Chapter 1

An awkward silence settled over the room.

Denise Benson frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

I met her eyes. "It means the wedding's off."

"Over a suit? Are you serious?"

I took a breath, trying to keep my temper in check.

"I spent almost a year designing that suit. I went through at least 20 revisions to get it right…"

Denise cut me off with an impatient wave of her hand. "Oh, come on. You're making way too big a deal out of this. It's just a suit."

I was so angry that I couldn't think of a single thing to say.

I stood there for a moment, trying to get myself under control.

I had spent nearly a year creating something that meant the world to me, and Denise dismissed it as just another piece of clothing.

As far as she was concerned, I had no reason to be upset. I was just being difficult again.

My best friend, Eric Jones, shifted awkwardly, still holding the ring I had tossed him.

Seeing that neither of us was backing down, he stepped in before the argument could get any worse. He gave my arm a reassuring squeeze, then turned to Denise and gently brushed a stray lock of hair away from her face.

It was such a small gesture, but Denise immediately softened.

Eric gave her a look of mild disapproval before turning back to me.

"Come on, Cody. Don't be too hard on her. You know Denise. She's been mixing things up since we were kids."

Then he looked at Denise.

"It's his wedding day. Of course he wants to look his best. You can't expect the groom to get married in a janitor's uniform. Just go back and get his suit."

Denise sighed and gave him a look, but she eventually nodded.

Just like that, the argument was over.

I stood there, stunned.

I had always known Denise and Eric were close. They grew up together, after all. Still, seeing how easily he got through to her made me realize just how differently she treated the two of us.

Denise was stubborn. Once she made up her mind, there was almost no talking her out of it.

In our eight years together, we fought more times than I could count.

Whenever we disagreed, she would shut me out until I finally swallowed my pride and apologized, whether I had done anything wrong or not.

If I had pushed back the way I just had, she would've ignored me for months. Yet Eric settled the whole thing with a few words.

All those years I spent trying to keep the peace suddenly felt like one big joke.

Denise wasn't incapable of admitting she was wrong. She wasn't too stubborn to compromise, either.

She just wasn't willing to do it for me.

I finally pulled myself together and shook my head.

"The shop's in the next city. It'll take over two hours to get there and back. There's no way we'll make it in time."

Eric started pacing, looking worried.

"Then what are we gonna do?"

His eyes darted around the room before settling on his own suit.

"Wait, our suits are almost identical anyway. Nobody's gonna notice the difference."

He looked at me. "Why don't we just trade? That way, we can still have the wedding on time."

He started unbuttoning his jacket.

I was about to stop him when Denise spoke up.

"No!" She turned to Eric. "You said you wanted to be the best-looking groomsman at the wedding. Remember? That was your birthday wish! You can't give up your suit now."

Eric glanced at me, looking embarrassed. "Come on, Denise. That was three months ago. I can't believe you still remember."

I stopped short, my hand still half-raised.

Something about those words bothered me.

As I remembered what happened three months earlier, everything started falling into place. Eric's birthday was three months ago. The very next day, Denise finally agreed to marry me.

So that was why she suddenly changed her mind.

For eight years, I wanted to marry Denise. For five of those years, she found one excuse after another to put off the wedding, always claiming she was too busy.

I had been looking forward to this day for so long. I thought we were finally ready to start our lives together as husband and wife.

As it turned out, our wedding wasn't even about us.

Denise finally agreed to marry me because Eric wanted to be a groomsman.

All it took was one birthday wish from him.