Page 79 of Betting on the Brainiac

“I can’t wait to see what the guys are wearing,” Hugo says.

“Not going to lie, it’s amazing,” Ruby says.

The groomsmen are in white T-shirts with the classic 7-Eleven logo and stripes across the chest.

Oliver has been moving into his new place all morning, but he should be changed into his green button-down resort-style shirt. It hasmatchingshorts. I had no opinion on 7-Eleven a week ago when I came up with this theme, but I love them so hard now.

Matching. Shorts.

Jasmine comes over to hug me. “Why is this the cutest wedding dress I’ve ever seen?”

I look down, grinning at my cropped 7-Eleven tank top and metallic green leggings borrowed from Sami’s stage wardrobe. Joey and Ava crafted a six-foot train from 7-Eleven napkins, and it’s fanned behind me as dramatically as the train of a Rihanna gown at the Met Gala. I’m wearing my highest acrylic platform heels, toes painted the tangerine of the store logo. My ass . . . ets looks good in this outfit.

“Your bouquet,” Ruby says, handing me an artful arrangement of novelty Slurpee straws topped with neon plastic glitter lips.

More neighbors appear with Takis and fried pork rinds and licorice. Compliments keep coming as people settle into the pool chairs we’ve lined up ceremony style with an aisle down the middle.

Five minutes to go. I look around for Joey, who is supposed to be on music, Josh, who has the marriage certificate we’ll need to sign and submit, the groomsmen, and the groom. I don’t see any of them.

Where is every single man who is supposed to be in or at this wedding?

Chapter Thirty

Oliver

My back is againstthe wall.

Josh and Joey have me flanked. Charlie and Matt are standing near a stack of moving boxes in their 7-Eleven groomsman shirts looking like they aren’t sure if they’re supposed to help me or the two men mean-mugging me.

Of all the obstacles I’d been braced to deal with this week—lines at the county clerk’s office, signing lease agreements for office space and a condo, freakingmoving—getting my trash kicked by two guys who I’d made laugh until they cried last weekend at Sami’s birthday party was not one I’d expected. Stupid of me.

“Fellas, is there something I can do for you?” I ask, trying to keep this low-key.

“We hate this,” Joey says.

Josh nods. “What he said.”

“Madi is our friend,” Joey says. “Maybe you’ve noticed that when one of them hurts, all of them hurt. Everything about this is a bad idea.”

“Why is this coming up now?” Charlie asks. “This wedding is all I’ve heard about for a week.”

“We thought you would both come to your senses,” Josh says.

“He means we figured one of you would chicken out,” Joey says. “So now we’re going to make that happen.”

Even my parents didn’t give me this hard a time. Maybe it’s because I told them the whole truth—including how I feel about Madison. My dad still insisted on having his own attorney go over every piece of paperwork before he’d finally concluded that I was protected legally and financially. My mom decided as far as my feelings went, this wouldn’t be much different than being into a neighbor who only saw me as a friend, and I was already planning to avoid Madison whenever possible, so what else was there for them to say if I had my mind made up? And I did. I do.

“We both have all our senses, I promise,” I tell Joey and Josh. This last-minute interrogation is their way of trying to protect Madison, so I don’t let it bother me. “We’ve thought this out. Multiple lawyers have gone over it. Madison is well-protected financially. She comes out ahead, actually.”

“And you get almost two million dollars.”

“I asked for only what Azora needs, and we’ve given her the best possible terms.”

Josh rubs his chin, never breaking eye contact. “You’re not a bad-looking dude. Before you were trying to marry Madison, I thought you were pretty funny. But this has got to be the most pathetic way I’ve heard of to get a girl. You couldn’t just ask her out and risk the no?”

Charlie and Matt both look like they’re going to jump in on my behalf, but I shake my head at them. Matt slides his handsinto the pockets of his gym shorts and looks frustrated. Charlie settles back against the wall to wait this out.

“The last thing I would do is ask Madison out,” I tell Josh. “I don’t have time for a relationship right now. I might have had to move closer, but we’ll be seeing each other less. I’m pushing harder to meet our customer demo date so that Madison doesn’t have to worry for even a second about her money, and that means stupid-long hours. I might have time to text about the cats. That’s it.”

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