Read The Best Man: Part Three (FINAL) for Free Online Page B

and walks away, says nothing, and in Noah’s haste to get out of bed he elbows Patrick in the chest, makes him grunt and sit up with a groan.
    Noah doesn’t care about any pain Patrick might be in. He’s yanking on his tracksuit bottoms, grabs some random t-shirt off the chair in the corner of Patrick’s room, calls, “Connor, wait! Shit!” as Patrick looks around in confusion, trying to figure out what the fuck’s going on.
    “He was here,” Noah explains, his tone hollow. “He saw us.”
    All the colour in Patrick’s face washes away in an instant and he’s immediately climbing out of bed, naked and sleep-soft and representing everything that’s wrong with this situation.
    “I’ll go.”
    “No,” Noah says firmly. “I’ll go. This is my mess.” He tugs on the t-shirt and heads out of the room, Patrick calling after him.
    It doesn’t take Noah long to find Connor. This park is where he always comes when he needs a bit of peace, a moment to think. He’s sat on the bench, his elbows on his knees, staring out at nothing until he hears Noah’s arrival, and then he looks over at him, his eyes flashing with fury.
    Noah’s glad for it. Anything’s better than that emptiness of before.
    “Walk away from me, Noah.”
    “No,” Noah says quietly. He doesn’t try to sit. “We need to talk.”
    Connor looks at him with disgust. “Have you even showered? Or are you still covered in him ?”
    It makes Noah swallow with shame. Not only is he covered in the evidence of his time with Patrick, he’s also wearing Patrick’s clothes. He couldn’t be less sensitive if he tried. His face burns.
    “I’m sorry.”
    Connor huffs a bitter laugh, looks down at the ground, shakes his head. “How long’s it been going on for?” he asks. “How long have you been fucking him in our home?”
    “I haven’t. I just. It was just last night.” He takes another step closer. “We—there was an argument, and we got carried away.” He wants to say it didn’t mean anything, but he doesn’t want to lie, not now.
    There’s a pause before Connor speaks again. “It didn’t just come out of nowhere, though, did it? You don’t just randomly decide to fuck your fiancé’s best friend.” His voice is harsh, vicious, cutting into Noah like a blade.
    Noah thinks about walking away from it, but he doesn’t deserve to. “No,” he admits. “I don’t know what to say.”
    “The truth would be good,” Connor says, looking up at him, the fury in his eyes so intense it almost smothers the hint of plea Noah can read in his tone.
    “Things have been…developing for a while.” Noah wrings his hands together, crouches down in front of Connor, a metre or so away from him. Doesn’t think Connor could handle him taking a seat beside him. “I’m attracted to him,” he says quietly, looking down at Connor’s feet so he doesn’t have to see the reaction those words cause. “I shouldn’t be, but—I can’t help it.”
    “Everyone’s attracted to him,” Connor spits. “He’s Patrick fucking Walsh. But they don’t all fall into bed with him two days before their wedding to someone else, so you’re gonna have to do better than that.”
    Noah nods, takes a breath, tries to find some courage, the strength he needs to say this out loud.
    “I have feelings for him.”
    “What?” Connor’s blindsided by it. For all his talk of everyone’s attraction to Patrick, the idea that Noah’s connection with him could go further than that seems to have surprised the anger out of him.
    “I’m sorry.”
    “Feelings as in…love?” He looks incredulous, face pulled into a grimace of disbelief. “Do you love him?”
    “I…” There’s a rush of something hot within Noah now at Connor’s direct question, a panic that has nothing to do with this confrontation. “I’m just really confused right now. My head’s a mess.”
    “You’re an idiot, Noah,” Connor says after a moment. Noah’s not sure if he’s imagining the