Summer in Tahoe (Love in Tahoe #2)

Chapter 1

Daniela

I don’t trust men. I’m not sure I ever have.

That’s why I blew off the best man of my best friend’s upcoming wedding last Thanksgiving after spending one stupid, drunken night with him.

It’s also why I’m not looking forward to being in close proximity to him all summer while I stay in Tahoe to help my best friend, Layla, finish planning the most epic backyard Tahoe wedding.

Why don’t I trust them? I don’t know. Probably because, throughout my life, I’ve only really experienced shitty examples of what the male species should be.

Reliable father? A fallacy .

Loyal boyfriend? Haven’t personally experienced such a thing.

Even my shithead younger brother, though I love him, is a mess. I wouldn’t set him up with my worst enemy. Well, maybe I would.

Plus, there was also that one awful night in college…

I gave up on trusting most men years ago.

Closed myself off. But unfortunately for me, I’m still very much physically attracted to hot, strong assholes.

It’s a curse. I try really hard to avoid that type, going for the opposite of what gets me going.

Like the quiet, reserved accountant that I had a few dates with last year.

Or the strung-out attorney who was too busy to see me all week, barely making time to take care of himself.

They were safe, and I knew I wasn’t in danger of falling for them.

I haven’t completely lost faith, though.

I’m actually very excited for Layla to get married this summer.

And I’m more than excited to spend half the summer in Tahoe City with her, planning and enjoying all the festivities.

If anyone deserves it, it’s her. And I genuinely believe that her fiancé, Liam, will treat her right.

If he doesn’t, I’ll personally hunt him down and wipe that arrogant little smirk off his face for good.

And so what if I hooked up with Liam’s best man once last year and then left him hanging when I left town. We’re both grown-ups. It won’t be awkward. I hope.

Today I finally head back to Lake Tahoe, where my best friend met and fell in love with her future husband in a straight-out-of-a-movie, adorable little mountain town.

Their meet-cute was like a holiday rom-com.

My encounter with the groom’s best friend, on the other hand, was…

whatever the opposite of a meet-cute is.

As it looms closer, I’m starting to get just a bit anxious about it all, but I’ll never let it show. I may be a mess on the inside, but on the outside, I keep my shit together.

Relaxing and rotting at home have been my main activities so far this summer.

I’ve done nothing except binge shows and sleep in as late as I want.

I needed it after this past school year.

Teaching eighth graders algebra is exhausting.

Mentally, anyway. I love math and I mostly love the students, but by the end of the year, I’m always drained.

They’re such emotional little weirdos at that age.

I love it. But I needed a few days to recover and soak in the silence before the crazy chain of wedding events begins.

At the moment, I’m tearing my room apart, packing several suitcases full of my things.

Most of my things, actually. Layla wants me there for pretty much the entire summer.

No, she needs me there, as she’s stated many times.

It’s fine; I have nothing going on all summer anyway, and of course I will be there for her.

Especially since she doesn’t have any family anymore.

Two years ago, Layla lost her mom and dad.

I grew up with them too. It was devastating and awful, and I hate that my best friend won’t have either one of them by her side for this.

Life just isn’t fucking fair sometimes. But what can you do except get back up, dust that ass off, and keep pushing through?

I may not have much wedding planning experience, but between the two of us, plus Liam and her future mother-in-law, we’re putting together something pretty special.

With the wedding being thrown together on a short timeline, we couldn’t find a local planner available on such short notice.

So, we decided we could do it ourselves.

My phone rings as I shove every single bathing suit I own into my suitcase. I’m feeling pretty confident about whose name is going to be displayed on the screen.

I snatch it off the edge of my purple bed, and my hunch is confirmed.

“Hello, Layla,” I answer, sounding chipper but also with a tone that says, You’ve called me five times already, and I’m going as fast as I can .

“How’s it going?” she responds, her voice excited yet dripping with impatience.

“Girlfriend, I am almost done, and then you will have me all summer long. Are you really so bored there that you need my lame ass there so soon? With my shitty jokes and general negative disposition?”

“Your jokes are not shitty. They’re hilarious. And I just miss you, duh! I haven’t seen you since April when you dropped that bomb on me about Dex and then split the next day. You sneaky little mouse. ”

I chuckle. “It was so fun to see the look on your face though!”

“Uh-huh. I still can’t believe you kept that from me. And that you still won’t give me any details.”

“A lady never tells.”

“Where’s the lady?” she asks.

I scoff. “I’m twenty-six now. I’m very much a lady. In fact, some of my students address me as lady quite often.” Granted, when they do it, it’s completely disrespectful, but we don’t need to mention that.

We laugh in tandem, and I realize we’ve gotten completely off topic, and I’ve stopped packing all together.

“I know you’re calling in hopes I’m leaving soon, but you keep distracting me! I need to go.”

I hang up the phone, pack the rest of my bags, and move them to the car. I’m ready for the three-hour drive.

As I turn onto the highway, though, I suddenly start feeling anxious again as memories of my last visit start trickling in.

I may not trust men, but honestly, they shouldn’t trust me either.