Tyson wished Dani would stop crying. He hated seeing her in tears, and he hated being the reason she was doing it in the first place. Maybe it wasn't directly his fault, but her feelings about the wedding were pretty clear, and they didn't help his ego. Not like he should have been surprised. He kind of felt the same way, so he couldn't take it too personally.
All night she cried. No one could console her, not her mother nor even Ethan.
“Why does your Great Lord get a say in this again?” Ethan asked as he sat down with Tyson in the den. That's where the two young men slept whenever the house was full of guests. Tyson gladly donated his guest room to Maya, so she could rest comfortably. Ethan's brothers shared a room with his mother.
Tyson rubbed at his face, trying to get himself to relax some. “Because, like he said, it's about politics. A lot of the members of the Terran council are already upset with the arrangement to begin with. The way it was formed and the fact that we haven't wed yet. Hypothetically, we're overdue. It's supposed to help smooth things over between our two nations, because the war left a lot of awkward sore spots.”
“A month though? He's nuts,” Ethan said, and shook his head.
“I certainly didn't vote for him,” Tyson said with a chuckle. “I don't know how we're going to do this.”
“I can stay and help you.”
Tyson glanced over at his friend. “You'd do that?”
“Of course. You two are my best friends, and I don't want to watch you drown in dresses and color swatches and flowers or whatever else,” he said. “And if you want, I could probably talk Maya's parents into letting her stick around too. I know she's kind of a stranger, but I have a feeling Dani's going to want the female input. I mean, all she has is her mom and mine, but there's no way mine’s going to be able to stick around for a month.”
Tyson swallowed at the mention of Maya, the beauty staying with them who had captivated his attention. “I'm not sure that's a good idea if she's as sick as you say.” But really, his reasons for not having her around were more selfish. Tyson didn't need to be tempted.
“This place is good for her. For all of us. It's just an idea.”
“You're right,” Tyson said. “Ethan?”
“Hmm?”
“I want you to be a part of this wedding in other ways. Will you be my best man?”
Ethan raised an eyebrow. “We don't have roles like that where I come from, but I have a general idea of what you're asking, and I'm honored. Of course I will.”
Sighing heavily, Tyson got comfortable on the air mattress on the floor. He pulled the covers up around him and closed his eyes. Maybe asking Ethan to be a part of the wedding wasn't a good idea, given Dani's feelings for him, but Tyson couldn't imagine anyone else standing by his side. Together, the three of them might be able to come up with a way out of the entire thing.