Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 95264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
She’s a keeper.
But the best thing about last night was that I was able to ignore the six-foot-three-sized hole in our celebration. It won’t be so easy to forget Bastard Bill exists come the day of the wedding when he’s standing across from me, but I have three months to prepare myself.
If that’s possible. God, how am I going to enjoy that day?
“Joe picked a good one. Justine lucked out with her future sister-in-law.” Scarlet nudges a wayward hose with her toe.
“I’m sorry, babe. I wanted to have it done and cleaned up before you got home.”
“That’s sweet of you to try.” She treats him to a full-mouth kiss as if I’m not sitting right here.
He responds with a deep groan that I feel in my belly. I know where this is heading—me, sitting here alone while they take off next door so they can have loud sex.
“What’s Dean doing?”
Shane peels himself away from Scarlet’s mouth. “Watching the game somewhere. Why?”
“Because I think I need to get laid.” Maybe that’ll help with this odd, weighty feeling I can’t seem to shake.
Shane grins. “Give him a call.”
“Would that be wrong? To use him like that?”
“It’s Dean. You know how he rolls.”
“True.” No risk of catching feelings from that one.
“He slept with my mother,” Scarlet reminds me.
“Also true. Dottie and I can compare notes after.” I slide my phone out of my pocket. “How do I word it? ‘Hey, Dean, wanna fuck?’”
“I like it. Straight to the point. Hold up.” Shane makes a show of checking his watch. “Let me time how long it takes for him to dial your number once you hit Send.”
I’m tapping out the message when my phone rings, startling me. “How did he know? I haven’t—oh, it’s just Joe.” As rough as Scarlet and I felt this morning, there were no signs of life from Joe’s room when we left. I know why he’s calling. He wants to hear what I really think of Sara, now that I’m not drunk and telling him how much I love her through hiccups. “I guess my booty call will have to wait.” I answer with my usual, “Yo, bro.”
“You made it back to Hickville.” Joe’s voice is croaky.
“Yup. Gonna hook up an IV now.” After I proposition Dean.
“Same.” He groans like he’s in pain. “Listen, you got a minute?”
“Not really. I was about to call a potential fuck friend over.”
He mutters something under his breath and then, “How did you turn out like this?”
“What do you want? I told you. Sara’s way too good for you, but I’ll make sure she shows up at the church or hotel or wherever you two are getting hitched. I’ll tie her up if I have to. Also, I don’t know who Sara’s maid of honor is, but I’m bringing so many oiled-up strippers to the bachelorette, fair warning.”
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Sara’s bachelorette?” I frown. “Oh, she’s having one whether she likes it or not.”
“She doesn’t know if she wants to yet, but if she does, it’ll be small and classy—”
“You are not banning me from going, Joe. What happened at Darlene’s was not my fault.” Though our cousin still blames me for it years later. “Even the cops said—”
“Relax, that’s not what this is about.” He sighs heavily. “I told Sara not to mention anything last night because I wanted you two to get to know each other before you flipped out. Don’t get mad at her, okay?”
The little hairs on the back of my neck rise. “Mention what?”
“It’s about Sara’s maid of honor.”
Chapter Twelve
“How am I supposed to be in a wedding party with not only Bastard Bill but also the woman he cheated on me with? Like, it wasn’t bad enough that my ex-boyfriend is the best man?” I pace in front of the washing machines.
Sara and Isabelle are best friends.
Isabelle is the one who introduced them at the charity event, which I now know is the real reason Joe and Bill reconciled so quickly.
Isabelle is Sara’s maid of honor.
Ned scratches his chin as he watches me stomp around his store. “Seems to me they should have told you about this situation before asking you to be in the wedding party.”
“That’s what I said!” I throw my hands in the air toward Ned. “See? You get it. Scarlet gets it. Even Dean gets it!” He showed up with Hank to help Shane install Stuart the Second and was treated to an hour of my ranting.
But, if I’m being honest, not telling me was probably the smartest move. I wouldn’t have given Sara a fair shot otherwise, and it would have ruined the night.
“And what did Joe say to that?”
“That I didn’t have to be in the wedding party if I didn’t want to, but it would make him really sad if I wasn’t.” My shoulders sink. “What am I supposed to do? Sit behind my parents and suck on sour grapes?” Cast an ominous cloud over the whole event?