." Nick shrugged, testing the seams on his tuxedo jacket. Tuxedos were called monkey suits for a reason, he thought. They were damned near as comfortable as straitjackets. Not that he'd ever been in a straitjacket, but if for some reason he considered doing what Josh was--getting married--he'd put himself in one. "And what's so hard about what I have to do?" Nick asked his friend. He had stood up with Josh at his other wedding--the first one. He was such a hypocrite. How could he stand up for something in which he put no faith? "I just walk down the aisle with some girl on my arm." "You're the best man," Josh reminded him. "You're in charge of the rings, too." He dug a pair of gold bands out of his pocket and handed them over. The metal, although warm from Josh's pocket, chilled Nick's skin as the rings lay in his palm. The anxiety built in his throat, nearly choking him. He didn't even like to touch the things. "Daddy," one of Josh's twin four-year-old sons said, "we're the ring bears." "Funny, you don't look like bears," Nick teased, chucking the boy under the chin. Must have been Buzz since his black hair had been kept buzzed short for the past two years after he'd gotten hold of Josh's electric razor. TJ's hair was a little longer and moussed into half-inch spikes. Both twins had deep blue eyes, and now they stared up at him as if he were trying to make off with one of their Tonka trucks. "Yeah," said TJ as he tugged on Nick's pant leg. The twins' tuxedos matched his, black with white pleated shirts, black bow ties and red cummerbunds. "We're supposed to carry the rings." Nick would gladly have handed over the gold bands, but he doubted Josh would trust them to the devilish duo. The boys had a well-known penchant for "flushing" things, including their dad's pager and cell phone. "Hey, buddy," Nick said to his best friend, "I'll let you handle this one." With a grin, he ducked out of the groom's room, leaving Josh alone with his unruly twin sons. No wonder the guy had decided to marry a woman he barely knew. The boys had him outnumbered and he needed help fast--he needed a mother for his sons. Although Nick understood Josh's reasons, he didn't agree with his friend's decision. After the boys' mom had taken off when the twins were just babies, why would Josh ever trust another woman? Nick would never make that mistake, not that he didn't think some women were worthy of trust. His dad swore his mother had been a paragon of virtue. Nick, himself, had never known her. He'd been younger than the twins when she died. It wasn't that he mistrusted all women, so much as that he really didn't trust himself. If a guy as smart as Josh hadn't had the sense to fall for the right woman, a guy like Nick didn't stand a chance. Hearing the outraged howl that signaled a major temper tantrum in the groom's room, Nick walked farther away from the door. Sure, he could have gone inside and tried to help out--he was the best man, after all. But Nick was going to have the boys all to himself during Josh's honeymoon. If he hadn't already sworn off marriage and fatherhood, he was damned sure he would after two weeks with the twins. Another door opened farther down the hall and a group of women spilled out. A young girl dressed like a miniature bride, a blonde, a redhead and a brunette, all dressed in shiny red strapless gowns. Which one of them was he supposed to walk down the aisle? Maybe heChilds, Lisa is the author of 'Best Man's Bride (Harlequin American Romance Series #1210)', published 2008 under ISBN 9780373752140 and ISBN 0373752148.