Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 97466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
This was probably the only group of people I would sit around and talk weddings with without having to worry about boring someone. Dex was so in love with my sister he’d put up with the topic of conversation for any length of time, though it was far from being in his wheelhouse.
After another forty-five minutes or so, our door buzzed. Rafa jumped up. “Got it. My sister said she might send something over. That’s probably from her.”
It wasn’t. When he got back from meeting the delivery driver, he was holding a high-end crate of some kind, filled with various packages wrapped in brown paper and tied with black-and-white-striped twine.
“Elena went overboard,” I said, eyes widening. “What the hell is that?”
“It’s not from my sister,” Rafa said, placing the crate in my lap. “She would have never sent you a box of bacon, bro.”
I stared down at the collection of packages and saw a chic logo stamped on all of them. Divine Swine.
A semi-hysterical laugh bubbled up through my chest and out of my mouth. “Oh my god.”
Abby pointed. “There’s a card. Who’s it from?”
I didn’t need to see the card to know. “Oscar. I once told him I had an unhealthy interest in gourmet bacon.” And he’d remembered.
“You’re smiling like an idiot,” Abby said with her own idiot smile.
“It was thoughtful,” I said defensively.
“No shit,” Rafa said, reaching over to swipe one of the paper packages. He studied the handwriting below the logo label. “Rosemary peppercorn.”
Dex peered over my shoulder. “Bourbon smoke. Jesus, that sounds good.”
Abby put her hands together over her chest. “I’m going to cry. That’s the sweetest thing ever. How did he know it was your birthday? You never tell anyone.”
“I…” There was no way I could admit that Oscar hadn’t known until an hour ago. Knowing he must have dropped everything to find someone to make this happen in record time… It made me feel like a million dollars. “I don’t know,” I said.
I wanted to hug the crate to my chest and inhale the incredible scents coming off it. Instead, I forced myself to set it down so I could text him.
Hugh
You had me at bacon.
Oscar
Don’t say I never gave you a good pork, Hugh Linzee.
I barked out a laugh and shoved the phone in my pocket to hide the message. Despite the heat on my face, I enjoyed his teasing. Oscar never failed to put me in a better mood. Even on nights like tonight, when I was already enjoying myself, he somehow made things even more fun.
It wasn’t until late that night, after my sister and Dex had left and Rafa had taken off for another hookup, that I pulled out my phone again.
Oscar
Happy birthday, friend. You deserve the very best. I hope this year is the one when all your dreams come true.
Instead of answering, I slid the phone under my pillow, closed my eyes, and fell asleep wishing the same.
By the end of May, I’d been seeing Louis regularly for a few months, and things were looking good. He’d taken me to dinner at restaurants with no prices on the menu and a multitude of forks on the table. We’d gone to his favorite wine bar so often we had a “usual table.” And he’d already begun talking about splurging on a private jet for a luxury weekend golf trip to Scotland to celebrate our six-month anniversary this fall, which seemed a little over-the-top, even to a die-hard romantic like me, especially since I didn’t play golf, but I was here for it… mostly because it showed how much Louis was here for it.
Unfortunately, his first meeting with Abby and Dex had been a little awkward—Louis hadn’t spoken much—but Abby had chalked that up to nerves, and I was pretty sure she was right. When we were alone, things were different. Louis and I spent hours talking about his friends and family, his hobbies and interests, and… divorce. Good lord, did we talk about divorce. I figured this came with the territory when you were dating a divorce attorney though, and I told myself it was easy enough to overlook since Louis was always so supportive of my work, even offering to spend a few summer evenings strolling through the park in search of people to interview for my Real Life HEAs TikTok account.
It wasn’t until the end of June that I learned the truth.
During a late-night editing session, I messaged a guy from one of the HEA videos to ask if he wanted me to try and edit out his work name badge, and he came back to me with attitude.
“You know, I thought your platform was cool. I thought it was a cute thing you were doing. But I gotta say, bringing a divorce attorney along to pitch us his services after the interview? Pretty fucking uncool, man.”