The devil himself glared at him from glowing red eyes that wanted to burn a hole through the back of his skull. But the longer Gavin stared at him, the more the murderous look in those eyes changed to something more acceptable. It didn't look like he was capable of carrying out a full blown murder, but maybe he wouldn't stop at the side of the road to help Gavin out from under a burning car either.

Fair's fair, Gavin thought.

The door to the men's restroom opened, offering him the second of distraction he needed to make his escape. It wasn't the dignified exit he would have chosen, but right now, he didn't really have a choice.

Rain Sullivan was married to the wrong man, and Gavin wanted no part of it.

"Gavin, I swear, I'm going to-"

A guy didn't live to be eighteen years old and not know when to cut his losses. Screw being dignified then. "Rainy, your husband's trying to kill me!" he shouted while trying to squeeze through the open window.

He heard the front door to the restroom slam shut as the poor man who'd entered decided he really didn't need to go after all. Dang, there goes your witness.

This whole fiasco would have been a funny situation if Gavin had been in the mood to laugh. He'd often wondered what his future would hold since he'd grown up to understand life could be a losing battle for those born on the wrong side. Never in his wildest imaginings had he seen himself decked out in a formal suit and running from a crazy man after messing with the party's song selection and stealing one too many hors d'oeuvres.

He'd also never imagined any girl settling down with the likes of Teagan Miller.

Looked like he was "O" for two.

Thank God his father's gambling addiction wasn't hereditary or else there would have been no saving him. No, instead he'd inherited his mother's optimistic outlook on life and his father's sense of humor. Add to that the fact that Grandma Santos' lack of a filter pumped through his veins, and, well... was it any wonder his life appeared to be one big comedy special full of dreadful punchlines delivered with terrible timing?

If anything, his knack for saying the wrong (very funny) thing all the time should be considered a talent. He just hadn't found a way to make money off of it yet.

And life, well, life didn't come free.

"You are so going to pay for-"

At any other time, he would have dared Teagan to carry out his threat. Nine times out of ten they were idle anyway. But today wasn't just any other day in the life of Gavin Santos. Today was also arguably the most important day in Teagan Miller's life, and something warned him that the happy groom was reaching the end of his short fuse.

So... there really was nothing better to do than grovel. "Rainy!" he hollered, desperation making his voice crack. "Get your man before the cops do!"

"Oh, now you remember my wife has a husband?" the grumpy groom asked. "What the heck is wrong with you, Gav?"

That was a loaded question.

There weren't enough doctors in the world to provide an adequate answer.

The better question was: what was right with him? In which case, the answer was that he was a free-spirited soul with very little foresight. And the dimples on his handsome face. Obviously.

Those had gotten him out of trouble more times than he cared to recall right now. Not that it mattered much when Teagan was immune to his smiles.

Unlike the angel he was legally married to. "So freaking rude, man," Gavin muttered. "What does she see in you?"

"Beats me. But, I swear, Gavin, if you don't stop screaming and making tonight about you-"

"Oh, he's jealous."

Teagan cursed under his breath and yanked on his ankles, dragging him back into the men's room. "I will leave a very negative review on your business if you don't grow up."

The way he said "business" wasn't lost on him, but he'd just add that to the night's bill. Under the emotional distress column. Right before the rush fee for having to turn down another job to be present tonight. "Grandma Santos is going to whoop you silly for threatening me and my company."

"Who do you think told me where you'd run off to after your little prank?"

The traitor. "She wouldn't. She likes me better than you."

"But she loves my wife."

He couldn't argue with facts. Teagan had years to mess things up with Rain. The Santos family had even spent the past three weeks placing bets on when the wedding would be called off. Grandma Santos had made a small fortune by firmly believing Teagan would become Mr. Rain Sullivan. She'd said they were in love. That what they'd found was the real thing.

Now that he wasn't trying to run for his life, Gavin could admit it, too. Of all the times he'd pictured the future, he'd never imagined a day Teagan Miller voluntarily wore a leather vest to his own wedding reception. But he wore one now.

He'd become a fool in love.

And, by default, Rain had become Grandma Santos' favorite child. Despite the fact that she was a full grown woman and a Cowboys fan. The audacity.

Gavin sighed and raised his arms in surrender. "I admit that my song choice was probably not the best." Rihanna's B*tch Better Have My Money hadn't been on the playlist but it'd seemed the best way to get Teagan to pay for his services. At the time.

"You are so lucky Rain's having the time of her life. And that she has a soft spot for you."

"It's mutual." Always had been. "And just because I am feeling generous, you only have to pay me for the emotional distress of tonight."

"Gavin!"

He could afford to pay. Mr. Hotshot-New-York-Times-Bestselling-Author. He'd managed to finally publish his love story after all.

:)

The laundromat was empty for a Saturday night. Not that he minded having the place to himself. Gave him time to think, scheme, and make plans for his side hustle.

He owned Friends Y Familia Inc. Had business cards and everything. A fully functioning website and a call center for job inquiries. Of course, those usually went to voicemail until his sister got home from college classes and she could spare some time answering them. Since his greatest asset seemed to be his ability to network with others, he'd decided to make a profit from it. Teagan said it wasn't networking, but annoying the crap out of everyone until they accepted his inability to shut up and mature. The guy had clearly forgotten how handy his "annoying behavior" had been in the early stages of his romance with Rain.

Ungrateful little turd.

Anyway, it'd started as a game of sorts. His soccer teammates asking him to accompany their younger sisters, cousins, and other family members as a platonic date for special events had seemed like a great way to get out of the house on weekends and get free food. Until it started happening every other weekend. For hours. With gas money.

Until the gas money became more than what he earned for a part-time shift at the laundromat.

He was a friend for hire. Or brother. Or nephew. Anything really, so long as they paid the hourly rate and booked a month in advance. The reason Teagan had been so upset was that Gavin had very nearly pulled out of being a groomsman for the wedding at the last minute. Because he'd been seriously tempted to break one of his own rules.

Gavin glared at the twenty dollar bill Teagan had handed him hours ago. He could have made ten times that amount if he'd taken the desperate job that came in two days ago.

Having priorities sucked. Sucked that he was actually friends-almost-brothers with Rain's husband and that the love they shared ran deeper than dollar bills. Because he could have used the money. Like a lot.

The chime of the door opening 5 minutes before closing really grated on his nerves. He was all out of his usual charm tonight, and whoever had decided now was the time to run a full wash cycle was going to deeply regret it.

"You're gonna have to turn right back around and save the laundry for when the sun's shining, pal."

"You really need to work on your customer service skills."

Gavin's heart stopped. Or came really close to it. The closest he'd ever come to a heart attack really. Was there supposed to be a buzzing sound, too?

The golden haired goddess standing just inside the laundromat in a baggy white T-shirt and black slacks was too perfect to be real. Too classy even in casual wear to be standing in the middle of his rundown laundromat. Had he finally lost it? Let his crazy imagination run wild and tilt him into the point of irrationality?

Grandma Santos' warnings about insanity running in the family had just been to scare him. Right?

"I'm high, aren't I?" There'd definitely been illegal substances in the Bundtlet cakes he'd gobbled down earlier.

She frowned. "Can't tell. But, if you are, maybe let it wear off while I wash my dress?"

He wasn't high. He'd never touched drugs in his life. He couldn't even really handle caffeine. "You're-"

"Presley Langford." And she smiled like she hadn't just completely tipped his whole world off its axis. "And I'm not your pal."