Page 1 of A Little Complicated

PROLOGUE

OPHELIA

“You know, the only reason I’m going to prom tonight is so I can meet Mystery Man and make sure he isn’t a dick, right?” Dylan asks. She’s my cousin as well as my best friend, and it’s been killing her how she’s yet to meet the infamous Mystery Man I’ve been dating. Her determination to ensure he measures up to her standards is theonlyreason she agreed to go to prom tonight. By the look of things, I think she might regret her decision as she stands in front of the floor-length mirror in my bedroom, examining her outfit and fiddling with the skirt. Her dusty blue dress makes her aquamarine eyes pop even brighter, and the sweetheart neckline and tulle fabric make her look straight out of a Cinderella movie despite the skirt not being too full or fluffy. But even the fairytale-esque dress does shit to hide the anxious energy radiating off her.

“Dylan, you look gorgeous,” I tell her.

She forces herself to stop fidgeting with her skirt, turns to me, and shamelessly checks me out. “Ditto. We almost look like we know how to dress up for these things.”

“Almost,” I repeat with a grin while smoothing the black satin fabric along my stomach in front of the bathroom mirror. My bedroom is connected to a private bathroom, leaving us plenty of room to chat while getting ready without feeling squished or running into each other.

“Are you nervous?” she asks. “To introduce the family to your infamous Mystery Man?”

Mystery Man.

I roll my eyes, but the butterflies in my stomach continue flapping away despite my laid-back facade. Nervous doesn’t even begin to cover everything I’m feeling. Anxious. Excited. Terrified. The list goes on and on.

I’ve never had a boyfriend. Even the title gives me anxiety. But I’ve been dating Mystery Man for a few months, and it’s been…kind of awesome.

Okay, the termdatingis sort of a stretch. It’s more like stolen kisses, sexy rendezvous, and late-night phone calls, but I think those still count. After all, he’s taking me to prom tonight, which is insane on so many levels, especially considering he'll be a senior in college in the fall. Prom was his idea, not mine. Which, in my opinion, gives it even more weight.

So yeah. We’re dating… Ithink.

“Yeah, you’re totally nervous to introduce him to me,” Dylan decides. A wry grin plays on her full lips.

I give her the side-eye in the mirror. “It depends. Are you going to be a brat when you meet him?”

“Hey, I’m the nice one,” she argues, lifting her hands in defense. “If you want to worry about anyone being a brat when meeting the man who stole your heart, it’s Finley.”

With a laugh, I pull the mascara wand from its pink tube and lacquer my lashes. “Then I guess it’s a good thing Finley’s across the country, isn’t it?”

“Yup. Pretty sure you dodged a bullet until Mystery Man’s forced to face her at LAU in a few months.”

LAU is the university we’re all attending in the fall, but Dylan’s right. Mystery Man is in for a rude awakening once we all move in, that’s for sure.

“But for tonight,” Dylan continues, “he’ll only have to deal with your family and me. As long as he isn’t a dick, we should be good to go.”

“Mm-hmm,” I hum. “And you’re most likely going to be too busy attempting to make conversation with your own date to interrogate mine, so I call it a win-win.”

She groans and collapses onto my bed. “Don’t remind me. Why are boys the worst?”

“Boys aren’t the worst.”

“Uh, yes, they are,” she argues. “Every time I’m in the same room with one, I get all tongue-tied and awkward.”

“Technically, you only get tongue-tied around the hot ones.”

Her nose wrinkles, and she tosses a pillow at me. As I dodge the lump of feathers, she adds, “You’re not helping!”

I laugh a little harder. “No offense, but with two older brothers who both play hockey and have hot friends whoalsoplay hockey, you’d think you’d be used to hanging out around good-looking guys by now.”

“Well, yeah, but—”

My phone rings, cutting her off.

Seeing Mystery Man’s name flash across the screen, I grin.

“Let me guess,” Dylan murmurs as she climbs to her feet. “Mystery Man?”

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