Page 2 of Hockey Boy

I’m surprised she cares enough to even ask.

“You won’t embarrass me, right? This is the most prestigious wedding planning company in Boston. They have a years-long waitlist. We’re lucky the Langfield name bumped us to the top.”

Ah. My stomach sinks. Of course she isn’t actually concerned about my state of mind. She just doesn’t want me to humiliate her. That’s more like it.

I have to bite back a laugh at the absurdity of this. At the stereotype we’re literally personifying. A rich boy marrying the wrong woman—a woman who only cares about appearances and definitely doesn’t care about him. But at least I know that going in. Can’t get hurt if I know what to expect.

“I’ll be fine. Been playing my part in this dog and pony show since I was a kid. I know how to behave.”

She fiddles with the oversized rock on her hand.I almost considered buying a small gemstone, maybe a plain band only, just to see if she’d still say yes.

In the end, I was too nervous to risk it. I need my brothers off my back like I need nothing else in this world. They’re far too focused on the way I reacted when I discovered Lennox Kennedy was back in Boston. I had to do something to shut them up. And this makes sense. Jill and I have been together for three years. She may be difficult at times, but I know how to handle her—for the most part, at least. And I know what to expect when it comes to her. The fewer surprises in my life, the better.

The door swings open, and a burst of energy zaps through the space, electrifying the air. A pink flash darts past me, the breeze she creates causing the hair on my arms to stand on end. As the woman settles into the seat across from us, all the air in the room goes to my head.

“I am so sorry I’m late,” she says, her focus fixed on her phone. “It’s my first day. You’d think that alone would inspire me to be here early, but no, I need to make an entrance.” Her tone is full of self-deprecation. “I swear I’m trying to be better about that. The good news is that since you’re my first couple ever, I will want to make a grand entrance into high-society weddings with you. So yay!” With a clap, she shifts in her seat.

All that air forced into me is suddenly sucked out, stealing the breath from my lungs.

As if the woman could ever not make an entrance. She dips her head and studies a sheet of paper in front of her. And then her widened eyes tell me she’s just seen precisely who her first client is. “The future Mr. and Mrs. Aiden Langfield.” Lifting her head, Lennox Kennedy locks eyes with me.

I swear the world stops. Just like it did for the three years we were together.

And the years before that, when I was just learning that I liked girls.That I really fucking liked Lennox Kennedy.

I don’t have the first clue why the universe is taunting me, but inthis moment, I don’t even care. The smile that curls my lips as we stare at oneanother is genuine. The strong beat of my heart—pounding to the rhythm of “Crazy in Love” by Beyoncé—tells me precisely what I have to do.

At the top of that list? Dumping my fiancée the second we walk out of the office.

Aiden Langfield is getting married.Aiden Langfield, who I haven’t spoken to in over ten years, is getting married. And I’m planning his wedding. Tell me the universe doesn’t have a wicked sense of humor.

Kind of like mine. Sarcastic and loud.

“Jillian Murgo,” the woman sitting primly beside my Aiden says.

Not your Aiden, Lennox. You can’t be territorial over a man you haven’t even spoken to in a decade.

“Of course.” I paint on the perfect smile. The one I’ve perfected over the last twenty-nine years. The one my family expects me to wear to uphold our reputation. “What an exciting time. Tell me about yourselves. How’d you meet? What’s the proposal story?”

Did he tell you that I was his first kiss? That he promised I’d be his only kiss? That we once meanteverythingto one another?

Aiden’s lip quirks into what I know is his true smile, as if he can read my internal ramblings, but he tamps it down quick.

“Oh, where to even begin?” the woman next to him says. Her voice is slightly nasal, just like her face. Seriously, her schnoz could give Pinocchio a run for his money.

“Yes, where?” I place my hands on the desk in front of me,keeping my eyes on her. If I look at Aiden, I’m liable to have a heart attack.

Aiden Langfield is getting married. The only man who ever held even a tiny piece of me—the jokester, the romantic, the man I truly believed at one point would be my endgame—married.

How did we get here?My internal voice suddenly sounds like thirteen-year-old me, and judging by the venom in her whispered words, she isn’t happy with what I’ve done with our life.

“We’ve been together for almost three years,” she explains, nudging the man next to her.

In response, he gives her a wide-eyed look that I interpret aswhat do you want me to add?

Hmm. Interesting.

Though I’d find it more interesting if she wasn’t wearing a goddamn emerald on her finger the size of her nose. Damn. How much money do hockey players make these days?

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