Prologue

The happiest day of his life had, so far, been fraught with anxiety.

Pacing alone, upstairs in his hotel room, Chad ignored the muffled chatter rising from the lobby as the guests arrived.

He felt awkward in his stiff, new wedding suit and his collar seemed uncomfortably tight. As he loosened it, he somehow dislodged his tie and spent the next five minutes attempting to straighten it.

Hands shaking, his fingers fumbled until he gave his tie up as a bad job. He would, no doubt, be chastised for it later, but that, he sighed, was the price of marrying a perfectionist.

Marriage.

The very word sent a tremor through him. It wasn't that he doubted himself as a good husband, or his fidelity to his soon-to-be legal partner, it just seemed to be a step too soon.

A loud, brash knock on his door shook him out of his melancholic musings and, without waiting to be invited, Troy entered, beaming a brilliant, white smile.

"It's not even his wedding," Chad thought resentfully, as his old classmate scooped up the ring box from the dressing table. Then again, when Troy had got married, he had been bouncing off the walls with excitement. Clearly, they both had different ways of expressing themselves.

"Come on, man. You've got to meet the guests before we head to the church."

Chad's throat constricted and his voice seemed to have disappeared, so he nodded briefly and shut the hotel door behind him.

All this fuss and worry would be over in a few hours.

After all, it was the right thing to do.