The Possibility of Perfect (A Stand By Me Novel Book 4) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Epilogue

  The Possibility of Perfect

  Brinda Berry

  Sweet Biscuit Publishing LLC

  The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is a crime punishable by law. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded to or downloaded from file sharing sites, or distributed in any other way via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000 (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/).

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Published by Sweet Biscuit Publishing LLC

  Edited by Ellie McLove of Lovenbooks.com

  Cover Credits

  Design: Najla Qamber of najlaqamberdesigns.com

  Model: Alex Boivin

  Photographer: Sara Eirew of saraeirew.com

  The Possibility of Perfect

  All Rights Are Reserved. Copyright ©2017 by Brinda Berry

  First electronic and print publications: July 2017

  Print ISBN-13: 9781545417188

  Dedicated to

  all the readers who wish for the impossible.

  Love makes everything possible.

  Let it happen.

  Don’t overthink it, analyze it, or naysay it.

  It’s all up to you.

  Contents

  Also by Brinda Berry

  1. Truth

  2. Dog Ears

  3. A Little Project

  4. Tiny Human

  5. The Past

  6. Head On

  7. Secrets

  8. Family

  9. The Big Announcement

  10. The Past

  11. Dinner meeting

  12. Connection

  13. It's a Medical Thing

  14. Commitments

  15. The Past

  16. Taking Care of Josie

  17. Baby Shower

  18. Intruder

  19. The Parrish Baby

  20. Thanksgiving Crazy

  21. The Past

  22. Cold Turkey

  23. A Suitable Husband

  24. Love Texts

  25. Impasse

  26. Finally

  27. Christmas Eve

  Epilogue

  Did you enjoy this book?

  Preview of The Beauty of Lies

  The Beauty of Lies

  The Beauty of Lies

  Also by Brinda Berry

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by Brinda Berry

  Adult Novels

  Chasing Luck (A Serendipity Novel, #1)

  Tempting Fate (A Serendipity Novel, #2)

  Seducing Fortune (A Serendipity Novel, #3)

  Serendipity Boxed Set (Books 1-3)

  The Beauty of Lies (A Stand By Me Novel #1)

  The Fiction of Forever (A Stand By Me Novel #2)

  Fit for Love (A Stand By Me Novel #3)

  The Possibility of Perfect (A Stand By Me Novel #4)

  Young Adult Novels

  The Waiting Booth (Whispering Woods #1)

  Whisper of Memory (Whispering Woods #2)

  Watcher of Worlds (Whispering Woods #3)

  The Waiting Booth Boxed Set (Books 1-3)

  Wild at Heart II (An Anthology)

  Lore: Tales of Myth and Legend Retold (An Anthology)

  For release news, subscribe at http://www.brindaberry.com/mailing-list.html

  Website: www.brindaberry.com

  “Some people care too much. I think it's called love.”

  ― A.A. Milne from Winnie the Pooh

  Chapter One

  Truth

  Dane

  April

  Truth, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. The truth about my relationship with Josie Jensen grows murkier every day. In the past, I was her best friend and confidant. Today, I’m on her official shit list.

  This fact is evident when she ignores me for two hours straight while we serve as best man and maid of honor at our friends’ wedding. If looks could kill…I wouldn’t be dead yet. No, that would be too kind.

  Instead, she tosses frosty looks in my direction. Each has a chill factor of ten below. She’s mentally flash frozen my balls twice.

  And I deserve it. I gave into temptation and let myself have the thing I wanted most in the world. That deeper connection that only happens when your best friend laughs at your jokes and then gets naked with you.

  Little does she know, I’d sacrifice my soul to make her happy. I can’t be honest with Josie about my true feelings and sabotage her future. She deserves a perfect life and I can never give her that.

  “What did you do to piss my sister off?” Leo asks and takes a champagne glass from the tray of a passing waiter.

  I roll my shoulders back. “Nothing. Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  This is my answer because I’d rather eat glass than tell Leo that his sister and I had sex. It’s better that he assumes she and I haven’t crossed any lines.

  “You’re a bad liar,” he says. “Been there, man. She’s given me that same disgusted look when I’ve made her mad. I think I know exactly what’s wrong with you and Josie.”

  Ah hell. Does he know something?

  He takes a drink from his glass and waits for an answer. After a full minute of silence, he shakes his head. “I used to think the two of you would end up together. But I get it. You know too much about her and there’s no sexual attraction. Like she’s your sister, right?”

  “Mmm hmm,” I say and look away. I can’t decide if he’s actually obtuse or he’s trying to goad me into admitting something.

  My gaze skirts the area as I attempt to find Leo’s twin among all the guests. There’s really nowhere to hide since we’re out in the open.

  It was a great outdoor wedding, an homage to the groom who owns a landscaping business. The DJ plays some Michael Bublé, and a crowd gathers on a flagstone dance floor in the middle of the back lawn. The bride and groom dance slowly with the glow of torches surrounding them.

  “When is Kiley due?” Leo asks in a hushed voice so only I can hear.

  “I don’t know. Nine months?”

  Leo chuckles at my answer. “Did you fail anatomy class? I think she’s already a few months along.” He pauses. “I hope this marriage lasts. That’s a helluva rocky way to start one. Marriage is tough enough without that complication at the beginning.”
>
  I frown at his pessimism. “I think they’ll be fine. They’ll have more to love with a baby.”

  Leo sputters on the drink he’s taken. “That’s poetic. I didn’t know you had it in you.”

  I spot Josie and raise my hand high, waving her over. She gives a tight smile and turns in the opposite direction.

  Josie knows I want to talk to her, evident by the way she’s avoiding me. We have to make amends. Go back to being friends.

  Although it’s a black and white scene—all the bridesmaids wearing black dresses and the groomsmen in black tuxes—I should be able to spot her again.

  Josie, as maid of honor, wears a different dress from the other girls. Her dress is long, so she stands out. But that’s how it would be with Josie no matter what.

  Her black silk dress dips in the back, so low I question if she’s wearing panties. She’s nearly showing ass cleavage, not something I’d complain about if I were alone with her. But out here? It’s indecent. Where’s Leo’s sense of brotherly indignation when it’s warranted?

  Finally, she appears at a rectangular table placed off to the side of the dance floor. As if we have this extrasensory pull, her gaze locks onto mine.

  Fat chance on going back to the way things were between the two of us—best buds. Her look says it all, a wordless curse. I am dog shit on the bottom of her sexy shoes.

  She’s bent over talking to the reception’s deejay, a kid with a thin mustache resembling something he drew with a Sharpie. Punk. The guy probably sports a boner from his view of Josie every time she leans over and reads the laptop screen hooked up to the sound system.

  No maid of honor should look as hot as she does. It’s really not fair to the bride, even though the dress mimics the bride’s gown.

  The bride’s father grabs the mic and requests that we all be seated at the tables. Leo and I follow directions like good groomsman. The round table seats eight. Our buddy Aiden and his fiancée, Makenna are already seated, along with her boy Ryder. Leo’s girlfriend Harper strolls over and takes the seat beside him.

  Two empty seats remain, and I notice a couple of bridesmaids walking toward our table. I take off my tux jacket and place it in the seat nearest me.

  Then to my relief, Josie heads our way. Finally. She stops and leans over to give Harper a hug.

  “Hi there,” she says to Harper without so much as a side-eye in my direction. “You guys having fun? I love the music.”

  Harper reaches for Leo’s hand. “Yeah, me too. Leo promised me he’d dance.”

  Leo gives an exaggerated groan.

  “Josie. Saved you a seat.” I pat the chair beside me, determined to take us back to friendly terms—not as friendly as we’ve been, mind you, but friendly enough to still hang out together.

  It won’t be easy.

  “Oh, thanks, but I’m going to sit at Gunner and Kiley’s table.” She glances over her shoulder toward the bride and groom. “Bye. Have fun without me.”

  She throws in the last words just for me. They say the people who know you best really pick the best verbal weapons.

  Bulls-eye.

  I can’t have fun without her. If she doesn’t sit with me, my night has just gone to hell in the form of two bridesmaids.

  “Can we sit here?” the taller one says. I’m supposed to remember her name from the rehearsal dinner, but I draw a blank.

  I shrug and remove my jacket from the seat. Two minutes into her seat and she’s quizzing me about my occupation and family and hobbies.

  Kill me now.

  I should’ve said yes when Kiley asked me to sit with them. I could be beside Josie.

  Up at the head table, my buddy Gunner leans over to listen to his new bride as she whispers in his ear. He gives her a look that says it all—lust, adoration, and gratitude all rolled into one.

  Save it for the bedroom, guys. There are children present.

  At the far end of the head table, my buddy Aiden sits with Makenna. Both were attendants to the bride and groom today. I predict his wedding will be the next one I attend.

  My gaze swings back to Josie at the other end. How long will it be before some guy puts a ring on her finger? My gut churns.

  The bride’s father grabs a mic and instructs everyone to sit. That’s my cue. No time for me to be some sap feeling sorry for himself. As best man, I have a duty to say something witty about this new stage in their lives. I tap my spoon against the champagne glass and wait for everyone to fall silent. “If I can have your attention, I’d like to toast the new Mr. and Mrs. Gunner Parrish.”

  Gunner gives a grin. I’ve not seen this guy smile so much. It’s a little on the eerie side. My gaze travels down the head table past him. I wink at Kiley. Josie sits next to her…looking at a wedding program as if she’s bored with my little speech already.

  Damn. You’ve got to be kidding me.

  All the guests wait for me to continue, so I shake off the feeling that she’s really not going to forgive me.

  “I’ve known Gunner Parrish since second grade. He was tall and quiet. Never said much unless it was important. Come to think of it, things don’t change much.”

  There’s a low chuckle among the guests. Kiley links her arm through Gunner’s elbow.

  I continue and focus on Kiley instead of worrying if Josie is paying attention. “He and I both wanted to marry our pretty young teacher Mrs. Salinger. So, we decided the only way to pick who got the honor was to run a race from the back of my house to the old tree house at the edge of the property a good half-mile away. Leo sat on the back steps with notebook and pencil…because, well because he’s Leo.”

  Now the crowd laughs, thoroughly getting into my story.

  “Gunner got into position, leaning forward. I got ready to beat him because we’ve always been a little bit competitive. Josie was there and she waved a piece of cloth like it was a starting flag at a racetrack. We took off, matching strides, huffing and puffing. Before long, I noticed he slowed down. Then I slowed. Then he stopped, so I stopped. I yelled at him for trying to let me win. He yelled that he really didn’t want to marry Mrs. Salinger, but he sure was happy for me if I did. Thing is, Gunner,” I say and look pointedly at him, “I realized you were letting me win. Because you’re that kind of guy. The kind of person who is faithful to friends—fierce to protect the people he cares about. The first day I saw Gunner and Kiley together on that reality show…I knew bachelorhood was over for him. They say that some things are written in the stars and I never knew what that meant. But I’ve never been the philosophical sort. I know what it means now. He took one look at Kiley and his future was written.”

  I pause, not because I’m some great orator, but because the audience stares at me as if I’m disclosing the secrets of the universe. It’s unnerving for all of a second and then I look at Kiley. Her smile is worth all the ragging I’ll get later over my little speech, so I continue. “I’ve never met anyone more right for Gunner, more willing to sacrifice, more in-tune to what he needs. So today I toast the marriage of two people who start a life of commitment, of love and friendship, of holding each other through the hard times when you are each other’s safe place. I wish you all the best—a lifetime of love and beautiful babies to share it with.”

  Silence blankets the audience. I glance over to Josie and she swipes a finger across the corner of her eye.

  “And I’m one-hundred percent certain he’d trip me if we were running a race with Kiley as the prize. Cheers!” I hold my champagne glass up.

  Kiley’s dad stands and holds up his glass. “Well said.” The sound of clinking glasses fills the air.

  I’m alarmed when Josie rises from her seat and rushes past the end of the table. I set my glass down as subtly as possible and follow her to the end of the lawn, past the white billowy tents.

  She disappears from view, so I jog toward the house, the only place she can be headed. The French doors off the back patio are unlocked, so I let myself in.

  “Josie?” I walk toward
the front rooms. It’s a monster of a house, but I know my way around since coming to Kiley’s parties here as a teenager.

  There’s no sign of Josie in the kitchen or the living room. I stroll toward a bathroom on the first floor. The closed door lets me know it’s occupied, so I wait. And wait.

  And wait.

  Maybe she’s sick and I’m standing out here like an idiot. Or it could be another guest and that would make me a bigger idiot. “Josie? Is that you in there?”

  “For crying out loud. Can’t a girl go to the bathroom in peace?” She pulls the door open but doesn’t attempt to leave. “There are seven bathrooms in this house. Go find another one.”

  “We need to talk.” This doesn’t produce more than a hard stare from her.

  “No. We don’t.” She attempts to close the door in my face. Voices sound from somewhere inside the house, so I gently push the door open and step inside. My feet bump against hers.

  She takes an irritated breath, steps back, and closes her eyes. “I don’t know what to say to you anymore.”

  “Why? You’ve never had a problem in the past.”

  “That was before…before…” Her chest rises as she takes a deep breath. “You know what? I have something to say to you after all.”

  “Why do I feel like this is bad news for me?”

  She lifts her chin. “You treated me like you have every other girl in the world and I didn’t expect that. I thought you respected me more. I thought we were friends.”