Coming soon! If you’re an ARC reader, come back tomorrow!
The Besties at the Wedding: a bonus story
It doesn’t take long after the kiss for my brother and my bestie to strong-arm me into an emergency what the fuck conversation.
Grant appears out of nowhere, gives Ty a big grin, and says, “You don’t mind if I steal my sister, right?”
Before Ty can respond, Kieran is basically shoved at him, and Harper waves a bottle of champagne at me. “Let’s go have a private toast.”
They drag me outside.
What is it with everyone thinking I won’t just go willingly somewhere?
“What are we toasting to, Harper?” Grant asks.
“Love,” Harper says brightly.
“You guys can let go of me, you know.”
“Can we?” My brother sighs dramatically. “If we do, will you tell us everything?”
“Because we think you’ve left out some pertinent details,” Harper adds.
“Some details are private,” I protest.
We’re leaving the tent area. The white lights strung up around it are now behind us, and the lake is right ahead.
Harper steers us to the boat house, and they finally release my arms when we have to go through it single file to get to the dock on the other side.
Harper hands Grant the bottle of champagne, then kicks off her shoes and sits down, letting her toes trail in the water. She pats the dock next to her. “Join me.”
I do the same.
Grant holds the bottle out, pointing the cork at the lake. “To love?”
My whole body is shaking with laughter as I nod. “Yes, to love.”
“It’s love?” Harper swoons and leans against me. “Babe, you have to tell us everything.”
A loud pop cracks through the night as my brother sends the cork flying into the water. He hands the bottle back to Harper, who hands it to me.
I take a fortifying sip of bubbles while Grant toes off his shoes and rolls up his pant legs.
“Well,” I say, trying to decide where to start. “The day that Ty was traded to Hamilton, he swiped right on me on Tinder.”
“Shut. Up.” Harper slaps me, and the bottle of wine almost goes sailing after the cork.
“Settle. Down.” I shove the wine at her. “Have a drink.”
Her eyes are as big as saucers in the moonlight as she tags a swig. “Has it been going on ever since?”
“Oh, no. I didn’t swipe back. That happened…tonight.”
My brother frowns. “But you were crying about not being good enough for him a week ago. How did you get together before that if not Tinder?”
“Wait, what?” Harper glowers at Grant. “You didn’t tell me there was crying!”
“She swore me to secrecy because of the wedding.” He holds up his hands. “And Ty promised he was going to get them back on track.”
“He did. We are,” I interject. “Let me tell the story.”
They try their best to contain their questions as I take them back to meeting him as BeastMode, which Harper knew but Grant didn’t, and then through the last week, which Grant knew but Harper didn’t.
“And now you’re all caught up.”
They look at each other. Then at me. “You’ve skipped some details.”
I blush. “I skipped the private stuff.”
“But that’s the good stuff,” my brother says dryly. “Was it weird, having already told him so much about yourself online, but not knowing it was Ty?”
“Very weird.” I chew on my bottom lip. “But it was Ty. That was the thing I had to come to realize. That my resistance about this guy in front of me wasn’t about him, it was about who I was seeming him as. Which was a projection of all the guys I’ve dated before, and…” I wave my hand. “You know, shit from watching our parents relationship, etcetera. It wasn’t him. It wasn’t real. So that was a process.”
“And he’s good to you?” Harper looks concerned. “Like, really good? As good as you deserve?”
Warmth blossoms in my chest as I think about just how good he is. “He’s so good to me. The absolute best. I…” Tears threaten to spring to my eyes, but I stare out at the dark endlessness of the lake and push through the tiny little bit of disbelief that still threatens to disrupt this magical feeling. “I love him. And he loves me.”
“Grant,” Harper says solemnly. “You need to find somewhere else to stay tonight.”
“Me? Why me? Can’t she go back to Ty’s hotel room?”
I bury my face in my hands. “Can we not talk about where I’m going to have sex tonight?”
My brother pats me on the back. “As long as we’re all in agreement that you are getting lucky tonight, the where doesn’t really matter.”
I groan. “Shut up.”
He wraps his arm fully around me and squeezes. “I’m so proud of you. I’m guessing you won’t need any more Tinder advice now?”
“Nope.”
“You know, if you think about it, I’m basically responsible for you two getting together.” He sounds pleased with himself.
“How do you figure you get any credit for this?”
“Did he not swipe right on you before anything else that followed?”
“Again, I’ll say, shut up.”
“Does this mean it’s Grant’s turn to fall in love next?” Harper asks.
“Never going to happen.” He grabs the bottle of champagne and takes a long drink.
“Famous last words, my darling brother.”
He shakes his head.
And there’s nothing particularly revealing in his silence, but my twin intuition says there’s a reason he’s not open to falling in love any time soon—and he doesn’t want to share it yet.
So when Harper opens her mouth to maybe poke at that bruise a little harder, I change the subject.
We talk about the wedding, and how perfect it was.
We drink champagne, shoulder to shoulder, kicking our feet in the water.
And when Kieran and Ty come looking for us, just as we’re nearing the bottom of the bottle, Grant gives me a grateful look.
“I love you,” I whisper to him as Kieran helps his bride to her feet.
Grant bumps his shoulder against me. “We’re going to be okay. We’ve got each other. And now you have Ty.”
I smile up at my boyfriend. He offers his hand, and I let him pull me up and into his arms.
He holds me as the others walk away, heading back to the tent, and then he kisses me under the moonlight.