Page 39 of Three Pucking Wedding Dates

“To be honest, I’ve always had a crush on a certain Archer,” Avery admits.

“I’m flattered, Avery, but I don’t swing that way.” Iris rolls her eyes.

“As if I’d be talking about you.” Avery swats at her. “It’s…Theo, actually.”

“Theo?” I ask, blinking at her in surprise, my mouth falling open slightly. Of all the things I thought she might say, that wasn’t one of them. Suddenly, the intensity of Theo’s gaze flickers back to my mind.

“You look shocked.” Avery raises an eyebrow at me.

“I am,” I admit. “Trust me when I say this—don’t waste your time. Theo is…closed off. He’s got walls around his heart higher than the Great Wall of China.”

Avery pouts, crossing her arms over her chest. “But, Oakley, you’ve managed to crack him a little, haven’t you? I mean, you’re obviously close with him now. Maybe if you helped me…”

“You couldn’t be more wrong.” I shake my head firmly, cutting her off. “Theo isn’t someone you can justcrack open, Avery. It took years—years of friendship and shared experiences—for him to let me in even a little bit. And that was years ago. Now, he won’t even look at me.”

Avery’s blue eyes flash with determination, and I can tell she’s not giving up that easily. “But maybe you could just…talk to him for me? See if there’s any chance he could be interested?”

“Look, Avery…” I sigh, running a hand through my hair in frustration. “I really don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Just help me,” Avery begs. “Please!”

I can see she won’t take no for an answer, so I purse my lips and nod politely. “Sure.”

“Oh, you’re such a doll!” Avery grins at me. “Mrs. Avery Archer, I can see it now.”

“Okay, Mrs. Archer.” Iris rolls her eyes, leaning forward, her hazel eyes sparkling with curiosity. “So, Oakley, what’s going on with you and Gray?”

I feel my cheeks heat up, and I try to play it off with a casual shrug. “Oh, you know. Just hanging out, getting to know each other again. Nothing serious.”

Iris frowns at me, clearly unsatisfied with my vague response. “Come on, Oakley. I know how Gray feels about you. If you’re not looking for anything serious, that’s fine, but you don’t need to string him along, do you hear me? He doesn’t deserve that. If you don’t feel that way toward him, leave it as just a one-night stand.”

She’s right. I know she is.

My mind drifts back to the morning conversation with Gray and Reid, their earnest expressions as they voiced their desire to share me. The intensity in their eyes, the heat of their touch…it all felt so right, yet terrifyingly wrong. My heart races as I remember the way Gray’s strong arms encircled me, how Reid’s warm breath had brushed against my cheek.

How they told me they wanted to share me.

“Oakley?” Iris calls my name, snapping me back to reality.

“You’re right, Iris. After this wedding date thing, I’ll let him down slowly and definitely not sleep with him again.”

It’s a lie, one that I feel incredibly guilty about. She trusts me, and here I am, keeping secrets from her. If there’s one thing I value more than anything, it’s honesty. I’d never lied to her before, and hadn’t planned on starting now, but I can’t shake thefear that if Iris knew the truth about my relationship with Gray and Reid, she’d walk away from me forever.

I just got her back, and she forgave me…I can’t lose her again.

20

OAKLEY

“Ican’t wait to watch the boys practice,” Avery gushes, practically vibrating with anticipation.

“Me too,” Iris chimes in, her hazel eyes sparkling with mischief. I smile at their enthusiasm, even though my heart is pounding with nerves.

It’s been almost a week since the disastrous practice where Gray got in a fight because of me. Apparently the coach let him back on the ice, but one more wrong move and he’s out. It’s also the first practice I’ve attended since I started spending the night with both Reid and Gray, in one or the other of their beds. Iris is still in the dark about that, so I’ve spent much of the week hanging out with Iris and Avery during daytime hours and trying to avoid the subject of the Archer brothers.

As we approach the entrance, a burly security guard steps into our path, his arms crossed over his chest. “Can I help you ladies?” he asks. He’s balding, with a gap between his teeth.

“We were just going to watch practice.” Avery smiles and bats her eyelashes.

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