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would appreciate a good cupcake, and since she knew she could make a mean Red Velvet one, she decided to make him a batch.
    It was a great welcoming gift, she thought.
    After packing the cupcakes in a cute little brown box, she went to the bathroom to make sure she looked all right. Audrey decided she looked fierce in the short caramel brown, flowery one-shoulder dress that she had paired with matching lace heels. She loved the way the dress hugged her curves, and she had to admit the shoes made her legs look fantastic. It was too much to wear to meet her neighbor, but afterward she had to go to the rehearsal dinner.
    As Audrey made her way back to the kitchen, she wiggled her teal pearl bracelets up and down her wrist. She was jittery and didn’t know why. Maybe it was because she was going to Fallon’s rehearsal dinner alone. She hadn’t been to a family function alone, since … hell, she couldn’t remember. She always had a date, it kept her mother out of her hair, but now she had no one and she knew she would have to deal with her mother’s sympathetic looks. Nora Parker wanted both her babies to marry, and since Fallon was doing what their mother wanted, Audrey knew she would be Nora’s sole concern now.
    Wonderful.
    Audrey took a deep breath, then picked up the box of cupcakes as she walked to her front door. Outside in the cool November air, she ran her hands down the front of her dress before walking slowly to her neighbor’s condo. At his front door, she knocked tentatively at first, then a little harder.
    But no one answered.
    Hmm … she could have sworn he was there.
    She looked back at the drive and saw his big black truck. Turning back to the door, she knocked again, but again no answer. Frustrated, Audrey went back to her own apartment. She was never going to meet this guy? After setting the cupcakes on the back of the couch, she went to the kitchen for a Post-it, wrote a quick note, and stuck it to the top of the cupcake box. She put the box in a plastic bag and went back to his door, to lay it on the doormat in front. Hopefully, she would meet him tomorrow at the wedding, because she didn’t have time to wait for him now. She had to go.
    Unfortunately.

    “Are you coming to the rehearsal dinner?”
    Tate looked up from the competitive game of Ping-Pong he was engaged in with Assassins forward Phillip Anderson. Guys hung out in the locker room, winding down after a game or practice before heading home. When Tate glanced up at Lucas, wearing an expensive-looking suit, he was given the usual “Hurry up and answer me” look. Lucas had invited him to the rehearsal dinner weeks ago. Initially, Tate had wanted to go, but lately all he wanted to do was sit in his condo and be by himself. He’d win this game and then he would go home.
    Alone.
    He shook his head, tossing the white ball across the table to Phillip. “No, I have things to do tonight,” he said to Lucas. “It’s a family thing.”
    Lucas rolled his eyes. “You are family, Tate. Come on, Fallon wants you to come.”
    Tate shook his head again. “No, thank you. I’m tired anyway.”
    And he was. The Assassins had an intense practice, and afterward an even more intense team meeting. Bacter yelled and screamed about the way they had been playing and suggested they all get it together before the next round of games, which began in a week. It gave Lucas and Fallon enough time to go on their honeymoon and come back without missing anything. That was one of the reasons Fallon had planned the wedding for that week. At first she’d wanted to wait until next year, but Lucas wanted it done quickly, and who could blame him?
    Tate thought Fallon was gorgeous, and a great catch. She was always really nice to him and, as Lucas had said, did treat him like part of the family. Seeing him and Fallon together, though, was like watching a fireworks show. They were beautiful, but there was always that chance that something could go wrong. One minute