Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 36185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 181(@200wpm)___ 145(@250wpm)___ 121(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 181(@200wpm)___ 145(@250wpm)___ 121(@300wpm)
“It’s fine,” I tell her in a shrill voice.
I avoid her gaze and move to the back of the van to help her unload the flowers. I get the doors open, and Lexi stops right next to me. “Hey.”
I avoid her gaze, acting like I’m assessing the arrangements. “Yeah?”
She moves closer. “Look at me.”
I clench my eyes shut. There’s no hiding the look of guilt on my face. How am I supposed to tell her I had sex with her brother? I open my eyes and try to clear the expression. “What?” I ask defensively.
Her eyebrows shoot up. “Whoa… what happened to you?”
I wave her off. “What? My ex-boyfriend is marrying my sister. I have the right to look like this.”
Her forehead creases, and she grabs my arm, turning me so she’s looking straight at me. She starts to shake her head and waves her finger around my face. “No, that’s not that look. What happened last night?”
I start to choke. On air, my own saliva, I’m not sure, but I know I’m caught. She stomps her foot and gets a big smile on her face. “What did you do?”
“Nothing. I didn’t do anything.”
I reach into the van and grab my sister’s bouquet. She wanted one with a long tail to it, and we’re going to have to make trips to get them all in. I hold the huge bouquet in my arms, and Lexi is still staring at me. She blocks my path. “What happened with you and my brother?”
I can feel the blood drain from my face. I feel hot all over, but I can’t lie to her. I can’t tell her nothing happened because last night was probably the best night of my life. I try to shake her off. “I don’t know what you mean.”
As soon as I side step her, she does the same. She has a huge smile on her face. “Tara Brooks, I’m your best friend, and I know something is up.” She gasps. “Oh my God, did you and my brother…”
Her voice trails off, and I juggle the stupidly enormous arrangement in one arm as I grab her with my free hand. “Lexi, shush. Everyone doesn’t need to know—”
“Know what? That you did the deed? Hooked up? Smashed?”
“Lexi, stop, this is your brother that you’re talking about.”
She laughs, unfazed, and points at my scarlet face. “So you admit it, you were with my brother.”
I clench my eyes again. I know it will be better if I just come clean and we move past it. “Yes, I slept with your brother. Yes, it was amazing, I’ll go as far as to say life-changing.” I can’t stop the smile from forming on my face as I think about last night. It wasn’t just the sex. It was the best, but also the way he took care of me, the way we talked… it was so much more. “But that’s all it was. One night. Now it’s over, and it’s time to move on.”
She rolls her eyes. “And Cruz is okay with that. One night of sex?”
I release her and hold the heavy bouquet with both arms. “Look, yes, that was the agreement. We’re both okay with it. We talked about it before we did anything. Now are you here to help me or not?”
She grabs one of the bridesmaid bouquets from the van. “Okay, I’ll stay out of it, but I should tell you. I know you and I know my brother, and neither one of you are one-night stand kind of people.”
I just stare at her. It’s true about me. I’ve never had a one-night stand before, and when I think about last night, it didn’t feel like I would think a one-night stand would feel. “Regardless, that’s what it was.”
She opens her mouth and then slams it shut. She gestures to the sidewalk. “Go ahead, I’ll follow your lead.”
I turn on my heel and lead us up to the side entrance. Once inside, we walk side by side. It’s still early, and I haven’t seen any of my family, which is good because I’m not ready to face any of them. I’m not ready to deal with the way they treat me. I tell Lexi about last night, and I’m about to tell her about Cruz’s book deal but then keep it to myself. He should be the one to tell her.
“The bride's dressing room is through here.”
We walk through where the wedding is taking place, and Lexi stops. “Tara, this is beautiful.”
I take in the arrangements of flowers, the chair decorations, and the special archway. It’s everything my sister asked for, and even though it’s not my taste, I still take great pride in it. “Thanks. It turned out way better than I thought.”
We’re walking down the hallway toward the dressing rooms when I see Ben striding toward us. I have to move the flowers I’m holding to the side. “Hey, Ben.”