She couldn’t know that he’d also expressed shock over Eric choosing him, sure that Scott would be the better choice. Keiran didn’t know the first thing about being a best man, having never been one before. Could he do a man of Eric’s status justice when it came to something like this? Scott was used to rubbing elbows with the island’s old-money types, Keiran not so much. Sure, Keiran produced music for some big-name local artistes, but their type of money certainly wasn’t at the same level as Eric’s family.

Not that Eric ever made his wealth an issue, but Cherisse’s casual disapproval had irked.

“Nah, I’ll pass,” he finally replied, knowing his refusal to eat her dessert would aggravate Cherisse further.

Maxine rolled her eyes and shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

He glanced over to where Cherisse chatted with Tyler Gray, who was decked out in a navy jacket thrown over what appeared to be a white t-shirt. He didn’t know Tyler well, only that Tyler’s father was a close acquaintance of Eric’s family and that Eric claimed the man was boring as hell. Pretentious, too. Keiran frowned down at Tyler’s bare ankles, exposed by the rolled-up hem of his pants. Was that the kind of guy Cherisse went for? One who didn’t even bother with socks?

Cherisse had Tyler’s attention as he nodded in agreement while her hands moved around. Her gestures made her crop top ride up ever so slightly to reveal a sliver of her torso. So, it wasn’t really a whole dress, as he’d thought initially, but two pieces. Fashion was strange. What was the point of wearing a two-piece thing to look like a dress when you could just wear a whole dress? He’d have to ask Scott about that some time. His best friend had his pulse on all things fashion. Scott kept trying to get Keiran to “take risks” with his style, whatever that meant.

Scott knew how to pull together an outfit and always looked like he’d stepped off a runway. It was probably a skill all models learned. Keiran figured he’d just fall into the “trying too hard and failing” category if he ever decided to go for something new, so he stuck with his laid-back, casual digs.

“What’s the point of having money if you dress like that?”

Maxine popped another sugary treat in her mouth. The damn things couldn’t possibly be that good. “When you got that kind of money, you can walk around in a trash bag and call it fashion.”

“Seems so. She’s probably boring him to death about batter and cake pans,” he mumbled, unsure why he would possibly care either way. “Match made in snoozefest heaven, I guess.”

Maxine raised a brow. “You sound personally offended. Why’s that?”

“I’m not.”

Maxine didn’t look convinced but didn’t push the issue. “I think Mrs. Gooding is playing matchmaker. She’s been casually striking up conversations with a bunch of dudes who she then casually introduces to Cherisse.”

Sure enough, Mrs. Gooding was standing, not too far away from Cherisse, talking to a young man dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and jeans, and not so subtly gesturing at Cherisse, who, in between focusing on Tyler, kept tossing frowns her mother’s way. Her smile looked strained even from over here. How interesting.