Chapter 22 #2
“Anyway, I was just being reintroduced to Andi’s new boyfriend, Nolan. Eric’s CPO. Remember him from that night at the pub all those years ago? The guy she went home with?” she adds in a not-so-discreet whisper.
Hunter’s eyes go wide in faux recognition, grateful for the topic switch. “Right! I’ve seen you with Eric but I thought you looked familiar. Nice to meet you, man. I’m Hunter.”
Nolan tightens his lips, his gaze flicking to me for a millisecond before he extends his other hand in a greeting.
A beat goes by where we all just sit there, nodding, waiting for someone to break the painful silence.
Laine is the one who breaks it. “By the way, did you get our invitation?”
Shit. I consider lying and feigning surprise, but it seems like a fruitless endeavor. “I did. The cardstock was so…thick,” I say, immediately regretting it. Who cares about the damn cardstock?
“That was Hunter’s mom’s choice. Like most things,” she informs with a knowing brow raise, like I, too, know the struggle.
I met Hunter’s entire family once at a holiday party.
They were nice and welcoming (aside from his bigoted uncle Frank), a family I could picture myself getting to know over time.
“Hey, it’s taken all the work off your plate,” Hunter reminds her.
“True. You know me. If I had it my way, we wouldn’t even be having a wedding. I’ve been making sure it stays really low-key. I don’t want any of it to feel like a traditional wedding, you know?”
“Right.” A destination wedding in Mexico? Real low-key.
She goes on and on for at least fifteen minutes, listing all the ways their wedding is “not like a normal wedding,” despite going on a long-winded rant about napkin colors.
She’s wearing a black dress, for one thing.
The ceremony will only be two minutes, max.
And there will be a buffet, no multicourse dinner.
“Basically, I want it to be like a big party.”
“Totally,” I say, flashing a syrupy-sweet smile over my shoulder, desperate for the game to start so I can turn back around.
“Anyway, the deadline to RSVP is this week. I’ll make sure to add a plus-one for you,” she says with a wink.
“We need to coordinate with the resort to make sure we have enough rooms blocked off—” A woman I recognize from Privy Council sinks into the seat next to Laine, capturing her attention, leaving Nolan and me with Hunter.
I’m about to come up with a bogus excuse to leave the conversation, but Hunter keeps talking. “Honestly, we won’t be offended if you aren’t able to make it,” he says out of nowhere, which I interpret as, “Please don’t come.”
“I’ll have to see. I need to confirm my vacation time—” I start.
“We’ll let you know,” Nolan declares.
“Great. Glad you’re considering it. Laine was really worried you’d feel awkward.” Hunter gifts me a sympathetic look, which makes me want to bash my forehead into the railing around our box.
“Why would I feel awkward? Because of our history?” I ask innocently. Maybe it’s the fact that Nolan is at my side, but I’m overcome with the urge to make Hunter sweat a little.
“Exactly! I mean, you and I dated for, what—a couple months? I keep telling Laine how it wasn’t anything serious, but you know her. She just cares so much.”
Something twists through my chest. Hurt?
Annoyance? Frustration? Probably a mix of all.
I open my mouth to reply, but my mind is stuck on “a couple months” and “wasn’t anything serious.
” Is he for real right now? So the entire year we dated, lived together, and talked at length about our future wasn’t anything serious?
I want to ask. I want to slap him. But of course, I’m me. I freeze.
Sensing my discomfort, Nolan swiftly tugs at my arm, gaze narrowed. “Let’s grab a drink. The game is about to start.”
“Yes!” I pop up, a little too enthusiastic.
We shuffle out of our seats and slip into the crowd, tucking ourselves into an empty spot near the bar to order our drinks.
Nolan absorbs me for a couple beats before speaking. “I know you said he wouldn’t be the type to put his lips on the fountain nozzle, but I’d bet you a hundred bucks he did.”
A deep laugh finds its way out, so much so, I nearly cough up my drink. “Thank you. I needed that. The conversation about cream or blush napkins almost did me in.”
He snorts. “I must have blacked out before then. Probably somewhere after she brought up the pros and cons of chair covers.”
“I mean, I’m all for big, extra weddings if that’s what people want. The part that gets me is that she keeps following everything up with but it’s going to be so chill,” I admit, feeling both relieved and also a little guilty for complaining about her.
“Not like a regular wedding,” Nolan adds, doing his best Laine impression.
“Right? It’s kind of annoying.”
“Are you actually thinking of going?” he asks.
The million-dollar question I’ve been avoiding for weeks now. “Even if I wanted to go, I don’t know if I’d be able to take three days off from work. Unless I get a bunch of my to-do list completed before.”
“You know, you don’t have to go,” he reminds me, sensing my turmoil.
“I know. But how do I say no?”
“Easy. You check decline on the RSVP card and never think about it again.”
Just the thought of it makes me shiver. “I don’t know if I can do it.”
“That tracks,” he says, gently pulling me into his side.
I tip my chin up to meet his gaze. “What tracks?”
“You and your need to please people.”
I set my drink down on the bar. “It just feels too harsh to decline. I owe it to my and Laine’s friendship. If I didn’t go, it would be a clear message that I don’t want to be friends anymore.”
“Are you still really friends?” he asks gently.
“Technically speaking, we’re still friends.
But we don’t really hang out anymore, aside from maybe once or twice a year.
” It’s only when I say it out loud that I realize how sad that sounds.
It might be acceptable if we actually had meaningful conversations during those hangouts, but we don’t.
We don’t have much in common anymore at all, really.
“She also called romance novels filth,” he points out.
“I know. She can be a bit of a snob. And then there’s the whole Hunter thing.”
“Can I ask…is it hard being friends with someone who’s dating your ex?”
I shrug reflexively, my go-to when anyone asks me that.
Only, I’m with Nolan, probably the only person I can be honest with.
“It threw me for a loop at first. It was so soon after our breakup that it made me kind of paranoid, wondering whether they had feelings for each other while we were together. But I felt like I couldn’t say anything because it’s not like I wanted to be with Hunter.
At the end of the day, she deserves happiness. ”
“You’re a better person than I am.”
“What would you do? Go and object at their wedding?”
He laughs, considering this for a couple seconds as a voice over the loudspeaker announces the start of the game. “I’d probably go enjoy the vacation out of spite and get completely wrecked at their open bar.”
“That sounds…ridiculously fun.”
“Right? You know what? You should do it.”
“Object at their wedding or get wasted at the reception?”
“The latter.”
I bite my lip, tempted. “What if I do or say something stupid?”
“You won’t. I’ll be right there to stop you from making bad choices.”
I balance myself against the bar, blinking until his mischievous smile comes into sharp focus. “Wait, you want to go with me? To Mexico? What happened to not people-pleasing?”
“It wouldn’t be people-pleasing. We’d be going for a vacation. The wedding would merely be a one-night obligation and excuse to drink for free.” He grins sideways at me as I ponder. “Why not? I have the vacation time, and so do you on paper, even if you don’t feel like you can take it.”
The thought of going alone was terrifying. But going with Nolan? That changes everything. So I hold out my hand to lead him back to our seats, raising my head a little higher than before. “You know what? Let’s go.”