Page 25 of The Spy Who Ghosted Me

Oh. Crap. Did these women know something I didn’t know? I figured the dare would be along the lines of I dare you to jump in the lake or something. But it was my sister, and she was in her Bridezilla era.

I stilled under the sheet, awaiting my fate.

“Ooh, dare.” Lexi sounded way too excited. She thought for a moment, which only made me more nervous.

Mia caught my eye and mouthed, This isn’t going to be good.

I groaned, and not because Felix was working his way up my calves—oh baby, did his hands play them like a fiddle.

Lexi finally decided my fate and announced with evil delight, “You need to ask Cash to borrow his underwear for ten minutes.”

Apparently, someone had been watching Mama’s old John Hughes collection. News flash: this wasn’t Sixteen Candles, I wasn’t Anthony Michael Hall, and Cash certainly wasn’t Molly Ringwald. “No,” I said simply.

“You have to,” Lexi whined. “Those are the rules.”

“I don’t know why you wouldn’t want to.” Jade sighed. “That man is superfine.”

“And he obviously likes you,” Lexi added. “I’m doing you a favor, even though Soren isn’t all that happy he’s going to be in our wedding. He says there’s something weird about him he doesn’t like.”

Yeah, I bet there was. Maybe because Cash, for all his faults, could see right through Soren and his fake accent.

“Maybe he’s jealous,” Jade surmised. “I mean, compared to Cash, Soren is—”

“Soren is what?” Lexi snipped.

“Nothing.” Jade backed off, even though we all knew what she’d almost said: Cash was the sexiest, mostly human thing around. Still not sure of his origins.

“Listen, Soren is the handsomest, kindest man in the world. He puts up with me, and he makes all my dreams come true. And no one loves me like he does. He doesn’t care if I’m a brat sometimes or if I get grouchy. He’s perfect for me. So no one had better say anything bad about him,” Lexi warned.

Oh crap. She really did love him, and maybe he loved her too. But that still didn’t mean he was a good guy. It only meant my sister would never forgive me if I broke Soren and her apart. The question was, could I forgive myself if I didn’t? Agh! No one prepared me for this kind of drama. What was I to do?

“You’re getting Cash’s underwear, and you can thank me later,” Lexi snapped.

“Fine,” I accepted the challenge, only because I did need something from Cash—his help. I hoped his friends could get that background check. More importantly, I hoped Cash had some clean underwear available.

Sabrina

“I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’RE DOING this,” Mia whispered as we leaned into each other. The herd of bridesmaids surrounded us in the dark as we walked down the paved path to Cash’s cabin. Oh yes, the group had decided to come for the show—and because no one believed I would actually do it. They weren’t exactly wrong. My plan was just to ask Cash for a pair of underwear he wasn’t wearing and to see if he was still willing to get me that background check.

“I know,” I whined. “Maybe he won’t be there.”

“Let us pray.”

Oh, I was saying all the prayers in my head. Note to self: never attend another bachelorette party unless I’m the one hosting it.

Lexi’s friends were tipsy and giggly and tripping all over themselves while singing “I’m Too Sexy.” PS: It wasn’t sexy.

The closer we got to the cabin, the more knots appeared in my stomach. This was not how I’d pictured my night going. At. All. I kept telling myself it was to save my baby sister. Maybe if she saw me playing along with her stupid games, she would know how much I cared about her. Sure, I couldn’t make all her dreams come true, nor did I appreciate her bratty, grumpy side like Soren did, but I’d totally give her a kidney if she needed one, and I had her back, even if she didn’t think so.

Cash’s cabin emerged in the distance, nestled amid a dense cluster of towering pine trees whose scent lingered in the crisp, cool air.

I tugged my jacket tighter around me, wishing to be anywhere but there. I’d even rather be back with Felix, who I was pretty sure I was now dating based on how well acquainted we’d become. Thanks to him, my hair was a tangled mess, but wow, could he give a good head rub.

Lexi snuggled up to my side, which was so unlike her. Maybe it was the alcohol. “Thank you, big sister. You’re making this the best night ever.”

“Why? Because I’m giving your friends a laugh?”

“No,” she sounded offended. “You’re just not usually this fun.”

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