Page 83 of Going All In

Holly

Idon’t want a big wedding. Just a quick ceremony with family and friends, no frills.

Honestly, I’d be good with no wedding at all, but Judy insisted.

We’ve got the officiant settled, the venue, the food. We’re sitting at our kitchen table planning our honeymoon now, trying to figure out how I can take a week off so we can go to Italy.

I check my email again and let out a whoop of excitement. “He approved it!”

Maddox’s head pops up from the laptop in front of him. “He did?”

I nod frantically. “He did! My vacation is officially approved, signed off by the boss. Book the flights now before he changes his mind!”

Maddox clicks away on his computer for a few minutes. “And… done. We’re booked for flights to Rome and a week touring Rome and Florence.”

I clap my hands. The wedding is in two months. The honeymoon is the last big thing to check off on the to-do list. Now it’s on to the fun things, like the final fittings of the wedding dress that Judy helped me pick out.

I meet Maddox’s gaze across the table and grin.

Maddox

I finalize our nonrefundable flights. I can’t wait to marry her. Thank fuck she finally agreed to be with me. I thought getting her to marry me would be the biggest hurdle, but once she agreed to date me, everything came together. I can’t even remember what life was like before her.

I slip out my phone and tap on the calendar to put the dates of our honeymoon into the schedule. I pull up the date we’re planning to fly out of Philadelphia and pause.

“Oh. Crap.”

Holly’s head pops up from where she’s tapping on her phone. “Crap what? What’s wrong?”

I tug on the back of my neck. “I forgot that I told Cam I’d do this cruise ship thing with him. He got a gig dealing blackjack and poker on a cruise ship. We’ve been on some list for a year, and he got a call a few months ago that they wanted us to work spring break week. It was supposed to be a good paycheck, but mostly just fun. We’re supposed to leave two days after our wedding. I kind of forgot all about it. But it’s at the same time as our honeymoon.”

Holly lifts her brow. “You can still go if you want. We can change the timing of things on our end.”

Yeah, delay marrying the girl of my dreams so I can spend a week on a cruise ship, sharing a tiny cabin with Cam and his smelly socks? Hard pass.

“I’ll tell Cam I can’t go. I’ll find someone to go with him instead, so he doesn’t have to worry about it. He’s pretty chill. He’ll be okay.” I nod, convincing myself.

“If you’re sure, that would be good. The flight is nonrefundable, isn’t it?”

I nod. “Yeah. That was my bad. But I’ll make sure he has someone to go with him. He’s taking the breakup with Ellie really hard, more than usual, so it makes me think this breakup is for real. Not like the hundred other times they’ve broken up, only to get back together a week later. I don’t need him stewing about that while he’s trapped at sea.”

Holly grins. “True. Maybe we can hook him up with one of my friends. I’d say JJ, but I’m pretty sure she’s headed down the aisle with Justin any day now. They’ve been inseparable for about as long as we have.”

I smile at her as I start texting, looking for someone to be my substitute for this cruise.

Card Sharks

Hey, either of you guys interested in dealing poker and blackjack for a week with Cam? Cruise ship, should be sweet.

Miller: Ehh I’m out. I get seasick.

Blake: Depends when it is, but I’m pretty booked up, so probably not.

I text him the dates. He’s got plans. Of course.

Fuck. Of course those assholes can’t help out. I blow out a breath of frustration.

“No luck?” Holly asks, leaning over my shoulder.

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