Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 98324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
God. How am I supposed to behave after this? For the rest of my life, salty ocean air is going to make me feel sexually frustrated.
I take a long, luxurious shower, then check my texts. The first one is from my mother.
Mom: Tell me everything! Is the wedding gauche? Is there a chocolate fountain? Is the bride arriving by horse-drawn carriage?
I ignore her, because otherwise I’m likely to point out how fascinated she seems by a wedding that she never wanted me to attend. I read Eric’s text next, because he’s much easier to talk to.
Eric: My parents are here. Dad is taking part in the rehearsal.
Darcy: That’s good, right? How is your mom?
Eric: She’s pretending like everything is fine. Like she didn’t throw a tantrum yesterday. So now I have to make small talk with her until this rehearsal is done.
Darcy: Oh jeez. You need me to come downstairs and be your buffer? I could hurry.
Eric: You enjoy your shower and take your time. Maribel has us folding programs. Come down for cocktail hour at seven on the patio. That’s the place with the string lights over it.
Darcy: Will do!
I dry my hair and touch up my manicure. While my nails are drying, I check my phone again and find a series of texts from Zoe, each one a little more urgent than the last.
Zoe: Hey, bestie.
Zoe: So? Um…?
Zoe: OMG remember me? Where is my update? Not one text about drunk groomsmen or other people’s unfortunate fashion choices? I thought you loved me.
Darcy: I do. Just busy!
Zoe: As in… getting busy?
Darcy: You’re fishing.
Zoe: As your best friend, I’m just doing my job.
I hit the call button. “Can I ask a paranoid question?” I ask when she picks up.
“Sure?”
“Are you the only one who’s curious? If there’s gossip from that bonfire photo, I need to brace myself.” The idea of the whole team gossiping behind my back makes my skin crawl.
“I haven’t heard a word. I mean—Chase saw the pic and said, ‘That looks cozy.’ But since I have literally no information about just how cozy it really was or wasn’t… the conversation died there.”
“Okay.” I take a deep breath. “I’d freak out if people whispered about me all next season.”
“I get that,” Zoe says softly. “I really do. Hockey players are supposed to have sex lives. But a woman involved with someone at work…”
“… Is a skank,” I finish.
“It’s a terrible double standard,” Zoe says mildly. “Which means that if you two are busy falling in love, I can see why you probably need to keep it quiet for a while. So…”
“So…?”
“ARE YOU?” she practically shouts. “I’m dying here. Have you done anything a best friend would be legally entitled to hear about, under the best friend code?”
I let out an awkward laugh. “There may have been some, um, friskiness.”
“Omigod!” Zoe hoots. “Oh. My. GOD. That’s incredible? Wait—was it incredible?”
“Shh,” I warn.
“Don’t shush me. Chase is at some celebrity golf thing with his agent. I need answers.”
“Well…” My face is blazing already, and I haven’t said a word. “Being with Eric is next level. Those fantasies I had about him? They were not misplaced.”
Zoe lets out a dramatic sigh. “Wow. That’s… wow. I’m almost sorry I asked.”
“Why?”
“Because my boyfriend isn’t here for me to jump on. And because I don’t know how I’m going to keep my excitement bottled up inside.”
“Zoe!” I yelp. “This is in the vault!”
“I know, okay? I won’t let you down.” She lets out another dramatic sigh. “Did he put on the tux yet?”
“Nope. That’s tomorrow night.”
“So, that bow tie thing might happen?”
I say nothing, but my heart pounds so loudly that Zoe can probably hear it. Either that, or my silence is a dead giveaway.
“OH MY GOD!” she squeals. “He tied you up?”
“Shhh!” I say again. “The whole neighborhood probably heard that.”
She only laughs. “Wow. You’re my idol. And here we thought that DM was a disaster. It was the smartest thing you ever did!”
“Let’s not get carried away.” I still cringe when I think about it.
“No, I’m serious. That boy needed a shove. What do you think will happen after the wedding?”
“Nothing,” I say quickly. “This is just a fling.”
“Is it though?” she asks, excitement in her voice. “What if the season starts back up in August and you realize you can’t keep your hands off each other? What then?”
I try to picture it—Eric sneaking into my hotel room on road trips. I just can’t stay away, he says. I’ve just never felt this way about anybody else.
Then I laugh. “That is not how these things work. He sleeps with A-listers and dates nobody.”
“You’re an A-lister,” Zoe says immediately, like a good friend should.
“I’m the admin,” I correct her. “And a really convenient hookup at the moment. After this wedding is over, there’s no way I’ll seem like a good idea to Eric. In fact, he’ll probably avoid me at work.”