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the two locked in a passionate kiss. God damn, how could his best friend steal away the woman he loved? And in the final hour before the wedding. And Crystal … how could she just fall into his arms like that?
    It didn’t make any sense.
    It would never make any sense to him.
    With every drink last night, he’d hoped to understand. He stood up, slowly this time.
    That wasn’t exactly true. He’d been trying to ease the stinging pain. To wash away the agony in his heart.
    But it hadn’t worked. Of course it hadn’t.
    The scene at the lake still remained burned into his memory. As he’d stepped past the trees into the clearing near Crystal’s favorite spot, he had seen Crystal and Evan kissing passionately. He’d frozen on the spot, not believing what he was seeing. But he knew he must have been misreading the situation, convincing himself it was just a congratulatory kiss. From his vantage point, he hadn’t been able to see Crystal’s face, but he’d heard Evan’s words, and those words still rang through his mind.
    Crystal, you obviously share my feelings. Call off the wedding. It’s not too late.
    Don’t get married just because the plans are in place. You and I are in love. We deserve to be happy.
    At that point, Crystal had fallen into Evan’s arms again, kissing him with so much passion, it shocked Brent to the core.
    The sight of the woman he loved kissing his best friend, obviously ready to run away with him, had destroyed him. He’d turned around and gone straight back to the house where he’d stayed the night before, grabbed his overnight bag, and leaped in the car. His sister, Lily, had still been in the shower. He hadn’t taken time to write a note, and he sure hadn’t wanted to face her. He’d just started driving. Generally heading toward home. He’d been too tired and distraught to make the whole thirteen-hour drive back to San Diego, so he’d pulled off the highway at a hotel partway. Only when he’d walked into his room had he remembered it was the same hotel he, Crystal, and Evan had stayed at on the way to Crystal’s parents’ place a week ago. At that realization, he’d headed straight to the bar.
    And now he was suffering the aftereffects.
    He gazed in the mirror and saw his dark brown hair sticking out in all directions. He ran his fingers through it, smoothing it down a little. He still wore his tuxedo, at least the shirt and pants. The rumpled jacket lay strewn on the floor, having slipped from the back of the chair he’d tossed it on last night. The tie wasn’t anywhere to be seen.
    He picked up the jacket and hung it on a hanger, then unzipped his overnight bag and pulled out his jeans and a cotton shirt, then tossed them on the bed. He pulled off the rumpled tuxedo pants and shirt and tossed them on the bed, then shed his boxers.
    In the bathroom, he turned on the shower and waited until the water ran hot, then stepped under it. He scrubbed his skin with soap and washed his hair, then rinsed off. Where was Crystal right now? Somewhere in Evan’s arms?
    After towel drying himself, he combed his hair and brushed his teeth, then glared at the sap staring back at him in the mirror.
    How could Crystal turn her back on him and everything they meant to each other to take off with Evan less than an hour before their wedding? How could she just walk away? And why then? With all their family and friends waiting for them?
    He strode back into the bedroom and pulled on a clean pair of boxers, then his jeans and shirt. The more he thought about it in the sober light of day, the more he wondered at what had actually happened. Could he have misinterpreted what he’d seen?
    Brent’s gut twisted as he remembered seeing Crystal in Evan’s embrace, her arms gliding around his neck, her body melting against his. He couldn’t believe his so-called best friend had made a move on Crystal.
    Damn, he and Evan had been through so much together over the past twenty years. His heart ached as he