She smiles. “That’s me.”
I spend the next few seconds fangirling, but she’s a good sport about it.
“Do you still figure skate much now that you’re retired?” I ask.
“A little. Most of my time is spent training these guys.” She nods at Camden and his teammates, who are all talking loudly about their fantasy baseball teams.
“Best skating coach ever,” Ingrid says with a bright smile before turning to me. “I just have to say, when I heard that Camden got married, I thought it was a joke. But when the guys said that he married his childhood friend, it made total sense.”
Dakota nods. “Totally. It’s so sweet and romantic to think that all these years, Camden was waiting for you.”
I smile, despite the guilty feeling that pings through my chest. These ladies are all so kind and welcoming. I hate lying to them.
But I have to because if they find out that our marriage is fake, we could get into serious trouble.
“I definitely wasn’t expecting to get married as soon as we did,” I say.
“But when you know, you know,” Maya says sweetly, then turns to Dakota. “You know, Camden and Ellie kind of remind me of you and Sam.”
I turn to Dakota. “Really?”
She smiles, her cheeks flushed. “Sam and I were friends for like five years before things between us got romantic. Not childhood friends, but I totally understand how being friends first can lead to a relationship.”
“There’s really nothing like falling in love with your best friend,” Ingrid says. She looks over at Del, who’s frowning at something Xander is saying to him. When he catches eyes with Ingrid, his hard expression eases and the corner of his mouth quirks up in a small smile. She blows him a kiss, and he winks at her.
“So.” Maya bumps Ingrid’s arm. “Should we tell Ellie the plans for tonight?”
Ingrid’s face lights up. “Yes! Okay, so we planned a fun outing for you. Hope that’s okay.”
“Of course it’s okay. I’m honestly so blown away that you’d go through all this trouble. You guys barely even know me,” I say.
Being the kid who was always sick made it hard for me to make and keep friends for very long. I was often at home sick or going to doctor’s appointments or in the hospital. Most of my friends moved on and found other kids to hang out with.
As an adult, I’ve spent most of my time working to pay off my medical debt, so I haven’t had much luck maintaining a social life.
Ingrid pulls me into a side hug. “It’s no trouble at all. You’re part of the group now.”
They all nod along. I smile, heartened at how they’ve welcomed me.
“So first, we thought it would be fun to take you shopping for wedding guest dresses since you’ll be coming to all our weddings this summer,” Ingrid says.
“Oh, are you sure? I don’t want to invite myself to your weddings at the last minute. I’m sure you already have the seating and catering set. I don’t want to mess that up.”
They all shake their heads.
“You’re absolutely coming to our weddings,” Sophie says.
That warm feeling swooping through me once more. It feels so good to be included, to be welcomed into this friend group.
“And after shopping, we’ll take you to this great little place that has the best gourmet sandwiches in the whole city,” Dakota says.
“That sounds perfect,” I say.
“And then we’ll take you for a fun little surprise outing after that,” Bella says.
When we finish our wine, I head down the hall to my bedroom so I can change before we go out.
I throw on a sundress and sandals, then head out of the room.
