Page 45 of One Steamy Pucking Meet Cute

“Nope,” Mia says from the doorway. “You guys are super cute together. You know that, right?”

“Oh, hey. I didn’t even hear you coming in.”

“Yeah, well,” Mia plops down on a couch in the lobby of the B&B. Grams and Edgar haven’t been by this week because they’re in Colorado for a “lovers retreat.” Nobody asked any questions, even though we could tell they wanted us to.

“Probably hard to hear when you’re doing all that baby talk,” Mia says.

I give Walker his pacifier, and he sleepily sucks it into his mouth, eyes closing all the way. I touch his belly gently, then smile and leave him to his nap. All that pooping will wear a guy out, I suppose. He needs to recover if he’s going to keep up his impressive pace.

I join Mia, taking the couch across from her.

She’s looking up at the ceiling, then points. “That looks bad. Is that water?” she asks.

“Yep. That’s a water stain. My guests are currently getting a discount while I wait for Cade to finish hockey practice so he can come fix the pipe. Then he will ask me why I didn’t replace my pipes with whatever he told me to replace them with the last time we talked. Lectured by a teenager. That’s what my life has come to these days.”

“I see,” Mia says.

I can tell she’s waiting to say something but probably doesn’t want to seem insensitive to my troubles by bringing it up right away. I sigh. “Out with it.”

Mia smiles, leaning forward and letting her excitement show fully. “Okay. So, you know how we discussed needing more game ideas for the Frosty Harbor Wedathon?”

I narrow my eyes. “Didn’t we veto that name? I think I remember saying it felt too grand for what’s essentially just going to be a few fun party games every day.”

She waves off my question, continuing. “I’ve got ideas. Great ones, actually. First of all, I got Nolan to agree to cater the whole thing.”

“Catering? We didn’t talk about–”

Again, she waves my concerns away. “You can just shut your cute little mouth and accept it because this is happening. We all love you, and we all want this whole wedding and engagement to be freaking amazing. So your Frosty Harbor Wedpocolypse will be the smash hit of the winter. Nolan isn’t charging anything, obviously. So if you’re stressed about that part, you can just stuff it.”

I’m overcome again by the urge to spill it all and tell Mia. Jake’s legal guys are convinced it doesn’t matter if Peter can prove we were just getting married for the contract. But the secret matters for Jake’s contract, and I know he’d still do everything he could to protect the secret if the situation was reversed. Even if this secret feels like it’s tearing both of us apart, bit by bit.

“Okay,” Mia says slowly, noticing the look on my face and thinking it has something to do with what she said. “Wedpocolypse is out. You’re right. That one has a little too much doomsday scenario, ‘we’re all gonna have to learn to eat a little bit of human to survive if we want to make it through this,’ kind of a vibe.”

“You said you had ideas?” I prompt carefully.

“I have spent weeks brainstorming perfect couples games. Since you two are so lovey-dovey, I made sure to include a few raunchy ones. You’re welcome, no need to thank me.”

I’ve opened my mouth to respond, but she shuts me up with a raised hand.

“I’ve got so many good ideas,” she continues. “Lover’s limbo, belly hockey, oh, and I came up with this great idea I’m calling ‘manhunt, but with stripping.”

I stare. “I’m glad you’re an amazing chef because if your job was coming up with names for things…”

Mia waves me off. “It’s going to be so fun I could pee myself!”

I grin. “That’s what you do when something is too fun? Pee yourself in solidarity?”

She rolls her eyes. “It’s just a common expression. I think.”

“It does sound fun,” I agree. “I really appreciate how much of the planning you’re handling. I know you’re busy at Taste, so I really, really owe you for this.”

“I’m your maid of honor. I’m happy to have something like this to plan. It’s like a dry run for the big day.” She balls her fists, shaking them excitedly, and stands. “Can’t believe my best friend is marrying the guy we all definitely never suspected she was banging in ‘secret’ for two years!”

“Right,” I say, putting on a smile.

“Okay. Well, I’m going to get out of here. I’ll call Mikey and tell him to tell his kid to leave practice early and help you with this leak. Can’t have our darling bride-to-be stressing. It’ll ruin your hair on the wedding day!”

“Ruin my hair on…” I trail off, shaking my head. “Thanks, Mia. But you really don’t have to do that.”

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