Bridesmaid Undercover: An incredibly steamy, hilarious, friends to lovers, love triangle romantic comedy

HARDY

“How was the engagement party?” Hudson asks as I take a seat at the conference table where he’s laid out a variety of baked goods, drinks, and an impressive fruit platter that is calling out to me.

“Good,” I say as I sit then gesture to the display of food. “Don’t you think this is a little much? We’ve been in business together for a few months now—I don’t think we need to impress the Cane brothers.”

“We did it for our first meeting here, so we need to keep doing it or else they’re going to think we’re cheap asses who were just trying to impress them the first go around. Understand hosting ethics.”

“I don’t think the term hosting ethics is a real thing.”

“Look it up,” Hudson says, nodding toward my phone.

“Why? Because you want to be embarrassed when I prove it’s not real?”

“No, because I want to see the look on your face when you realize that I’m right about everything and maybe you should stop questioning me,” he says.

I pick up my phone and pull up my search engine. “You are going to be so humiliated.”

“You think I come up with this shit on my own? I’m following the rules of society.”

I type in hosting ethics and press search. I scroll some of the first few links, not seeing anything until I stumble across a link that says, “Miss Manners’ Rules on Hosting and Ethics.” I lift a brow to my brother. “Is this what you’re referring to?”NôvelDrama.Org is the owner.

He leans in, his eyes narrowing in on the link. When he sits back, he adjusts his tie and says, “As a matter of fact, Miss Manners is a great source.”

“You’re an idiot,” I say just as the door to the conference room opens and Jude, our new brother-in-law and business partner, walks in.

He always makes quite the entrance. The man is a fucking beast. And I say that with respect to myself and Hudson, because we’re both tall, fit dudes, standing at six-foot-two with a decent amount of muscles packed onto our bones. Jude puts us to shame.

The man was built from glugging two dozen raw eggs every morning, lifting his house above his head as a blissful stretch, and pumping his veins with steel and pure, unfiltered black coffee.

Not to exaggerate, but he has a fist the size of my head, a chest that looks more like a parcel of land than bones and flesh, and biceps that make my legs quiver in jealousy and fear. Between you and me, I swear, I’ve seen his muscles fire off even when he blinks.

The first day I met him, I remember saying to myself I hope he doesn’t hurt Haisley, because there’s no way in hell I’d be able to go head to head with the silent beast.

Nope.

I’d have sent him a strongly worded and very displeased email instead.

Dear sir,

Don’t you ever treat my sister like that again. You have disappointed me.

Good day,

Hardy Hopper

Thankfully, he’s the nicest guy we’ve ever met, loyal to his core, and protective. He’s perfect for Haisley.

“Morning,” he says in his deep-timbre voice. Did you see the liquid in the glasses quiver? Yeah, his voice has the same impact as the stomp of a T-Rex. “Nice setup.” He gestures to the food and takes a seat, the poor chair beneath him squeaking under his weight.

“See, Jude appreciates the food,” Hudson says with a puff of his chest.

“I never said I didn’t appreciate the food,” I say as I reach for a muffin. “Just said that it was a bit much.”

Hudson swats at my hand. “That’s for our guests. Help yourself after they take their first pick.”

“Christ,” I say, shaking out my hand. “You’d think this is the first meeting with them. Why are you so jumpy?”

“I’m not jumpy.”

I give my brother a once-over. “You sure are, and you have that look in your eyes, the concerned, uptight look.”

“No, I don’t,” he says in frustration. “I’m fine. I just like to keep things professional.”

I study him for a moment. “Did Dad contact you?”

“Why would you think that?” he asks as he attempts to casually lean back in his chair. But I can see right through him.

“Uh, from what I just said.”

He folds his hands in front of him. “He might have sent me an email.”

“What did he say?” I ask.

“Just another warning about the so-called lawsuit he’ll be throwing at us. Nothing new, just that he sent it this morning, and since we’re meeting with the Canes…well, I hate looking like a liability.”

“We’re not a liability,” Jude says. “And don’t let him tell you any other way. We spoke with our lawyer while making the move over, we did everything we were supposed to do, including offering four weeks’ notice, which your father chose to ignore and fire you instead. He’s threatened so he’s threatening you.”

See, Jude is the comforting barn in the room, huge and nice to have around.

Hudson nods. “Yeah, I know. Just don’t want the Canes to regret partnering up with us.”

“They won’t,” I say. “I mean, by the spread on the table alone, they’re going to think we’re a winning trio to be in business with.”

Hudson smirks. “You’re such a dickhead.”

“Just putting it out there, if no one eats the fruit salad, I’m claiming it now,” I say.

“Your sister actually asked for the fruit salad, since I brought it home last time,” Jude says with a challenging brow.

Hudson smiles broadly. “Why don’t you two arm wrestle for it?”

I drum my fingers on the table. “You know, I would, but I don’t want to humiliate Jude like that, so I’m going to just let him take the fruit salad.”

Hudson chuckles. “Yeah, okay, Hardy.”

Jude fidgets with his suit jacket as he asks, “What did you do this past weekend?”

“My friends had an engagement party,” I say. “Polly and Ken. I don’t think you’ve met them, but I’ve known them since college.”

“That’s right,” Hudson says. “So, did you see Maple at the engagement party?”

Of course, he’d ask that, especially after I gave him shit for his breakfast spread.

Hudson has always thought I should be with Maple. When he found out that we broke up, he chastised me for an entire week about how I was a dumbass and shouldn’t have let her go. And then, of course, periodically throughout the time we’ve been apart, he’s told me to find a way to make up with her. To find her and tell her what an idiot I am, but unfortunately for his little matchmaking heart, our paths never crossed.

I don’t blame his persistence though.

Everyone saw the connection we had.

When we met back in college, there was an instant magnetism between us. At the time, she was majoring in zoology and animal sciences, and as her passion was animal conservation, we spent many dates at the San Francisco Zoo. When she graduated, she got a job at the Denver Zoo where she was a zookeeper for the flamingos, her favorite animal. After a while, she was offered a field job in Peru to conduct research on the Chilean flamingos, observing their patterns to determine why they were endangered. And there was no way I could have followed her to Peru if I hadn’t been able to follow her to Denver.

“Maple wasn’t at the party,” I say. “But, apparently, she’s coming back to San Francisco for good.”

“Who’s Maple?” Jude asks.

“Hardy’s ex-girlfriend who he let slip through his fingers,” Hudson answers.

“The one that got away?” Jude asks.

“Exactly,” Hudson says.

I turn to Jude. “We were going in different directions, so she was bound to get away. But now that she’s coming back, I want to see where her head is at, maybe start talking again.”

“Yeah?” Hudson asks with a smile. “I’d be surprised if you don’t.”

“The only problem is, she wants nothing to do with me,” I say.

“Who wants nothing to do with you?” JP Cane asks as he walks through the conference room door.

The second-oldest brother out of the three, JP is the most charismatic. He’s been the face of Cane Enterprises for as long as I’ve known him but has also stepped into heading up the philanthropic arm of the company. He’s charming, funny, and has an intense obsession with pigeons. Not sure where that stems from, but I know he’s heavily involved in the “pigeon justice” community. Something about how humans domesticated them and then just pushed them aside, leaving the poor pigeons to fend for themselves…I don’t know. He went on a rant about it once, and I couldn’t honestly tell if he was being serious or not. Come to find out, he was.

We all stand from our chairs and greet JP with handshakes. When we take a seat, he repeats, “Who wants nothing to do with you?”

“Oh, we don’t need to talk about that,” I say.

“Breaker and Huxley aren’t here yet, so we have time to kill,” JP says. “And I’ve been up for hours thanks to the baby, so please, delight me in dating woes.” He smirks and then picks up a muffin and takes a big bite out of it. “Shit, these are good.”

From the corner of my eye, I catch the pride beaming from Hudson over the fact that JP took a muffin. He’s going to rub that in my face later. Can’t wait.

But back to me. Maybe discussing my dating woes will bring us closer, and if Hudson complains about me talking about it later, I’ll just mention that.

“Well, my best friends are getting married, and Maple, my ex will be there. She’s the maid of honor and I’m the best man, and we’re the only ones in the bridal party. I want to see if there’s anything still between us, but the bride told me to back off because my ex wants nothing to do with me.”

JP slowly nods as he takes another bite of his muffin. After chewing for a second, he says, “That’s not going to stop you, is it?”

“I mean…should it?”

“Considering that we should listen to women more,” Jude puts in. “I think maybe you should stay away.”

“Facts,” JP says. “But…what if she does still have feelings, but she’s shielding herself so she doesn’t get hurt? Let me ask you this: How did things end?”

“Amicably for the most part,” I answer. “We both were going in different directions with our careers and knew it wouldn’t work out. Granted, I told her I would follow her, and it ended up that I couldn’t. So I think there might be a hint of animosity there, but I can’t be sure.”

“There is,” Hudson says.

“Animosity isn’t a bad thing, disinterest is,” JP says. “We can fix animosity, but we can’t fix disinterest.” He sets his muffin down on a napkin. “One more question. Does she mean something to you?”

I give his question some thought.

Our relationship was fun, easy, and we didn’t get in many fights. We didn’t have much in common superficially, but I didn’t think that was a bad thing. She had her love of flamingos, and I had a love for the outdoors and the earth, which I’ve turned into farming. We understood each other and appreciated each other and when I was with her, I was happy. So was she.

I nod. “Yes, she does. And now that we’re older, now that we’ve found ourselves, I wonder what we’d be like together again. I know that I still have feelings for her, remembering the good times we had… I don’t know, it seems foolish not to explore if those feelings still exist, especially with her moving back here.”

“Makes sense,” JP says and then rubs his hands together. “Okay, I don’t think you should make contact with her, because you don’t want to make her or the bride mad.” I feel a frown in my expression. “I think you can nod, say a friendly hello, but you have to keep your distance.”

“The perfect way to get to know her again,” I say sarcastically.

“Let the man finish,” Hudson says, elbowing me.

JP nods at Hudson. “Thank you.” He clears his throat and steeples his hands together. “You need some help on the inside.”

I shake my head. “Polly, that’s the bride, won’t tell me anything, and her groom, my friend, Ken, is completely clueless.”

“Is there anyone else you might know that’s involved in the wedding party? That will have access to Maple?”

“I don’t think—” I pause, my mind swirling as the image of Everly pops into my head. Since she’s spearheading Bridesmaid for Hire for Maggie, she could be the bridesmaid Polly requested. “Wait, there might be someone.” I don’t say who it is, because I know if I mention Everly, Hudson will immediately shoot the idea down and tell me to leave her out of it. He doesn’t want personal needs mixing with business, but…fuck, Everly would be the perfect person to help me out. She’s friendly, and we have a good rapport. I think she might be willing to help me with a little undercover action.

“Really?” JP asks with excitement.

“Really?” Hudson asks, seeming more skeptical. “Who?”

“Uh, another bridesmaid,” I answer, not technically lying.

“I thought you said you and Maple were the only ones in the wedding party,” Hudson says.

Fuck, he listens. Why do I always forget that?

“This girl is unofficial,” I say.

“That’s perfect then,” JP says even though Hudson still looks skeptical. “See if she’d be willing to at least feel Maple out. Then, you can see if you should just drop the thought of getting back together with your ex, or possibly pursue it.”

“Good idea,” I say.

“I have them every once in a while,” JP says with a smirk. “Now, I’m curious. Why did you two go in different directions? What does she do?”

“She’s a zookeeper and studies at-risk ecosystems,” I answer. “For flamingos.”

JP slowly sits up, his eyes set intently on me. “Hold on a second. For…flamingos?”

“Yeah.”

He presses his hand to the table. “You mean to tell me flamingos are at risk? And that she’s out there, doing the hard work, trying to save them?”

Oh God…is this going to lead to pigeons?

“Uh, yeah,” I answer.

His lips purse together as he slowly nods. “Where do I send a check? I’m all in. We need to save the flamingos.”

Dear God…

To: Hardy Hopper

From: Breaker Cane

Subject: Flamingos

Hardy,

I like you, I really do, but next time I see you, I might punch you, and I mean that in the nicest way. Ever since our meeting, JP has been talking nonstop about flamingos. To the point that in our group text he’s sent, and I’m not exaggerating, twelve videos of flamingos. He’s trying desperately to connect their lineage with pigeons.

Either way, he’s now on a mission to save all feathered friends.

Please remember for the future, he carries a strong heart for saving animals, so for the love of God, do not mention any others!

Kind regards,

Breaker and Huxley

To: Breaker Cane

From: Hardy Hopper

Subject: RE: Flamingos

Breaker (and Huxley),

I send my deepest regrets. It was not my intention to spring this newfound love for exotic feathery friends on you. I’ll be sure for the future not to bring up any animals of any sort. I would hate to see you be bothered by your brother and his incessant need to save the birds.

Sincerest apologies,

Hardy

To: Hardy Hopper

From: JP Cane

Subject: Help Save the Flamingos

Hardy,

JP Cane has set up a GoFundMe to help save the Chilean Flamingos in Peru. Please see the link below to offer your support. Don’t forget to like and share on your social media.

Personal note from JP Cane:

Due to the disturbance in the Chilean Flamingos’ natural habitat, thanks to egg-harvesting and human interference, these majestic creatures’ population is decreasing at a rapid rate, and we have the chance to turn that around. By donating today, you can help these spirited birds live a simple, beautiful life in their natural habitat. Thank you.

JP Cane