Stuart ignored her, pulling her after him and inside the crowded room. Everyone there was in high spirits, jolly and loud, and she had to fight the urge to turn around and go back to her quiet hotel room, ugly as it was.

She saw Jai before he spotted them. Like Stuart, he was bearded, with thick-framed glasses, and as Stuart mentioned, he was wearing exactly the same outfit as her friend. The resemblance ended there, however, as Jai was much taller, much broader than Stuart—she could tell this even with him seated. Stuart was relatively tall, slightly over six feet, but quite slim. Jai was also fairer—blond hair and pale skin and eyes in contrast to Stuart’s darker coloring.

Jai seemed to sense her watching him, and as he turned their way, he broke into a wide smile. He stood, his height greater even than she’d expected, and lumbered their way, arms wide open. She let herself be engulfed in his enormity, the light suddenly disappearing as he pulled her into his broad chest. Moments later, he was pumping her hand up and down in his enormous paws.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you, Ryann,” he said, his voice surprisingly soft and high.

“Same here. And thanks so much for letting me be part of this. I’m really excited to be here.”

She realized as she spoke that she meant it. Most of her reluctance and hesitation had been an outcome of her exhaustion, but part of it had been her own cowardice. She hated meeting new people. While she could command a board meeting or a business proposal with complete strangers, she’d almost always struggled with personal situations like this. And Stuart meant a lot to her, and Jai meant a lot to him, which meant he was going to be a part of her life now, too. It was a lot of pressure. But seconds with him had erased all of that. This was a kind, warm man.

“Come! Sit! Stuart told me all about your awful ordeal getting here. Let me buy you a beer to make up for it.”

She followed him back to a little table in the corner of the room. Two women were sitting there—one a cute, androgynous elf of a person, the other a formidable, stunning, icy blonde. Ryann, Stuart, and Jai sat across from them, and she shook the women’s hands as Stuart made introductions.

“This cool drink of water is Darcy,” the blonde, “and Erin is the owner and master brewer here and Darcy’s wife. We hired Erin to help us arrange the alcohol for the wedding, including, of course, the beer brewed here. This is the best beer around.”

“Oh, I see,” Erin said, sneering dramatically. “That’s all I am to you, then? A beer monger?”

Stuart laughed. “They’re also our friends,” he told Ryann. “We just started talking details before you got here.”