My Wedding Dress Was Still On When His Best Man Kissed Me

Adrian stopped behind me in the bathroom doorway.

Even without turning around, I could feel the heat radiating from him in the narrow frame.

"Hold your hair," he said.

I gathered the dark strands in both fists and lifted them over my head, keeping my back exposed to him.

His fingers found the small metal pull. He didn't rush, and he was remarkably careful not to let his fingertips brush the bare skin of my upper back. He touched only the stubborn teeth of the zipper and the snarled edge of the lace trim.

Still, the space between us was too tight. Every time he exhaled, the warm air drifted across the curve of my neck, sending an involuntary shiver down my spine.

"The silk caught in the fourth tooth," he murmured, his voice low and steady. "Don't move."

He pinched the trapped fabric with his left hand, applying firm, even tension with his right. I kept my eyes fixed on the cracked tile of the bathroom floor, my knuckles white against my hair.

With a soft, sharp rip of torn threading, the teeth released.

The zipper slid down the entire length of my spine in one quick motion.

The tight corset instantly fell open. The heavy weight of the skirt pulled downward, threatening to expose my chest completely.

I gasped, dropping my hair and throwing both arms across the front of the gown, clutching the satin against my breasts.

Adrian didn't look down.

Before I could even turn around or speak, he had already pivoted on his heel, turning his back to me. He unbuttoned his white dress shirt, pulled it off over the black undershirt beneath it, and held it out behind him.

"Put this on," he said flatly.

I took the cotton fabric from his hand. "Thank you."

He stepped out into the bedroom and pulled the bathroom door shut until it clicked.

I let the heavy wedding dress slide down my legs. It pooled on the linoleum floor like a dead, discarded thing. I stepped out of the white silk, kicked off the soaked designer heels, and pulled Adrian's shirt over my head.

The crisp cotton fell past my mid-thigh, carrying the distinct scent of cedar, fresh rain, and clean laundry. I rolled the long sleeves up past my elbows, buttoned the front to the middle of my chest, and opened the door.

Adrian was standing near the laminate dresser, holding a glass of tap water. He had stripped down to a black undershirt and his dark suit trousers, his broad shoulders and lean frame outlined in the dim yellow light of the bedside lamp.

When I stepped into the room, his eyes flicked over me once, taking in the oversized shirt and my bare feet, before settling on my face.

"Better?" he asked.

"Infinitely," I said.

I leaned against the corner of the small table, crossing my arms over my chest. The quiet of the room pressed in on us, broken only by the steady drum of rain against the windowpane.

"Why were you there, Adrian?" I asked, looking directly into his gray eyes. "You and Damien despise each other. Why would you ever agree to stand next to him as best man?"

Adrian set the water glass down on the dresser with a soft tap.

"Business," he replied smoothly. "Apex Capital was syndicating Damien's next growth round, and my firm was a co-investor. Their board wanted a public show that Damien and I could work together. Damien decided making me best man was good theater."

"So it was all theater."

"Everything with Damien is theater," Adrian said, a faint, humorless curve touching his mouth. "We haven't had a genuine conversation since prep school. In high school, he tried to steal my debate partner. In college, he tried to poach my first angel investors. We've been trying to cut each other's throats for fifteen years."

A sudden chill cut through the warmth of the room.

I stared at him, the pieces connecting in my head with alarming clarity. Two corporate rivals. A high-stakes fifty-million-dollar financing round. A runaway bride fleeing the altar in front of the board of directors.

"And what was today?" I asked, my voice sharpening. "Did you see an opportunity to land the ultimate blow?"

Adrian’s expression didn't change. "What are you talking about?"

"You hate him," I said, stepping away from the table. "You’ve spent fifteen years competing with him for money, status, and power. And today, you got to drive his bride right out of the parking lot while his investors watched him scream. Did you help me because I needed help, or did you just want to take Damien's most prized possession?"

The accusation hung heavy in the damp air.

Adrian didn't raise his voice. He didn't offer a dramatic defense, and he didn't step into my personal space to intimidate me.

Instead, he reached into the pocket of his trousers, pulled out the heavy key fob for the Aston Martin, and set it down on the table between us.

The metal clattered sharply against the laminate.

"If you think you're a trophy, take the car and leave," Adrian said, his voice entirely devoid of warmth. "The tank is full. I won't stop you."

I stared at the black key fob, then looked back up at his face.

"I've made plenty of ruthless moves in the boardroom, Emma," Adrian said, holding my gaze with unwavering intensity. "But I don't use a woman in the worst hour of her life to settle a petty score with Damien. If I beat him, it'll be in the market, with his own board voting him out."

The silence stretched between us. The anger that had surged in my chest suddenly drained away, leaving only exhaustion and the cold reality of my own paranoia.

I looked down at the keys, then slowly extended my hand.

I didn't pick them up. I pushed the fob across the table, sliding it back toward his side.

"I'm sorry," I murmured.

I walked over to the edge of the queen mattress and sat down, burying my fingers into the faded burgundy bedspread. My head throbbed with the remnants of the day's chaos, but one question still burned behind my eyes.

"Did you know?" I asked softly, looking up at him. "About Sienna?"

Adrian watched me from across the room. The hard lines of his jaw relaxed slightly, replaced by something heavier.

"I didn't know they were sleeping together," he said. "Not until ten minutes before the organist started."

I frowned. "What did you see?"

"I was walking down the east corridor toward the bridal suite to deliver a message from the registrar," Adrian explained, his tone measured and quiet. "A few minutes earlier, I'd seen Sienna slip into the private lounge after leaving you. When I passed it again, I heard her voice through the cracked door, then Damien's. I knew something was wrong."

My hands tightened on the blanket. "And then?"

"I was turning back toward the bridal suite to find you and get you out of the chapel before you walked down that aisle," Adrian said. "But you were already coming down the corridor. You reached the door before I could stop you."

I looked at him, searching his gray eyes for any flicker of deceit or calculation.

There was none.

For four years, every person in Damien’s orbit had smiled at my face while lying behind my back. Friends had looked the other way; colleagues had covered for his late nights and his ego.

Yet the man Damien considered his bitterest enemy had been running toward that room to protect me from the lie.

The heavy knot of tension in my chest loosened for the first time all day.

"You were coming to warn me," I said quietly.

"I was," Adrian replied. He picked up the car keys from the table and slipped them back into his pocket. "Because nobody deserves to be blindfolded while their life gets sold out from under them."