Page 108 of Marrying Off My Husband

As we approached the teacups, the whir of gears and the squeals of delight made my heart race in anticipation and dread.

“Teacups!” Louise exclaimed as she and Theo strolled along hand in hand. “Let’s go!”

“Nah,” I answered. “The line’s too long.”

“It’s not! We’ll be on the next ride,” Louise argued as she grabbed a fistful of my hoodie and tugged me along.

Eve hurried to hop into the line with us. Louise cocked her head, her eyebrows furrowing as she stared down at our unclasped hands before she raised her eyes to mine.

I cleared my throat as the ride slowed, trying to ignore her attention as Theo wrapped his arms around her and she leaned back into him.

They seemed to be a good fit, enjoying each other’s company easily unlike me with practically any other person in the world.

I glanced at Eve who smiled up at me as we waited in the line before she scanned the rest of the park, watching other guests wander by on their way to more rides or eating ice cream and funnel cake.

“Spencer,” Louise hissed as she leaned closer to me. “Take her hand.”

“Huh?”

“Hold her hand,” she said through clenched teeth.

“Oh, uh, well, she’s…okay.”

The smack on my chest made me wince. I really didn’t want to slip my sweaty palm into Eve’s. I doubted she’d want to feel my clammy hand around hers, and I wouldn’t recover until after this stupid ride was over.

But given the glare that Louise gave me, I quickly and discreetly wiped my palm against my jeans before I gently wrapped my hand around hers.

She twisted toward me, her features pinched as she glanced at our now-clasped hands before she raised her gaze to me and offered a soft smile.

It meant the world to me that she didn’t pull away, but I knew that was likely because Louise was inches away from us, now babbling on about getting cotton candy the moment we were done riding.

“I’m going to win you a giant teddy bear, sweetheart,” Theo said, his arm tightly around her shoulders as he kissed her cheek.

“You’d better,” she said with a giggle before she kissed him.

I shifted my weight from side to side as the outpouring of affection continued. While I was glad Louise had found happiness, I knew she’d soon expect me to exhibit this samebehavior toward Eve, and I worried that Eve wouldn’t take very well to it.

With Louise and Theo distracted by each other, I leaned closer to Eve, lifting our clasped hands. “Sorry, Lou insisted,” I whispered.

“It’s okay. I don’t mind. She seems happy.”

I nodded as I glanced at them sharing another smooch. “Yeah, and–”

Before I could finish, the attendant waved us forward. Louise clapped with excitement as she told us we’d all ride together.

“Cup four,” he said unenthusiastically.

Louise hurried over to the pink and blue teacup and climbed inside. I allowed Eve to head in next, and she slid around to sit next to Louise. After an awkward dance between Theo and me over who would go next, I finally gave in and climbed into the teacup, squeezing close to Eve–way too close.

We were so close, I had to slide my arm around her to fit comfortably. She shifted closer to me, our sides pressed together. It didn’t feel uncomfortable being this close with her, but the constant worry that I’d throw up on her kept me tense and stiff.

The gate on our cup swung shut, locking in place and twisting my stomach into a tight knot.

Eve placed her hands on the grab bar in the center before she glanced up at me. “Are you okay?”

“Uh…”

Before I could finish my answer, the ride jerked into motion. My head spun as we started a slow rotation.

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