Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 124005 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 413(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124005 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 413(@300wpm)
Rix launches herself into his arms, and everyone cheers and claps for them. Hollis gives Hammer a look that tells me she’s next.
My heart aches with the knowledge that from the very beginning, all the bullshit I thought Dallas was spewing was the truth. He was honest the entire time. About everything. And I was just determined to hate him for what he’d allowed me to believe he’d done all those years ago. What a mess.
We should have had an engagement party like this, one where we were both genuinely happy about the possibility of forever. But I can’t even bring myself to tell him how I feel about him.
Flip taps his pint glass with a spoon, and the chatter stops. “I’m so damn happy for you.” He clears his throat and looks to the ceiling as he takes a deep breath. “You are two of my favorite people in the entire world.” He coughs into his arm, like he’s composing himself. “Love can be such a messy thing, but I see the way you love each other, the way you always stand up for and to each other. The way you have each other’s backs. I know it’s not easy. I know we had a hard beginning, Rix, and that you made a lot of sacrifices, but this guy…” He points at Tristan. “He’ll love you until the world ends. You deserve the best of everything, and I know he will cherish you. And Tristan, man, you know.” He taps his heart with his fist. “I support you. Both of you. It’s an honor to celebrate you.” He holds his glass up. “To love, and to my sister and my best friend finding it in each other.”
We all toast and dab our eyes.
Essie stands next looking at her bestie. “Rix, I am so happy for you. I love that you found a partner who will go grocery shopping with you.”
Rix laughs and says, “But no one will ever replace you as my price matching partner.”
“Forever and always,” Essie agrees. “Tristan, thank you for loving and supporting her. You’ve shown me that love is real. People can change. And if you hurt her, I will do unspeakable things to you with the help of Hemi’s older brother.”
Tristan laughs and wraps his arms around Rix. “Honestly, I expect nothing less. Samir is a scary motherfucker. I’m glad my girl has someone like you in her corner, Essie.”
“Here, here!” Roman raises his glass. “To love!”
We all cheers again.
It’s an amazing celebration. But it’s a reminder of how different it is with me and Dallas. I know how he feels about me, what he wants, but I’m struggling to get where he is, and the engagement ring I’m wearing is a reminder of how it all started—with a lie we keep telling our friends.
So when he asks me if I’m coming back to his place, I tell him I can’t.
It’s not a lie.
I’m too raw. Too afraid of my own feelings.
And even more afraid of his.
A few days after Rix and Tristan’s engagement, we plan a girls’ afternoon. Rix is super excited about planning her wedding, and I wish I was in the same place emotionally. It sucks that she’s so over the moon and I’m still over here, wishing it didn’t feel like an anvil swinging.
“Where are we going?” I ask as I climb into the back of Rix’s Mercedes SUV. Tristan bought it for her birthday like the giant, sappy, lovesick fool he is.
“It’s a surprise!” Rix is practically bouncing in her seat.
Essie is in the front seat, and Tally, Shilpa, and I are tucked in the back. Dred is meeting us wherever we’re going with Hammer, which is good because I don’t think we could cram two more bodies back here unless they wanted to ride in the trunk.
“Any hints?”
“Nope, you’ll see when we get there,” Shilpa replies.
Half an hour and some harrowing Toronto traffic later, we’re standing outside Just Desserts. “We’re cake testing!” Rix announces.
“And then looking at bridesmaids’ dresses,” Tally adds. Her eyes go wide. “For Rix, since we’re all in her wedding party.”
“You’ll all be in my wedding party, too.” If I ever get married. I turn to Shilpa. “And you’ll be my matron of honor.”
She smiles and squeezes my arm.
Dred and Hammer meet us on the sidewalk. Hammer had a meeting off-site, and Dred is using her lunch break to join us.
We follow an excited Rix, Essie, Hammer, and Tally into the shop and spend the next half hour testing cakes. “I can’t decide which one I love the most,” Rix groans while rubbing her stomach.
“You don’t have to pick just one. You’ll have tiers, right? So each tier is a different flavor,” Hammer says.
“That’s expensive, though.” Rix sinks her fork into her cake, despite already having said she’s full.