Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 89553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
The beers arrived at the house ready-chilled, and I managed to get everything I ordered unpacked before the guys started to come down.
I clink my bottle against Ed’s and take a swig. I pass a beer to Fisher, the only other guy who’s arrived.
“You and Lucy,” Ed says. “I honestly didn’t have that on my bingo card.”
“Me neither, brother,” I reply. “Me neither.”
“She’s hot, though,” Fisher says.
I nod, not wanting to say too much of anything. Anyway, I can’t disagree that Lucy’s hot. She is. She’s also uptight and annoying. But even so, I know she’s tightly wound because of this weekend. She’s obviously put so much time and effort into it, and it’s really important to her that Katherine has a good time. I can’t fault her for that. She’s not being a demonic witch because she’s selfish and self-centered. She’s just focusing on one thing to the exclusion of being nice. If she was a guy, I’d probably shrug it off. What does that make me? An asshole. At least she apologized.
“When did it kick off?” Ed asks.
I groan. I really don’t want to start talking about my non-relationship. “Do we have to sit around talking about our feelings?”
“No, but this is Katherine’s sister we’re talking about. Your track record with women isn’t your greatest asset.”
“Because my ass is, right?” I turn around and wave my behind at Ed, Fisher, and George, who just joined us.
“I mean it, Hunter,” Ed says. “Just don’t mess her around.”
“I’m not going to.” It’s not like she could hate me any more than she already does. “At the same time, we’re not about to announce our engagement anytime soon. So if you could do your best to manage your fiancée’s expectations in that regard, I’d appreciate it.”
Ed winces. “I can’t promise anything. All I’ve heard since we arrived is how great it is that the four of us can do things together. How great it will be that our kids can grow up together.”
“What?” I try to keep my tone from giving away the hysteria I feel. “Kids? Jesus, man. We only just started dating like a week ago.”
“So are you guys exclusive already?” Fisher asks. “That was fast.”
I shrug. “It’s fine. It’s not like I have time to date a whole lot anyway.” That’s the truth, at least.
“But you must like her a lot,” Fisher says as Ed nods enthusiastically behind him.
“Sure,” I say. “Want a game of pool?” I glance between Ed and Fisher.
“What do you like about her?” Ed asks.
I reach around the back of my neck. I’m not a great liar. I swear you can see the truth all over my face no matter what my words say. “I don’t know,” I say. “Like Fisher says, she’s hot. And she’s caring and has a good heart.” None of that’s a lie. She’s bordering on demonic a lot of the time because she cares so much about her sister. “And I like the fact she’s not always . . .” I want to say this without insulting Katherine. I like Katherine. She’s nice and Ed loves her. She seems good to my friend. That’s all good. But Katherine seems like she’s always happy, like life is always sunshine and roses. But that’s just not how life is. “She’s real, you know? Her smiles are hard won.”
Ed huffs out a laugh. “Yeah, that’s true enough.”
Voices chatter in the hallway, and the rest of the bachelor party appears in the game room. People start talking, and Ed and Fisher play pool. I bet Lucy’s stressed about having everything ready before her mom and the rest of her family arrive for the night. Maybe I’ll just go out and check on her.
In the kitchen, I find Lucy sporting an apron, setting things out on trays. She glances up at me. “I should have sprung for caterers to do this.”
“Can I help?” I ask.
“Would you?”
“What do you need?”
“Just spread this tomato stuff on the toast and pop on an olive. I’ll do the blini.” She hands me the knife she’s been using, and our eyes catch as our fingers brush together.
I set to work, scooping out the tomato mixture from the bowl while Lucy darts around the kitchen. It’s like we’re in an escape room and the timer’s running down.
“I’m sure people would have been happy with chips and dip,” I say. “You didn’t need to have gone to this much of an effort.”
Lucy snorts. “You’ve met my mother, right? At least we’ll only be here forty-five minutes or so before the cars pick us up.”
“No doubt everything’s on a very strict timetable.”
Lucy shoots me a disappointed glance.
“It’s not a criticism,” I say. “I know you’re just trying to make everyone happy.”
“Exactly,” she says. “And given my mother is in the mix tonight, that’s not an easy task.”