Scoring with my Bestie’s Ex

1. Bella

Chapter one

Bella

I should be married right now.

I should be on my honeymoon, giddily shopping in all the stores in Italy.

I should be looking forward to luxurious bubble baths and bringing my husband breakfast in bed.

Instead, I’m here.

My gaze is unfocused, so much so that I can barely appreciate the beauty of the sparkling lake I’m walking next to. Birds sing, and occasionally, a butterfly flutters by.

I’d see none of this in the busy city. But somehow, the quiet stillness of this small town makes my thoughts even harder to get rid of.

I’m so caught up in thoughts of what my honeymoon would have been like that I don’t see him coming. I step off the path just as he does the same to avoid me.

We run into each other with a smack. I bounce off his hard chest and lose my balance.

“Whoa!” A hand grabs my elbow, steadying me. “Easy. You okay?”

I focus my gaze, straightening. “Yes, I’m… Aaron?”

He steps back, a smile slowly spreading across his face. “Bella! It’s been a while. How are you doing?”

I open my mouth and shut it again. Really, I should give a causal ‘fine’ and find a way to get back to the cabin. But I can’t even bring myself to lie right now.

Instead, I ask, “What are you doing here?”

“The team’s coming out to Castleton for some team building,” he answers easily.

His dark hair is ruffled by the wind, his brown eyes shining with genuine pleasure to see me. I always forget how tall he is—I have to crane my neck to look into his face.

He wears a thin T-shirt that molds against his muscled chest and abdomen. His jeans are slung low on his hips. Hmm. His whole look screams ‘off the rack.’ Not that it’s a bad look. Then again, Aaron’s one of those guys who would look good in a potato sack.

His smile is still in place. He’s got such an open, honest face that it’s hard to remember why I should be wary of him—he is my best friend’s ex, after all.

“Ah. So we should expect a raucous hockey team to disrupt the tranquility soon,” I say, nodding.

Aaron is a well-known player on an NHL team. I don’t know the details. I’ve never been a hockey fan. I just don’t see the appeal of it.

“Hopefully not too much disruption,” Aaron answers. “Are you here alone?”

“Ellen’s with me.”

Ellen, my best friend.

Aaron’s ex.

She’s the only reason I’m here. She insisted that it would help me feel better. I don’t know what she was smoking when she thought I’d like a tiny town in the middle of nowhere. Sure, the lake is pretty but I’m not a sporty person.

“Ah. Ellen. Good, I’m glad that you’re not alone after…” His smile slowly fades. “I saw what happened on Facebook. I’m sorry things didn’t work out for you.”

Heat rushes to my face. Of course, he knows what happened.

“Go on. Ask me,” I challenge him, throwing my hands in the air. “I’ve been bombarded by questions from everyone in my family and Steven’s too. Why not you? You must be curious. How much of it is true?”

Aaron holds up his hands. “It’s none of my business.”

I run my hands through my hair. “Sorry. It’s been… tense.”

Aaron nods, his expression soft and understanding.

“It’s all true,” I say, my shoulders slumping. Ellen has been deliberately avoiding talking about it, but I find myself wanting to say it aloud. “I spent two years planning the perfect wedding only to bolt at the last minute.”

“Right before saying ‘I do’ huh?” Aaron says.

I snort, the tension easing. "Bolted? Oh, I didn't just bolt; I practically left a cartoon dust cloud behind me. If you listen closely, you can still hear the organist playing the theme from Mission: Impossible . "

Aaron laughs, and this makes me smile for the first time in what feels like forever. “I don’t need to hear the details.” He gestures along the path, and we start walking together. “I know I’m not a close friend, but if you’d like my opinion, I can give it.”

“Nope. I have enough opinions right now. But I appreciate your offering.” I wrap my arms around my waist as the wind rushes in from the lake. “Ellen decided I needed a break from… life. She dragged me out here, saying I need to recharge.”

Aaron laughs. “Ah, yes. That sounds like Ellen. Is it helping?”

“No. I want to go back to work. I want to pretend like nothing is wrong and just try to focus on my career again.” I let out a soft chuckle.

Steven always told me I was far too focused on my career. It left me no time for him. Maybe it’s true. Maybe that’s why I ran.

“How is that going? I heard you started as the assistant to…” Aaron frowns as he glances at the sky. “Imogen?”

I raise my eyebrows. “You remember that?”

Imogen is my favorite designer. She started off with a small boutique but took the design world by storm.

And now I’m lucky enough to work for her.

“You brought her up all the time.” Aaron laughs. “So? You’re working with her?”

I nod. But rather than being happy, my chest aches.

Aaron dated Ellen three years ago. He and I didn’t spend much time together outside of group settings.

Yet he remembers who my favorite designer is. Unlike Steven…

I rub my forehead. “Yeah. We’re working together. I started last year, and it’s going well. She was understanding when I said I needed some time.”

“You getting anywhere with your designs?”

My hand drops. “I don’t think I want to keep talking about this. I was in a bad headspace when I ran into you. Thinking about Steven. I’m not really much company.”

Aaron lets out a soft noise of understanding. “I have some things to do anyway. But again, I’m sorry things didn’t work out for you.”

He’s so genuine about it.

I turn back to my cabin, muttering some sort of thanks. My throat starts to swell as I hurry away. Out of all the people I could have run into here…

Well, Aaron isn’t the worst person I could have run into. But it’s ironic that after breaking up with my fiancé, I’d run into Ellen’s ex too.

His casual kindness is a stark reminder of how unaccustomed I am to it.

The cabin Ellen and I are sharing is one of the cheapest options. It’s a small, one-room building with a loft that holds two twin beds. No plumbing but it does have electricity.

I clear my throat and wipe my eyes to make sure I’m not visibly crying before I enter the cabin.

Ellen lounges on the sofa, reading. She looks up when I come in.

“Do you have the ice?”

I grimace. “Oh, no. I forgot that’s what I was supposed to do. You’ll never guess who I ran into.”

Ellen tosses her book aside. “If Steven is here, we’ll drown him in the lake.”

“I said you’ll never guess, not it’s the most obvious person,” I answer sarcastically. “Aaron.”

“Aaron? You mean the hockey player Aaron? My ex?” Ellen’s eyes widened.

“Yeah. Apparently, his whole team is coming out for some sort of retreat,” I say, relieved to steer the conversation away from Steven. “So we might see him around.”

Ellen’s expression falls. “Ugh, no. I really don’t want him running around here.”

“I thought you said things ended well between you two.” I tap her feet, and she moves them off the sofa so I can sit.

“It did end well. Aaron breaking up with me was the best way you can get broken up with. He made me feel like, even though we were ending things, it wasn’t something to be super sad about.” Ellen chews her lip. “It’s still bound to be awkward if we run into each other a bunch.”

I give her a small smile. “Well, I guess this means you’re thrilled we’re leaving tomorrow, huh?”

“I don’t know about that. I don’t think that we managed to get your mind off things the way I hoped,” she says. “And there’s that scavenger hunt coming up.”

“Ellen, please.” I shake my head. “Listen, I appreciate what you did for me, but it’s not helping to be out here. I need to be busy, not sitting around with nothing to do but think.”

“We haven’t been sitting around. We hiked, we went kayaking, we went swimming…” Ellen’s shoulders slump. “I just want to help.”

I hug her tightly. “You’re helping just by letting me crash at your place until I can find a new one. Seriously, you’re the best friend ever! Trust me. All I need is to get back to life.”