“So? That's more than enough time to know she's everything I want.”
“Aha.” Penny looked shocked.
“What? I thought you liked Lacey!”
“I do. She’s nice.”
“But?” he asked harshly.
“Well…” Penny cleared her throat and looked at him steadily. “Do you love her?”
He didn’t understand the question. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Oh, Gare…” Sympathy filled her eyes, and he groaned as he tilted his head back. It was a real shame the sky was so cloudless. Being struck by lightning seemed like a better option than continuing this conversation. He’d tried love and it had prevented him from enjoying a Milky Way, negotiatinga contract, or sleeping for a year. If he wanted to feel like an elephant was stomping on his chest, he’d go to the zoo and jump over the fence, thank you very much!
“We’ve talked to him about it. He wants to remain a complete idiot,” Cian said, not at all helpfully.
“But why?” Penny whined. “Wait. Wait until you love her, then…”
“This conversation is over,” Gareth replied sharply. Because he wouldn’t love Lacey, at least not the way Penny wanted him to. That was exactly why he’d chosen her!
“No!” Penny snapped. “Love is important. Love is…”
“A word, Penny,” he replied stonily. “Merely a word that’s been given too much meaning by movies and books. We’re compatible. We like each other. We give each other the space we need, and don’t expect too much from the other. It’s perfect.”
“For a mannequin and a snowman, maybe!”
“Then I pick the snowman,” he said, unimpressed. “If all our players get nicknames, we should get them too, right? And I like carrots.”
“Oh God.” Penny buried her face in her hands. “Gareth, you’re the smartest person I know, but sometimes you say and believe stupid things.”
“Hm,” Cian said, leaning toward him. “Have I ever told you that your sister is a wise person?”
“Shut up, Cian,” he replied gently. At that moment, he let his guard down a little and Penny coldly took advantage of it, snatching the phone from his hand and stuffing it into her bag.
“You’ll get it back at eleven.”
“I’m not staying until eleven!”
“Mm hm. I disagree. Now shush. I think they’re about to start.”
Chapter Five
Social conduct for hate-free inter-colleague teamwork
For short: SCHIT
Paragraph 5:
The contracting parties must not stare at each other rudely for longer than necessary.
Gareth was about as keen on weddings as he was on Penny’s suggestion that he make peace with Hazel. However, people who believed in soul mates and eternal love might have found the ceremony quite appealing. At least he couldn’t deny that Matt and Maddie were ridiculously in love. They looked at each other as if they were completely alone on the beach and not with, say, two hundred and fifty guests looking on.
Maddie explained to Matt that love was the most precious thing, and that she was incredibly lucky to have fallen in love with her best friend. Cian whispered to Gareth that he shouldn’t get any stupid ideas since not all best friends were meant to be together. Gareth replied that he had stopped listening after the“love is the most precious thing” comment. He could only digest so much nonsense. Penny admonished him with a lot of “shhs!” and finally “Oh man, I didn’t mean to cry,” before taking a tissue from her boyfriend Jack, who appeared to have a cut on his chin whose origin Gareth preferred not to dwell on. He’d only just accepted the ice hockey player as good enough for Penny. But it had been a close call.
“Why does everyone cry at weddings?” Cian asked, confused, as the first guests rose to head to the champagne reception on Sunshine Pier. The long wooden walkway led out into the middle of the ocean and was normally open to the public, but today it was by invitation only.
“Because the thought of sleeping with one person the rest of your life is depressing,” someone a row behind them said. Gareth didn’t have to turn around to know that it was Leon Alvarez.
