“I’ve always hoped my granddaughters would find a man half as good as their grandfather and father. Both were exceptional men. And while I’m still holding out hope for Markie …”—the women laugh—“my Mira has finally found a good, decent, super sexy man in Hartley.”
I lean the side of my head on my sister and cover my mouth, wishing I could sink into the floor and disappear. Because she’s right, of course. Hartley is all those things. But hearing him being talked about like this, in this wild situation—when I’m about to marry him for financial gain and not because we’re in love—feels weird.
“We have some snacks on the table by the window,” Lolly says. “You all can help yourselves while Markie and I get a game ready.”
A game?Markie wrinkles her nose at me as she joins Lolly on the other side of the room.
I barely have time to catch my breath before Astrid, Gianna, and Audrey find me.
“Congratulations,” Audrey says first, pulling me into a hug.
“Thank you,” I say, releasing her. “And thank you all for coming. Please tell me you were all in town.”
Astrid laughs. “Gianna and I came in this morning.”
“No, you didn’t.” I gasp.
“We’re family now,” Astrid says, giving me a reassuring smile. “Or we will be whenever Gray and I finally get married.”
“We may not be family,” Audrey says. “But as often as Brooks is with Hartley, we might as well be.”
Gianna groans. “Fuck this. If Drake thinks we aren’t moving here now, he’s outta his mind.”
We all laugh, and the sound of it wraps around me like a fuzzy blanket. There’s nothing but kindness in their eyes. Their actions are above and beyond what I would’ve expected out of anyone, least of all three women who barely know me. And the fact they want to include me in their obviously close friendship group nearly makes me cry.What happens when the newness wears off? What then?
“It means a lot that you are all here,” I say, wishing my nose wasn’t burning like I’m about to cry.What is wrong with me?“I know people throw around language like that, but I know you’re here because you love Hartley. That means so much to me.”
Gianna grins. “We do love Hartley in very loose definitions of the word. But we aren’t here for him, Mira. We’re here for you.”
I don’t know what to say to that. Audrey seems to understand my struggle because she leans in and touches my shoulder.
“I know we can be a lot,” she says softly. “Especially Gianna.”
“Hey!” Gianna says, making us laugh.
“But we’re here to support you,” Audrey says. “Anything you need? We’re a call away.”
My teeth scrape across my bottom lip as emotions that I haven’t felt in forever unbury themselves from the holes where I stashed them a long time ago. Instinctively, I want to push the feelings away and tell the girls that I’m really a loner. But being in their orbit feels … amazing. And I hate that I like it,and that I have hope that the four of uscanbe friends.
Yet I do. It’s just another unexpected result of this daring little trip I took to Sugar Creek almost two weeks ago.
Markie drapes a sash around me with the word bride splashed in pink font. “Okay,” she says. “Everyone grab a notepad and pencil off the table if you need it—I’m sure a lot of you might use your phone. Either way, it’s fine. We’re going to play a game called Who Knows Hartley? I texted him this morning and got the official answers from the man himself.”
Shit.I fire a look at my sister because I don’t know him. Not anymore. Not well enough to answer questions about him.And if I get them wrong, how will that look?
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
My heart pounds as I sit in a chair and take out my phone. Markie reads off ten questions, and everyone, including me, writes down their answers. By the time I’m done, my palms are sweating.
“Okay, Lolly’s keeping score,” Markie says. “First question. What is Hartley’s go-to breakfast order?”
A variety of answers fly around the room.
“I have the inside track on this one,” Cathy says.
“Sausage, egg, and cheese,” I say before she can answer. I don’t know why it feels like I need to establish dominance, but it does.
Cathy winks at me. “What she said.”
