Isn't It Bromantic (Bromance Book Club #4) by Lyssa Kay Adams

            A collective burst of laughter filled the ballroom.

            “That is not what I mean. Confident is what I mean. He is very confident. I myself was not.”

            This time, the crowd said, “Aww,” together.

            “Mack was the first person who made me feel like leaving my country and coming here was a good idea. He was my first friend in America and my best. But he was really, really bad with women, you know.”

            More laughter.

            “He was, as Americans say, all talk. Big confidence but no game, like, like the sportswriters who say they play hockey better than us, but then they get on skates and break their faces.”

            He looked at Mack again in time to see Liv kiss his cheek as the crowd roared with laughter. Mack was scowling playfully in his direction.

            “But Mack, he was lonely too. He never found the right woman, until he met Liv. And we all knew the first time they met, we knew, she was going to be the one for him because she did not like him at first. She thought he was annoying. And I do not mean confident. Annoying.”

            Liv laughed and buried her face in the crook of Mack’s shoulder. Vlad smiled as he watched Mack drop his lips to the top her head.

            “It has been the honor of my life—”

            Vlad stopped and cleared his throat, and the crowd once again let out an aww. Vlad sniffed. “It has been the honor of my life to be part of Mack’s life and to watch him become an even better man than he already was because of Liv.” Vlad wiped away a tear. “I love you both so much.”

            Liv peeked out from Mack’s shoulder, her eyes glistening with tears.

            Vlad raised his glass, and everyone in the room followed. “I know you will be happy together forever, even when Mack is annoying. Thank you for letting me be part of this. So as we say in Russia, Zhelayu vam oboim more schast’ya. Wishing the both of you all the happiness in the world.”

            Vlad sipped his champagne as applause erupted and everyone drank. Mack and Liv walked over to him and hugged him together.

            “Jesus, man,” Mack said, weepy. “I love you too.”

            Liv kissed his cheek. “The only thing that could have made any of this better is if Elena could be here with you.”

            A tear dripped down his cheek, and Vlad hoped his friends thought it was from the emotion of the toast and not because of the mention of the woman they’d never even met.

            “No more crying,” he said, forcing laughter into his voice. “This is a party.”

            Mack grinned down at Liv. “I have a surprise for you.”

            Yes! Vlad had been most looking forward to this part. He and the other groomsmen had been practicing for weeks to perform a surprise dance routine at the reception. Vlad knew he was big and goofy-looking, but he loved to dance. Wiping the tears from his cheeks, he pointed at the DJ to let him know it was time to start the music. The rest of the groomsmen pulled Vlad and Mack on the dance floor, and as the guests hooted with laughter, they thoroughly humiliated themselves for Liv, the love of Mack’s life.

            When it was over, Vlad watched the other guys return to the arms of their wives and girlfriends. Fighting jealousy again, he walked to the bar for a glass of water. Colton, who was double-fisting a whiskey and a beer, started to speak to him but stopped mid-sentence. The noise he made was pure hot woman, right ahead. Vlad turned around to see who had caught Colton’s attention. A tall woman in a long red dress with brown hair swept over one shoulder stood regally in the doorway. She was, indeed, gorgeous. She was . . . holy shit.

            Vlad coughed as everything stopped.

            Time. Motion. His heart.

            His vision narrowed as if he were following the puck on the ice. Colors faded. Noises silenced. The milling crowd disappeared into the periphery until all he could see was her.

            Elena.

            A whiskey-clenching hand passed back and forth in front of his vision. “Yo, dude. You’re a married man, remember?”

            “Yes, I remember.” Vlad’s heart pounded and his knees went weak. “And that is my wife.”