Page 7 of The Best Friend Power Play

Uh-oh.

I think I might be smiling.

While still crying a little.

I'm officially a mess.

I need to salvage the situation. "Culver's coming to Comfort Bay for the summer to lie low and regroup—physically and mentally."

The LA Swifts had an up-and-down season. They made it into the playoffs but didn't last as long as they were hoping to. But the worst part of it has been seeing Culver's injuries stack up. First his knee, now it's his hip. Again.

"How's he doing?" Evie asks.

"Physically?"

She nods.

"He had an MRI last week. He's being cagey about the results, so I plan to grill him when I see him."

"And how is he doing mentally?"

I scuff the soil with my foot. "I don't think he's in a great place."

Culver is the king of hiding his true emotions. He could be having the worst day of his life, but unless you really knew him, you wouldn't suspect a thing because he'd be too busy taking care of everyone around him.

"There's a question mark hanging over his spot on the LA Swifts," Evie explains to the girls, saving me from having to.

I let out a long sigh. "Hockey is his life. He doesn't have a backup plan. It's stressing him out."

"He'll find something," Beth says. "And if he doesn't, at least he's earned enough money to buy himself some time until he figures out what his next move will be."

I smile and channel my inner Emma Stone. "Yeah. I'm sure you're right."

The truth is, I'm not sure at all.

Two years ago, Culver helped out a couple of his tech-bro friends launch a startup. They fleeced him good. It destroyed their friendship, and it nearly broke Culver. Not because of the money—even though we're talking about a substantial amount—but because he used to help his parents out.

Like my family, the Palladinos aren't as well off as many people in town—his dad is a firefighter and his mom is a school teacher—so Culver liked being able to use his hockey earnings to assist them.

"So there's really no chance of a friends-to-lovers story happening with you two?" Amiel asks, giving it one last shot.

"Or a marriage of convenience, perhaps?" Beth offers in retaliation.

They engage in a mini stare-off which only ends with Summer clapping her hands together. "I know what you should do."

I lift a finger. "The next word out of your mouth better not be Culver."

"It's not…anymore. This is better. For now, at least."

"Go on," I say cautiously.

"You need to have a hot girl summer."

I slide down the bench. "That sounds exhausting."

"It's not. You could create a list of all the things you'd like to do."

I perk up. I love a good list. But still… "I don't know."

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